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(pre website edit)
First things first – this is a great surf movie.
Let’s forget the bar-tab running out 45 mins after the doors opened, before the film started.
Let’s forget the half-filled venue.
Let’s forget the grainy projector fed screen.
Let’s forget the notable absence of one, J Dub.Deep breath. Calm blue ocean. Righto.
From the get-go Scratching the Surface pulls you in and beats you upside the head with the talent that is Julian Wilson.
More real than Mod Coll and quite a fair bit more accessible than Castles in the Sky, Scratching the Surface was worth the wait.
After the ubiquitous hi-fi intro, we’re thrust into a Julian coming of age montage, which is sometimes funny, sometimes touching, but mostly blindingly embarrassing to ones own surf ability. By the age of 10, J Dub had mastered things that many of us haven’t even figured out by the age of 25, if at all – both on long and short boards (not to mention skateboards and snowboards!)The lengthy path that Julian has already traveled is succinctly edited into a worthy highlights reel, cut with a perfect song, helping to emphasize the legacy that is the Wilson clan and lay foundation for the craziness to come – both in the film and in real life.
From here, the viewer is taken on a no-expenses-spared trip around the world – Hawaii, Europe, Indo, Africa, Australia. With a bunch of buds in tow (Dane, Taj, Dusty, Mick) the crew dismantle a variety of average to super surf in a somewhat daunting hint of what is to come in Pro surfing - Hang on! Dane, Julian, Dusty? The future is now brah! (You’ve really got to feel for the guys that just got knocked from the ‘CT hey, once they see this, they’ll be ringing up council faster than you can say ‘How do I start my own surf school?’)
So what were the highlights oh avid and curious reader?
For one, the soundtrack was rulin’! Werd.
Second, I don’t think you can go past the two sessions at a pumping Greenbush. Giant left-hand barrels might not be everyones cup of tea – but they’re my cup of tea, so you’ll enjoy them or else! The swell they score is ridiculous, the wave is ridiculous and the crew trade deep keg after deep keg – it’s a great counter-balance to the air and rail work that makes up the bulk of the rest of the movie.
Thirdly, on that air and rail work, jeezars! The kid can fly can’t he!? The 18 months Julian took to make this film has helped to round and complete his surfing. There are absurd airs of all kinds; tweaked, tail-high reverses, bizarrely large straight airs and some alley-oops that were just plain silly. But what really stood out was everything that linked these together. The amount of flow and style that Julian has is akin to that of a surfer with far more years experience, he’s got the new ASP judging criteria fulfilled and then some. If he chooses to go down that path, it’s on!
If Julian wanted to produce a product that makes you not want to miss a wave from the film, whilst simultaneously wanting to turn it off, drop everything and go surf your brains out (see: Dane – First Chapter, Kelly Slater in B&W, Sabotaj, Montaj and to a lesser extent Fair Bits) then he has succeeded ten-fold.
Of course, we must remember the whole film was shot in HD and utilised some ridiculous technology. Heard of RED camera? Well check out Phantom (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKbgjAQFajM&feature=related)… this shit will blow your mind (if you’re into that kind of thing.) Despite the grainy projector fed screen (it was actually more rewarding to squint and watch the small screens next to the giant screen to get a feel for the HD) there were moments where they really used the Phantom to its full capacity – just when you forget they’re using it, bam! A double helicopter slow motion aerial angle. Pow! A super slow-mo finner. Thankfully these features weren’t overused.
The downfalls?
Well, I guess if we’re picking the eyes out of it (we are, it’s a review) then there isn’t a great deal of a storyline. Apart from the Julian Wilson coming-of-age section, the viewer doesn’t really get to know Julian a great deal better than we had at the start.
Secondly, although one of our other magazine buds has already mentioned it, what is the deal with the Frenchy in the back of the Euro super car? Just plain odd.
Finally, I would have liked a free copy to watch it all again.
Last things last – this is a great surf movie.
Let’s forget the bar-tab running out 45 mins after the doors opened, before the film started.
Let’s forget the half-filled venue.
Let’s forget the grainy projector fed screen.
Let’s forget the notable absence of one J Dub.
4 1/2 puka shell necklaces out of 5
