In their remote home in the North Atlantic the Faroe Islanders have always eaten what nature could provide, proud to put local food on the table. The land yields little, so they have always relied on harvesting their seas.
Hunting whales and seabirds kept them alive for generations, and gave them the way of life they love; a life they would pass on to their children. But today they face a grave threat to this tradition.
It is not the controversy surrounding whaling that threatens the Faroese way of life; the danger is coming from the whales themselves.
The Faroese are among the first to feel the affects of our ever more polluted oceans. They have discovered that their beloved whales are toxic, contaminated by the outside world. What once secured their survival now endangers their children and the Faroe Islanders must make a choice between health and tradition.
☆☆☆☆ Sunday Times ☆☆☆☆☆ The Arts Desk ☆☆☆☆ Radio Times ☆☆☆☆.5 DMovies ☆☆☆☆ CineVue ☆☆☆ Guardian ☆☆☆☆☆ Set the Tape ☆☆☆ Time Out ☆☆☆☆☆ The London Economic ☆☆☆☆ Culture Fly ☆☆☆☆ Evening Standard ☆☆☆☆ The Scotsman ☆☆☆☆ Independent
☆☆☆☆ "Truly incredible filmmaking" Screenwords
☆☆☆☆☆ "nothing short of a masterpiece" Guestlist
☆☆☆☆☆ "masterful film...a sensitive, profoundly moving portrait of a community" The Arts Desk
☆☆☆☆½ "tackles said complex issue head-on, opening it up for discussion in a way I have never seen done before and a way that requires a certain level of enterprise which I wish more filmmakers would employ. With regards to whale hunting, it doesn’t give us an answer, but it forces us to ask a question we hadn’t even considered before. As powerful as it is eye-opening, I would implore any person with feelings on this issue to give The Islands and the Whales the time of day." Live For Films