Other Titles • The Whales of August • Wale im August (1990)
Synopses for The Whales of August (1987)
1.
Vincent Canby of The New York Times called The Whales of August "a cinema event." His generosity is understandable, given the film's main draw: two of the greatest actresses in movie history, whose careers extend back to the very beginnings of narrative. They are Lillian Gish and Bette Davis, and they are two of cinema's lovely, essential people... so it is painful to report that Mr. Canby's gallant review is not really justified by this trifle, a once-round-the-Golden Pond-lightly. Demanding Bette and dutiful Lillian are sisters living on the Maine coast; Vincent Price is a courtly suitor, and Ann Sothern and Harry Carey Jr. (the liveliest performers in the picture) are local folk. Directed by a great student of film, Lindsay Anderson (O Lucky Man!), the material is fatally soppy. In truth, this isn't a movie, it's a shrine to two giants in winter--well-intended, and best seen as a tribute. --Robert Horton
2.
Summer people in Maine: things are changing. Whales no longer pass close to the shore as they did during the youth of two elderly widowed sisters who have a seaside home where they've summered for 50 years. Libby is blind, contrary, and seemingly getting ready to die. Sarah is attentive to her sister, worried about continuing to care for her, and half interested in an old Russian aristocrat who fishes from their shore. It's the eve of Sarah's 46th wedding anniversary. The Russian offers some fish he's caught, Sarah invites him to dinner, and Libby gets her back up. Sarah wonders if it isn't time to sell the place and find a home for Libby. What alternatives do old people have?
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