The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52

This is a film raised a fair few notches by the wonder of geekery, the absolute joy of seeing scientists living and breathing their work.

The result is a touching, often beautiful film. The Loneliest Whale is certainly informative, but, perhaps more importantly for our day and age, it's a mood piece that will speak to those who find something evocative and relatable about the story of 52.

While the dive into the history of the whaling industry is a welcome departure, Zeman's insistence of inserting himself in the action is intrusive and distracting.

The enthusiasm and unflappability of the crew are engaging, even when the film feels a bit at sea.

[A]s it wends toward that conclusion, The Loneliest Whale is both invigorating and calming to watch.

Neither slick nor propulsive, "The Loneliest Whale" gently combines aquatic adventure and bobbing meditation on our own species's environmental arrogance.

The spirit of enquiry comes to the fore.

What could have been a somewhat interesting scientific journey, searching for a whale on its own in the vast seas, casts even wider ripples, during a time when so many of us feel cut off from our own.

A scientific quest for a whale unable to communicate with other whales that is also a metaphor for loneliness in our times.

Rather than offer a simple story around trying to find a sad whale, Zeman interrogates the assumptions we've conjured around the 52-hertz whale.