Hey, Nolan! You see anything?
Heh, I don't even see a great white flounder.
Shark's fin, ten o'clock! And it's a whopper!
Keep it this side of the ship. And sheer off at about 200 yards. Gus!..
... start pitching it some meat.
Hey, keep off, there's a diver down!
Paul, keep him to the portside.
Look out!
Paul, hard to port!
Any fella dumb enough to go diving when there's a great wh...
Nice going, baby. You maybe just cost us a quarter of a million bucks.
- I.. what? - 'Tis the truth.
Do you know how much an aquarium will pay for a great white shark?
10,000 a foot. And he was 25 feet if he was a yard, can you believe that Paul?
50 foot he was at least, 50 foot.
Hey Nolan, he's coming back!
Climb aboard.
Paul, pour on the coal!
Stay by the side, I'll come back to get you.
Fin at two o'clock.
Look! That eejit's in the water.
Ken, get back in the boat!
Jesus, what did that?
There's only one creature in the world that would do that. A killer whale.
It is without challenge the most powerful animal on the globe. The killer whale.
He is a mammal with warm blood, found in every sea.
The ancient Romans called him Orca Orcinus..
... Latin for "The Bringer of Death".
His tapered form and muscular fin make the orca
the fastest moving whale in all the oceans.
The adult male measures around 30 feet and weighs six tons..
... but there have been cases where he ran to 45 feet.
Now here is a killer whale in what is probably his most familiar guise:
Tamed, on exhibition.
One captured as a pup and brought up with men.
Treated with kindness, there is no creature that is a greater friend to man.
But if not ...
The orca's mouth has 48 teeth set in two impressive rows.
As parents, killer whales are exemplary. Better than most human beings.
And like human beings, they have a profound instinct for vengeance.
Yet the most amazing thing about these creatures is neither
their gentleness nor their violence, but their brains.
Slides, please, Ken.
Now these three brains are of a monkey..
... a human being.. and this is the brain of a killer whale.
We know very little about the nature of the whale's intelligence..
... except that it exists and is powerful..
... and in some respects may even be superior to man.
A four-month-old foetus, incredibly like that of a human baby.
It even has two hands, with five fingers on each.
Whales talk. They communicate..
... by a combination of pure sound and sonar echolocation.
The whale sounds you are now hearing contain wavelengths..
... that can travel not just across one ocean basin, but around the entire world.
This was recorded under water and analyzed by computers at CalTech.
It was found to contain 15 million pieces of
information. The Bible contains only 4 million.
What are they saying?
For that matter, do they have to say anything to communicate?
Their sonar would be a little like our having..
... X-ray vision. If we could look into one other..
... and instantly know if someone else was happy or sad, indifferent or aroused..
... healthy or suffering from a tumor we could actually see..
... then a human phrase like, "How are you?" would be meaningless.
What we call language..
... they might call unnecessary, or redundant, or.. retarded.
I didn't notice at first but my lectures suddenly gained a new and attentive member:
Captain Nolan.
He began to call on me after class at odd hours, asking about the orcas..
... and occasionally, about me.
I was surprised at his ignorance of the animals.
To have fished here for so long and to have learned so little about them amazed me.
I was also intrigued by his curiosity.
The combination made him seem vulnerable, and even.. attractive.
It was that or I had been in Newfoundland for too long.
In any case I should have known that fisherman
are rarely curious about anything at sea..
... unless they want to catch it, or kill it.
Don't tell me you're building a holding pen?
(Damn your big mouth..)
I should have known when you pumped me about killer whales..
... it wasn't to improve your mind.. if any.
Ha-ha. Now look, we're not going to harm him.
The lucky lad will have a long, happy life, in some aquarium.
How much money do you think you're going to get for him?
Enough, enough.
Nolan, there's a word for you.
I know. And I've been called it many times.
You're planning to capture and sell a fellow creature. He's like you, he has warm blood..
... he breathes air, he's a mammal but with intelligence..
... and he communicates.
- Ohh.. he communicates, does he?
Look at me. Tell me I'm pulling your leg and I'll give you a dollar.
No, but I'll tell you this, you're one hell of a girl to be living in a tent..
... sleeping with a tape recorder.
Did I tell you that that animal has a right to be left alone?
