El Mar Mi Alma The Sea, My Soul (Stephan Jones, 2011):Australia

Reviewed by Natanya Maskart. Viewed at the Metro 4 Theatre, Santa Barbara

I have always loved surf documentaries and thought that this one was very unique and stood out from most others.  The movie El Mar, Mi Alma: the sea, my soul is a very culturally captivating documentary with an innovative twist. It is not just like any other surf documentary but enriched with knowledge, stories and history of Chile and some of the struggles these natives encounter with their coastlines. Most other surf documentaries are just about the surfers and the waves and not about the place where they are at and the culture and the people who live there. I enjoy hearing about the natives in these different places and getting some information from a film without just watching them catch waves the entire movie. It is an insight to these amazing surfers journey, traveling the world riding new waves and fighting for environmental issues trying to protect the ocean which they cherish so much. They join forces with the locals of Chile who are also affected by the way in which the ocean is being treated.

This film starts out with showing the beautiful coastline and amazing waves this place has to offer to the surf world, and the surfers who traveled here on this insightful journey. Showing the audience not only the ocean and how beautiful it is but also the land and the culture of the natives and their way of life. Showing of the bright enriching colors of the country and different native music throughout the film.  This film is not only designed for surf lovers but also to people interested in different places and environmental issues. This film is culturally captivating and shows of the breathtaking landscapes and locals way of life. Many of the images shown are filled with amazing surf technique, skilled riders which are intertwined with the amazing waves the Chile coastline produces while embarking to different places up and down the coast finding some of the best surf spots the world has to offer.

With the film being narrated by a local who begins speaking in Spanish, he starts speaking very beautifully about the ocean and how important it is to him as well as to the world and everything in which it has to offer to people and life.  The narration of the film makes the audience get to experience the simplicity of life this place has to offer and how the people of this land are so connected to the ocean, as are surfers. The film is not just narrated by this one man but also by many other natives who are being interviewed and asked questions by the director Stephan Jones. They are asked about the different environmental struggles that negatively affect their country caused by improper waste management causing runoff and big sea fisherman making the local fisherman unable to compete and be successful.

This film was very beautifully done and very visually artistic. I thought that the poetry mixed with the music and different clips of the ocean and surfing was very enjoyable and entertaining for the viewer. I would recommend this film to all surfer and people who like to travel. You get to learn so much about world issues and how other people live around the world. I think if people saw the other surf documentary Splinters they would also really enjoy this because it shows a way of life for people. I think both these films will be a big hit at the festival because this is a beach community and there are so many surfers who would most likely enjoy seeing these films. It was very cool because not until the end of the documentary did they mention the pro surfers that were in this film because they wanted the focus to stay more on the issues of the ocean rather then the big name surfers. For those of you who are not into surfing and have never really known much about it i also think you would enjoy it. when i was sitting in the theatre i sat by a man and his mother and the mom kept on saying how amazing it was to see these young kids ride such big waves and had never really seen this before in her life and was so captivated by it. So i don’t think you have to be a surfer to enjoy watching this amazing sport.