Step Into Liquid

Synopsis: Surfing is a practice that has been around for more than 2000 years. Today it is more than a sport – it’s a passion that grips its devotees and lasts a lifetime. This stunning documentary takes us into the surfer’s world, but goes way beyond stereotyped images of blonde, bronzed pipeline surfers, to those who are so obsessed they surf on Lake Michigan in Wisconsin, in the wake of supertankers in the Gulf of Mexico, Texas, and in the freezing waters of Donegal, Ireland.

Director Dana Brown is the son of Bruce Brown whose classic film The Endless Summer brought the surfing genre into cinemas back in 1966. Himself a surfer he carries his passion into his film-making. He is at pains to proclaim at the start that there are no special effects in this movie. All we see is the real thing. The film avoids over-glamorising the sport or concentrating on the big-bucks star side of it, but wants rather to convince us of how the real key to understanding life and oneness with the universe is through riding the waves.

I’m no surfer, never graduating beyond my polystyrene zippy board nor have seen the old surfie films, but this one totally enthralled me. The cinematography is mind-blowing with the shots taking us right into the pipeline and thrilling us with the danger and skill involved. The film takes us to spectacular surfing locations like Teahupo’o in Tahiti, Mavericks in California, and the wild coast of Western Australia. We accompany a band of daredevils who surf 65 ft waves in the ocean, 100 miles off shore – terrifying and mind-boggling images! The best women surfers are also featured, including Australia’s Layne Beachley, and there is a nostalgic look at what became of some of the old surfies post-Gidget.

But perhaps it is the human element that ultimately overrides any visual impact. Particularly moving is the story of Jessie who broke his neck in a surfing accident, but his buddies still tow him out each day on a purpose-designed board so that he can continue to surf. Or the Malloy Brothers who visit County Donegal in Ireland each year to shock the locals as they brave the freezing waters, and to bring together kiddies from Protestant and Catholic backgrounds, and show them, through the sport, that they can be friends and have fun together whilst past champs like Gerry Lopez, now 52 years old, still hang out with their mates on waves simply for the sheer pleasure of it. As Gerry says, you can’t play football much past your thirties, but surfing can be for life.

 

 

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