No you didn't, but I have a notion that you're about.
These animals are too big and too smart,
and they're made to be in constant motion. They don't even sleep.
It's much crueller than putting a lion in a cage.
It's hardly something to screw around with.
Now there's a very dangerous word to use around a fellow like me.
I mean, I might get a notion or two.
You'll never catch a killer whale.
Is there any way that I can make you give up?
Well, there's one you might try.
But I s'pose that's out of the question.
If that's what it'll take ...
If you're so sure I can't catch a killer whale, why're you so upset?
Listen, you won't catch one, but you might butcher a couple of dozen in the attempt.
- Ahh, that's not my style at all. - So you refuse to quit?
That's not my style either.
Especially when a pretty and intelligent girl
like you tells me that I'm dumber than a fish.
Lots of bad luck.
How many CCs of dope in the harpoons?
Well...
If.. a whale is twice the size of the shark, therefore we use twice as much.
- Nolan.. - What?
You know, killer whales are monogamous.
Monogamous ... What does that mean?
They stick with one mate all their life.
Do you realise we could be busting up a happy family?
You continue what you're doin' and bring it up when you're finished.
Killer whales ahead!
Oh boy!
We're off to the races, boys!
Annie, bring up the doped heads.
Here, you take over.
Oh hoh hoh hoh, o-boy o-boy o-boy!
Look at 'em, just look at 'em!
We don't want to approach them like a bull in a china shop, you understand?
Now go back now.
Here let me take over.
Merciful God, what's that?
You missed the male. You hit the female.
- He sounds almost human. - It's not a he, it's a her.
- How do you know? - You can tell by the hook-shaped fin.
Paul, astern!
Paul, hard to port and full ahead!
Look she's coming back.
She's trying to kill herself.
Stop the engines! Novak come down here and help me!
Help me get this crazy fish on board!
Sling's tight.
Alright Paul, haul away. And when she's clear, we'll swing her inboard.
- She's losing so much blood. - I know I know. Shuddap.
Mother of God...
Get her off my ship!
Damn cable's jammed the boom.
It's okay.
It's gone, it's gone. You flushed it over.
- What'd we hit? - I don't know..
Charts.
Paul, check the radar.
Nothing there.
- Check the depth. - 85 fathoms.
Chart said the same thing, and there isn't a shoal or a reef marked in five miles.
Would you help me check the bearing.
- You know what we hit? - No, what?
We didn't hit anything, it hit us.
Novak, check the engine room.
Paul! Is that whale still alive?
God knows how but she's breathing.
Go back to the wheel.
- Novak! Help me get her overboard. - To hell with her.
One more hit like that and he'll sink us for sure.
That's exactly why I want to get her overboard! Come on..
Climb the boom, and cut the rope.
Okay, hold on.
Novak!
Are you all right?
I'm okay, I'm okay now.
Novak!
Oh my God.
Let's go. Come on come on, let's go.
You drive on, I'll walk.
You're reading to the whale?
You'd never butcher a whale by accident. It's not your style.
What can I do?
Well you can stop looking at me as if I'm the crazy one.
Well I must say I'm amazed that she swam up here against the wind, and the tide.
She didn't swim. Her mate pushed her.
He what?
Didn't you anchor your boat in here last night?
I did. Just out there.
- He followed you. - He what?
He followed you.
She speaks you the truth.
She knows it from university, I know it from my ancestors.
Well, I'm delighted to hear that. Who the hell are you?
I'm Jakob Umilak. I teach at a travel school in the north.
Aww.. nice to meet you.
You're the man who did this?
Guilty ... Well, I must be off now.
- Nolan, please, listen to him. - Why?
We know from our fathers that they once tried
to kill a whale like that and hardly wounded it.
It is known that the whale capsized the boat
and chewed up both the hunters who manned it.
It is known that these whales have great memory.
And even after many numbers of years pass..
... they always remember the human being who had tried to harm them.
Ah ohhh.. rubbish! Ha ha ha ha...
He saw you, Nolan.
He saw you on the deck of the boat.
If I were you, I would stay far from his territory.
Ahh.. I might just do that.
You'll give up?
I might just do that, too.
Rest Eternal, grant him, O Lord.
Let light perpetual shine upon him. Amen.
