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Whale Movie Review

Whale (Kit) is a 1970 Bulgarian comedy film directed by Petar B. Vasilev and starring Grigor Vachkov. It’s a pretty funny and effective flick.

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“It’s a sprat, but it’s still a fish.

It’s a fish, but it’s still a sprat!“

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A group of fishermen returns to the port, but they did not catch any large fish, so they make up a story that they caught a giant whale and try to sell it to the townspeople. First off, this movie had a troubled production as the communist censors went after it brutally. And it’s easy to see why – the story is in essence a metaphor about the communist regime in the country and how they would control the populace by making their accomplishments seem larger than they are.

The metaphor is rather straightforward and not too difficult to comprehend even for Western viewers, but I have to say that the style of comedy as employed here is best suited for the people who have that same sensibility, people from the Balkans or Eastern Europe. As somebody who is from the former region, I found the humor extremely similar to the one in my country, which is why this one resonated with me.

Whale is actually at its best when it’s focusing on the comedic interactions between the characters and smaller details. It is much more memorable during those sections than in the main storyline, at least that is how I felt personally. The funniest bits were the scene where they talk about Western medicine so affirmatively and the moment when the villager asks from the group to help him solve a crossword puzzle. Those moments were instantly relatable to me as I know people like this and these types of conversations so well.

While the movie is technically rather pedestrian – the cinematography is only okay, the directing is just solid and the score fared best as it was lively and fun – the film was elevated to greater heights due to excellent writing, especially of dialogue. There are so many very amusing and observational lines here that made me chuckle.

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The situational comedy springing from this made-up story felt repetitious in the second half, but the tone remained exuberant throughout. The characters are not all that greatly developed, but they functioned well as a group. Every single actor did a terrific job, elevating their roles so well. The standout was clearly Grigor Vachkov. He seems to be a very gifted comedic actor.