Big Miracle is a film about three whales in Alaska that get stuck under the ice with only one blow hole in the thick ice between the family to breath out of. After being discovered by a news reporter and a young Alaskan boy; the news soon spreads around the town of Barrow and eventually becomes global, with reporters from all over the world coming to report on the powerful story. With the help of the news reporters ex Rachel Kramer who volunteers at Green Peace, the news spreads and a plan to save the magical three grey whales is created. People from all over join forces, with enemies becoming allies due to the cause; we see the American and Russian military combine efforts with the local natives to save the family that are named Fred, Wilma and Bam Bam.
A truly beautiful moment is shown when fiercely protective Rachel played by Drew Barrymore goes down into the water and swims with the three whales, showing a brief enlightening moment between human and animals that suggest a joint understanding between the different species. The vulnerability of the whales causes your heart to contract as the mother tries to keep her baby alive, brushing him upwards to the hole to breath when he is weak. The combined efforts from people all over help to achieve the goal of creating more holes along the ice to lead the whales back to the sea and safety, with Wilma and Fred following the holes the response to viewing this is an intense relief however it is short lived when we realise that Bam Bam is not coming up and had sadly passed away in a moment of realisation that makes you catch your breath. However the film ends on a happier note as the Russians help means that the two whales are released back into the sea and into freedom.
Due to the story being a true story that took place in the 1980's I felt more of a connection with the tale and found myself willing for the people in the film to join together in order to save these poor and helpless creatures and wanting to be part of the rescue. This film works so well as it contains so many different relationships that we can all connect to on some level from mother trying to protect son, to humans joining together to help save the whales, to the connection that is formed between the whales and the humans, all of which are truly endearing. I think it shows a side to human nature that we hardly hear about or see that is kindness, hope and love all combined to save what may seem like just a couple more lives but the family of whales are so much more than that, they manage to join people in conflict in a joint cause which is a celebration in its self. The film used animatronics for the whales instead of choosing to use CGI however it worked so well as the whales looked realistic and were believable in their movements and looks. Ken Kwapis did an amazing job in directing this film as a lot of his decisions were on point in making a emotional piece of moving art that had just the right amount of drama and realism in order to tell this true story.
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