The secret of the whales

Movie
Original title	The secret of the whales
Country of production	Germany
original language	German
Publishing year	2010
length	2 × 90 minutes
Age rating	FSK 12
Rod
Director	Philipp Kadelbach
script	Richard Reitinger ; Natalie Scharf; Story: Matthias Popp
production	Nico Hofmann ; Sascha Schwingel ; Moritz von Koss
music	Karim Sebastian Elias
camera	David Slama
cut	Nils Landmark
occupation
	Veronica Ferres : Anna Waldmann; Christopher Lambert : Chris Cassel; Fritz Karl : Peter Rimmer; Mario Adorf : Johannes Waldmann; Alicia von Rittberg : Charlotte Waldmann; Joe Dekkers-Reihana : Paka; Clemens Schick : Eric Cluster; Elena Uhlig : Rena Capelli; Rawiri Paratene : Amiri;

The Secret of the Whales is a two-part German television film by director Philipp Kadelbach from 2010. It was broadcast on January 3rd and 4th, 2010 on ZDF .

action

Anna Waldmann flies with her 14-year-old daughter Charlotte to her father in New Zealand . The father, Professor Johannes Waldmann, is a respected whale researcher working on an expert report that was commissioned by a local authority. The decision as to whether a large gas company may search for gas off the New Zealand coast depends on the statement of the report. When Anna's father is killed in a boat accident, she becomes skeptical and investigates with Chris, who opposes the company. The two uncover an environmental scandal.

background

The film was shot from October 2008 to February 2009, except in Germany, mainly in New Zealand and South Africa . The first part reached 6.83 million viewers (18.3% market share) when it was first broadcast in Germany, the second part had 6.41 million viewers and thus 18.0% market share. The marine biologist Karsten Brensing was responsible for the scientific advice .

literature

Jo Taitinger: The secret of the whales , Aufbau-Verlag, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-7466-2560-7 .

criticism

“Can films be more beautiful? Yes, you can. When their plot isn't stretched into two parts just to make it into a lengthy two-part. […] The Secret of the Whales "is a film for the Ferres, so that she looks strange in all scenes, but above all one thing is: in the picture. That can sometimes be at the expense of the plot."

- Franziska Bluhm, RP online

"Dedicated (television) drama about the discrepancy between environmental protection and economic interests, lavishly staged as an entertaining eco-thriller with atmosphere, where there is no convincingly thought-out story to breathe soul into the film."

- Lexicon of international film