That was nice, Reverend. Thanks.
Now, would you.. would you give this in his name to the Seamen's Fund?
- See he didn't have any family. - I thank you.
There's ah.. something I'd.. I'd like to ask you, Reverend.
Yes?
Would you wait for me outside, Paul?
- You're Irish? - Yes.
Aye.. can't lose the accent, I've been here 16 years..
... labourers are a dime-a-dozen at home,
but I came over here and I worked for my uncle on his boat.
And he died and he left me the boat, mortgaged, and he left me Gus.
Dear old Gus.
You know, he taught me everything I know, which is precious little.
I can understand how badly you must feel about his death.
Well, he was a fisherman and fishermen like to die at sea.
He'd a fear of dying in an old home with pipes
and tubes stuck out of him. You know what I mean?
But, uh.. to die like this...
Wait on.. don't take it too much to heart, what's done is done.
Right.. Hah..
Um.. Reverend.
Wha.. wha.. What I was meaning to ask ya like..
Can you commit a sin against an animal?
Why, you can commit a sin against a blade of grass.
Sins are really against oneself. You understand?
I do.
Thank you, Reverend.
- Thanks for the tie. - Glad the pants fit.
- Excuse me. Nolan, isn't it? - Yeah.
- I'm Al Swain, I'm in charge here. - Hello, Al.
Ah wha.. what do you mean, you're in charge?
You know the fishermen's union and all that.
We brought your boat in the yard.
Ohh.. was you, huh, thanks.. thank you very much.
Look is there anything, uh, I can do in return?
Uh, nothing special. It's just..
It's just that South Harbor's a friendly little place, that's all.
Every knows everybody and his business.
Say yours, trying to catch a big live killer whale, no?
No... Ehh.. no
Well we were for a moment, but.. now I've changed my mind.
Well that's probably just as well.
There're few people round here superstitious about that sort of thing.
Superstitious? I.. I don't know what you mean.
You see an orca hanging around here any length of time drives our fish away.
That's our livelihood. You understand...
- Took out for me? - Umm.
Heh.. thanks.
"Whales and dolphins in science and mythology."
"In celebration of the world's least known intelligence."
Must be a book about me.
"Harmon Melville believed if God returns to this planet..
... He'll come back as a whale." Ha-ha.
Ah c'mon, you can't really believe all this stuff, can you? Ha-ha-ha.
Forgive me laughin' now, I'm not laughing at you,
but all this stuff is a bit heavy for me to digest.
- Thanks for the book. - You're very welcome.
When we're finished burying the old whale, I want to give a.. a wake at my house.
- Can I buy you a drink, will you come? - Thanks.
- Nolan, you got a minute? - Yes, whadda you want?
You're in a pretty big hurry to bury that whale there, aren't ya?
I was.
Well I've got some good news for you, the boatyard's given you priority.
They'll haul on your Bumpalump to fix and first thing tomorrow.
Would you like a drink?
Well you didn't drive out all this way, just to tell me that?
We figured you'd wanna know.
Well now that's.. that's nice of you.
But actually, I'm not in any great hurry to sail away from South Harbor at all.
You mean you're staying around 'til you kill that whale?
Kill the whale? Not at all.
I'm staying around because I paid a month's rent on my house.
Plus the fact I got a crew member with a busted foot.
Ain't got nothing to do with the whale at all.
Did I say somethin' wrong?
First two boats are sunk, now the fish are vanishing from the fishing grounds.
- And it's all because of your whale. - "My whale?" Ha-ha-ha...
And.. will you forget about the whale, I've forgotten about him already.
And I betcha, you'll never see him around here again.
An hour ago a kid saw a fin off the North Point.
A fin with a nick in it.. stationary.
Just waiting.
- Don't go down to North Point, Nolan - Why would I?
Just don't he's..
Look I said, why would I?! Now why would I?
- I'll see you tonight, right? - Wrong.
Alright, now we've called the Coast Guard..
... the Canadian Fisheries Research Board..
... even the Marine Mammal Commission in the United States.
They all say they have no authority to do anything about that animal.
Or they have no time to do anything!
And you know for damn sure that Nolan's not going to do anything!
Now who does that leave, huh? Us!
Can I help you?
You know the men all meet, they talk of you, and they are angry.
