In this powerful documentary, first-time director Danny Samit uses a steady, unrelenting style to present Wada, Japan. Wada is one of the last remaining traditional whaling villages in coastal Japan with a yearly hunt of 26 Baird’s beaked whales. Revealing interviews with townspeople, scientists, and environmentalists are intertwined seamlessly with footage of the whaling town and unprecedented access to its butcher house. Samit’s film elegantly shows that there isn’t one distinct Japanese perspective on whaling. It closely examines what actually happens to the whales and their meat, and wrestles with the whaling controversy through the lens of a small town trying to hold onto its tradition, forced to defend itself against the world’s scrutiny.