Le Goût de la Baleine / A Taste of Whale

Pumped full of adrenaline, Faroe Islanders run into the ocean holding deadly weapons. In no time, the water turns blood red. Children follow the spectacle closely. Later, they will play among the cadavers that are carefully lined up on the shore. The pilot whale hunt, or grindadráp, is deeply rooted in Faroese culture. The tradition is integral to the islanders national pride, held dear by all, from common people to the prime minister. But this public killing has also brought media-savvy Sea Shepherd activists to the island, willing to risk their freedom and their health. “A Taste of Whale” presents an unruffled, balanced, and complex portrait of a centuries-old ritual and the heated conflicts that surround it. The film calmly examines the many bifurcations in the play of humans and nature. Caught in a thicket of ambivalence between local and industrial food production, between cultural identity and extinction, viewers are left to draw their own conclusions.