I understand.
They say you're a coward for not to go out to kill this whale.
- I have my reasons. - I believe you.
You do?
- Why? - I see in your face, fear.
But it not anything alive, it is of some.. spirit, I think.
I come only to warn you, perhaps it is best you go hunt this devil,
no matter what your reasons are.
If there is any more harm done to this town by your whale..
"My whale."
Look..
Thank you for the warning.
- I know what my ancestors would have done. - What?
They have the Shaman sew a small skin whale..
... and stuff it with the livers of birds.
They make piss water on it, and throw it into the sea with some words.
If all has been done right, the monster's spirit flies out of his mouth..
... and he is dead.
Heh-heh-heh... Well, maybe I should ask you to try that for me.
The world has changed, even our gods dance to a new song.
I thank ya.
"They can communicate like humans."
That's exactly what she said.
Hey Paul! It says here in the book of whales..
It's a pretty good likeness, Nolan. Especially the head.
What's the matter with the head?
And what the hell are you doing down here?
I couldn't resist seeing what you wanted my camping gear for.
Well, now you know. Scram.
Don't tell me that that scarecrow is gonna keep him off!
Hrrr.. he's smarter than that, I hope to bring him in.
- You hope it'll bring him in!? - Right, like last night.
Ah-ha-ha-ha. Nolan, you really are the dumbest, maddest man I've ever met.
That's what I get for putting you onto books!
What're you gonna do now? You gonna hypnotise him?
No, not exactly.
I came down here to shoot him. Bang Bang!
One for each eye.
But then, I put myself, into his position, and I thought ...
He won't show.
Why not?
Why do you think he sank the other boats in the harbor and not yours?
Well now, I must admit that.. that rather puzzled me.
He deliberately left you your boat because he wants fight you on the sea.
I won't do that, I refuse.
- In fact I won't fight him at all. - But you'll murder him.
You'll stand here safe on the jetty and shoot him through the eye.
But you're not a man, you're an animal!
It's creatures like you science should be observing.
Why don't you go somewhere else for your excitement?
Excite..! Excitement!
Is that all it means to you?
I'm thinking more of that whale than you are.
With a gun?
I brought this gun to shoot him, yes.. yes I did.
But I knew when I came to do it, I couldn't do it.
So I got to thinking, and I thought, well.. if what.. if what you say is right..
... and whales can communicate..
... well then I thought I'd.. I thought I'd look at him, right in the eye.
I'd tell him to the killing of his wife and his child.
It was a terrible accident, but I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it!
I'd tell him that I was sorry, I hoped he'd forgive me.
I understand, what that whale is feelin'.
Because.. the same thing happened to me.
My wife was pregnant, she was driving to the hospital, alone..
... drunken driver came down the wrong side of the road and hit her.
He killed her.. and he killed my baby.
Okay, that's good enough, now get that thing into the water.
Yeah?
Town's workin' all night to fix your boat.
What?
She'll be ready and filled to sail on the tide at 6.15.
Who is it?
You hunt him at dawn.. Or your girl's busted leg won't seem like nothin'.
Swain, that you Swain?
Never mind who it is, just take some good advice, hah?
Well that decides it.
Paul, open that crutch, come here!
You're leavin'.
- Well what about the boat? - Don't worry, I'll take care of that.
Where the hell did I put that phone number?
What's the matter now?
I'll explain to ya later.
- Got any money? - Not a cent.
Take that, go down and fill up the truck with petrol.
- Page to my mother. - Tell your mother what?
- That I was run out of town by a fish. - You can't blame him really.
If I were in their position, I'd feel exactly the same way.
- Hello? - Hello, Rachel, I'm going after him.
After who? What time is it anyway?
Him, HIM, the whale. Are you awake?
Well I am now.
I'm sorry.. I felt I wanted to tell you before I left.
It's what the villagers want, it's what the whale wants.
What the whale wants?
Yes, yes, that's what the whale wants.
Nolan, Nolan, I think I ought to explain something to you.
I don't know what this creature wants.
You don't know what he wants, the villagers don't know, nobody knows.
But if he's anything like a human being..
... whatever he wants isn't necessarily what he should have.
- Yes, but, you said that... - Forget what I said.
