The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52

I have a question for you. When you watch a movie trailer, you’re typically searching for one thing, am I right? That one thing is the answer to whether or not you want to watch a particular movie. But the case for watching this film comes from a quote within the film… so you have to see it.

That quote is made by a marine biologist by the name of Dr. William Watkins and it’s, “In the ocean, what we can hear is truly far more powerful than what we can see, and it resonates with a mysterious beauty that we are only just beginning to understand.” That’s beautifully said. “The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52” is such an important movie to see; not only is it filled with mystery about a magnificent creature, but it reminds us of our duty to take care of our oceans and our planet as a whole. This film gives all audiences a chance to discover what scientists and those on specific social media threads have known for quite some time; there’s something in our oceans worth getting to know. That is if we can find him.

“The Loneliest Whale” was funded partly by setting up a Kickstarter campaign which, upon hearing about the project, Leonardo Di Caprio put 50,000 dollars closer to its goal. Award-winning filmmaker Joshua Zeman narrates, lending a loving yet concerned voice to a creature who may be in desperate need of a friend.

The documentary sets out to find the “52 Hertz Whale,” so-called because of the arcane song produced by the whale, which, when first detected in 1989, was heard at a frequency of 52 hertz. This one is known to many as the “Loneliest Whale” for the simple reason that there has been no other whale discovered to sound like him.

Dr. William Watkins hypothesized that the sound was coming from one and only one whale, as the few times the call has been heard, it is singled out. Not only that, but no other species of whale sings at 52 hertz. Whale frequencies, until now, have never gone over twenty-five hertz. Watkins believed that this whale, which no other in the species can even understand, has most likely spent his entire life swimming in the oceans, “calling out and never once receiving a response.” If you don’t understand the language, how are you to converse? Dr. Vint Virga, an animal psychologist, gives us a troubling and unpleasant thought to ponder. He breaks down the mental make-up of 52, explaining, “Whales are social beings. Period. The fact that nobody is responding to him absolutely, without a doubt; this whale is lonely.”

So, another question arises. Where are the rest? To possibly get the answer, it was imperative 52 be found again. It goes without saying that, once discovered, the questions on everyone’s minds have been, “Is he the first of his kind?” And “Is he the LAST of his kind?” Getting fully involved in the wellbeing of 52, Zeman set out for a fully funded seven days to see what he could find. He brings several curious scientists and oceanographers along, all excited to lend their expertise. Zeman also interviews several of them during the piece at some point.

Important information to know is that in the 1950s, the U.S. Navy made sure to stay ahead of the Russians in every way, including in the world’s oceans. They created SOSUS, an underwater hydrophones system that detected submarines. They wanted to track where Russian subs were at all times, so putting microphones in the sea seemed logical. They soon found out how much sound came from whales and realized they needed to learn the difference between them and submarines.

Zeman gets help from SOSUS for his documentary. This section is hard to watch. It’s heartbreaking to see what the entire world has done to the oceans. Zeman gets into the horrible whaling of the past and exposes how humans are currently hurting whales. It’s disquieting, but people must be educated about this subject.

Regarding the existence of a solitary whale who’s unlike any other? One suggestion is, is it a hybrid? Considering the money spent and time given, is searching for 52 similar to looking for a needle in an enormous haystack? Can a solitary whale that was first discovered over thirty years ago still be found? Is this search justified; does it make any sense? I mean, come on. This is crazy, right? Well, you can watch and give me your thoughts. Interestingly, this is the second whale movie to come out recently! What’s with the whale love all of a sudden? Though I liked it, for visual quality alone, this does beat the other film, “Fathom.” However, that was good, as well so check it out!

Here in AZ, it will be showing at Harkins Camelview at Fashion Square.

The film will then be available on all VOD platforms on Friday, July 16^th.

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