Article by Marcus Siu

If you’ve seen the 2009 Oscar winning documentary, “The Cove”, the film that brought international and attention to the masses regarding the slaughtering of dolphins and whales in Japan, led by renowned dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry and his team of activists and espionage filmmakers infiltrating the cove near Taijii, then you may wonder what has been going on since then.

Megumi Sasaki’s latest film, “A Whale of a Tale” covers many of those questions and follows up where “The Cove” ends.

Nearly ten years later, after Taijii become a major destination place to hoards of global activists, things have settled down quite a bit.  However, rather than focusing on the angst of the activists, director Sasaki mainly lets the town villagers from Taijii speak out instead, giving them a voice and a sense of more balance and humanity into the delicate subject.

Whale Statue at the Entranceof the Town/ Taijiin Megumi Sasaki’s A WHALE OF A TALE (Photo Credit: FINE LINE MEDIA)

Since traditional whaling has been around for over 400 years, Sasaki also gives us a intimate portrayal and a glimpse into the many generations of the people and village of Taijii.  We hear from families who have no other skills, except to hunt for dolphins and whales.  We even hear from the people who run the esteemed “Whale Museum”, which is the main attraction in Taijii.   We even hear from activists and political figures views, including “The Cove’s activist”, Ric O’Barry, who gets “arrested” in Japan, because he has no passport.

While “The Cove”, with all its wonderful intentions to save the dolphins and whales, and exposing the truth of inhumanity to the western world;  it was told mainly from an activists point of view.  It unfortunately didn’t represent and capture the real voices of the people who actually live around the cove in Taijii.

That is where the strength of “A Whale of a Tale” comes in.

After all, there are at least two sides to every story.

Taiji Whalers / Taiji in Megumi Sasaki’s A WHALE OF A TALE (Photo Credit: FINE LINE MEDIA)

The documentary A WHALE OF A TALE is opening at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema – New Mission Theater this weekend. Filmmaker Megumi Sasaki will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A on Friday, September 7th and Saturday, September 8th at 6:30PM. Read the recent Washington Post review here and get tickets here.