I thought you an insensitive bore, and I exaggerated to make a point.
Well, I was wrong.
You're a sensitive bore.
- I take that as a compliment. - Take it anyway you like.
I'll take it as a compliment. Well, see you 'round, I'm off at dawn.
Nolan.. Nolan, don't you dare hang up on me!
I wasn't going to.
Look, what about.. What about Paul, what about Annie's leg?
Well, that's the point, don't you see, they're taking the truck and going on land.
You mean you're going alone?
Well, if I don't..
... I'm.. I'm afraid of what they might do to Paul and Ann.
Besides, it's me that animal wants out there.
- Nolan you're crazy!. - Ahh, maybe you're right.
Suppose you're right.
If a human being were crazed with grief..
... would you do anything he wanted? - No.
No, you'd try to protect him against himself, wouldn't you?
Yes.
And Nolan, who do you think you owe more to..
... the villagers or that animal?
Well all right then, all right then I won't go!
- You really mean that? - I do.
- You'll call me in the morning? - I will, I will.
- Promise? - Promise.
Well good night then.
- Nolan. - Yeah?
Are you going out, too?
I'm just going to the garage to pack up some gear.
Take me with you, huh?
What is it?
Come on, what's the matter?
C'mon.. I'll tell you what.
Come over here.
Sit down there..
... and rest that leg, because you've got a long, bumpy ride.
That's a good girl.
Hey there, wanna fill her up and check the hood, I'll get the air.
- We're all out. - Out of air?
Air, gas, oil, anything.
Ha-ha look, who're you foolin', I just saw you put some gas in that car, bud.
If you try the bus station, you'll find there are no tickets for you either.
What's the idea?
Tell Nolan, that he must accept with his mind what he already knows in his heart.
There is no way out but through the sea.
The whale's gone, there is no whale.
He is not gone, he hides and waits in a sea cave.
The monster's message to us is clear..
... we must send him Nolan or he will torment this village without mercy.
Hoh-ho, this whole damn town's looney.
Please, tell your captain, I am not his enemy.
I would sail as one of the crew, I could help him.
With me or without me, he has no choice but to fight.
Nolan!
What's the matter?!
I can't get up. My leg!
You alright, Annie..?
- I can't move! - Paul, there's a lamp by the door!
Shine it on Annie!
I can't hold on!
Annie!
Catch this, Annie.
Hold me.
Pull, that's it!
- Ahhh-eeeee! -Annie!
You revengeful son of a bitch.
You win.
You want revenge?
Well you'll have it.
I'll set out and fight you.
I'll fight you, you revengeful son-of-a-bitch.
You win, do you hear me?
You win!
So, Nolan's effort to spare his crew had failed.
Both the town and the orca had seen to that.
I'd insisted on leaving South Harbor with them.
I told myself that somehow I was responsible for Nolan's state of mind..
... that I had filled his head with romantic notions..
... about a whale capable not only of profound grief, which I believed..
... but also of calculated and vindictive actions..
... which I found hard to believe despite all that had happened.
Maybe I hoped the voyage would show me another way to interpret the animal.
It seemed a peculiar kind of human perversity to assume,
that because the whale had an intelligence close to ours..
... it would also have our most primitive and ugly emotion: Vengeance.
At this point I was only sure of one thing:
That his grief had made the orca wildly unpredictable..
... and I felt an obligation to protect both it and Nolan,
from the consequences of that insanity.
Nolan however seemed sure of what was going to happen next,
and that frightened me more than anything else.
He set our course for the exact locale where he had killed the whale's mate.
Nolan was certain that the creature would want to catch up with him there.
Excuse me, well shouldn't somebody be up on the lookout?
He's not ready.. yet.
That's your gun, oil the patch, you won't get through the barrel.
I don't actually shoot whales...
If he should get me, then you'll have to shoot him. Self-defence like.
Since when have you seriously considered that he might "get you"?
I've never "seriously considered", I said "if".
- It's him. - Well it's not goody Neptune.
- It's his first contact. - How should I steer?
Alright.. this is exactly what I thought.
I've come to lookout for a better angle if he comes up.
Take away that gun.
What are you talking about?
It's me he wants to fight.
Put down that gun.
Steady as she goes, standby for a depth charge!
You can't let off dynamite!
