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Poster for The last whale hunters

The last whale hunters

Seen it?

2021 | 113 min | Documentary

Monday Morning Maybeearly rating

Why it’s a Monday Morning Maybe

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Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it
Made for the curious.
The mood
Eye-opening.
The pace
Moves along nicely, at 1 hr 53 min.
What might put you off
It's in Japanese, so expect subtitles (or a dub).

The Lamalera village is located in a small volcanic Island, a poor, barren land, and they catch whales to eat. It is the only way for them to survive. The harpooners are called lamafa in the local language. They are the village's pride because they take the whole responsibility for the very dangerous hunting. In 2018. a tragedy struck the village. Benjamin, a young lamafa, was killed during a spear hunting. His father, Ignatius, was devastated, and Benjamin's brother, Demo, was shocked and unable to go hunting. They blame accidents at sea on a victim's family discord in Lamalera. Ignatius, the master boat-builder, decided to build a new traditional whaleboat to reunite the family bond. The whaling boat is 12 meters long, made entirely of hand-crafted wood, not using a single nail, and is considered an intangible cultural asset.

How it earned its rating

  • CriticsNot counted

    Not enough reviews on record yet

  • AudiencesNot counted

    Not measured yet: not enough ratings

  • AwardsNot counted

    Awards data unavailable, so this isn't counted

  • Reach & staying powerNot counted

    Streaming release that reached a small audience so far

  • Buzz & cultural impactWeak

    Not enough engagement data yet

Trailer

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Cast & crew

Directed by Bon Ishikawa

  • Ignasius Seran Blikololong
  • Wilirodus Demo Blikololong
  • Clemens Boli Tapoona