What do you want me to do?
Climb overboard so you can record the sounds of my being swallowed?
- Don't, don't! - Get your hands off!
Will you kick your head in!
Jesus, here he comes!
What the hell is he up to?
He wants us to follow him.
Umilak, change course! Starboard!
You all right?
Yes, I'm fine.
Well, I don't know whether to scold ya, or to thank ya, but what's done is done.
Ken!
What's he telling you?
Well now.. "You and me," he said.
"I knew", he said.
"You're my... drunk driver", he said.
You know they're going to want us to turn back, now?
It's too late for me.
I'll take over from Paul.
Okay Paul, I'll take her.
I wouldn't believed it hadn't I seen it, but..
... that course just, threaded us through the
Cabot Strait to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
- ... like he had radar. - Sonar, actually.
Did.. Nolan radio back what happened to Ken?
I don't know.
I guess he didn't, because if he did we would have been ordered back to the port.
You know, you're getting to be almost as crazy as he is, Rachel.
Turn in now Paul.
Try not to dream.
- It's dead on. - Dead on what?
The Strait of Pen Isle, open seas.
He's taking us out of the Gulf, onto the coast of Labrador.
I have a funny feeling in my bones this is the last lap, and there's no way out north.
Have you ever seen polar ice, Nolan? It can crush a boat like this in a second.
Well ice cuts.. both ways.
And he'll have to crash right up through it, to find, air.
Ah, this whale is not as smart as I thought he was.
You god-damned crazy bitch, come back and ram us if you're gonna.
Ohh, here, take it easy, take it easy!
You're doing exactly what he wants you to do.
You see he normally follows his victim for about...
week, two weeks, before he hits them.
Here, read it, page 77. He's trying to drive us crazy.
Well he's already done a damn good job on you.
We've checked the fuel tanks, and done some calculations.
There's not enough to take us home.
Well, we can pull up at a gasoline station and get a coupla gallons. Ha-ha.
Dammit, no more wise cracks. We don't have diesel oil to get home.
Well now, there's a radar station north-west of Seahorse Point..
... so when the time comes, you can send an SOS.
They'll send a helicopter, and lift you out.
Lift us out? What about you?
Me? Heh-heh.. heh...
With the growing cold had come a growing quiet.
From the crew, from Nolan, from everything.
It was numbing like the chill in the air, and as palpable as the ice.
And always the orca moved North, and always we followed.
We didn't speak about Ken's death, or what we planned to do.
All Nolan said, was we were hooked, the orca was reeling us in, and that was it.
But we were low on fuel, and Nolan seemed to
give no thought to fight, or flight, or anything.
The creature led, Nolan followed.
If there were any other purpose to what we were doing, only the orca knew it.
My god, engines astern, engines astern!
What the hell are you doin'?
What does it look like? I'm swinging this lifeboat out where it's ready.
- For an outboard, it can get carried away. - Well we'll take that chance.
Get up here behind that light, swing it around and find me a clear way.
Go on at night with these bergs around? Are you joking?
- I said, Find me a passage!! - Nolan.
You're tired, get some sleep. I'll take care of him.
- Nolan was right, I think. - About what?
The boat, it's more secure if it's inboard.
Well that's what makes horse races.
Uh! Arrrrrrrrgh!
No!
No!!
Come, I'll warm you.
Do you remember..
... some time ago..
... you asked me, how much I'd make from the whale, do you remember that?
All I wanted was, enough money to pay out the mortgage on the boat..
... go back to Ireland.
America never suited me. Now look what I've done. Look what I've done.
Three people dead, innocent girl maimed for life.
God forgive me!
Tomorrow will be the day.
He loved his family more than I loved mine.
I won't be needin' this, it's goin' to be a fair fight..
... on equal terms.
I'm taking over, we're going back..
... Now!
Nolan, there's an iceberg coming towards us..
It's moving sideways, against the current.
Umilak, start the engines.
Get me the harpoon.
He has to come up for air.
Go on, go on.
SOS, SOS, we'll leave our signal on automatic.
Thank you. Stand back now.
Chewlak!
Arrrrrrrrrgh!
Go on, go on.
Nolan!
Behind you!
Here..
... catch!
What in hell are you?
Jesus, shoot!
Nolan!