Storm Surfers 3D (Justin Mcmillan, Christopher Nelius, 2012): Australia

Reviewed by Reyes Munoz. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (2013), The Arlington Theater.

Storm Surfers 3D is by far my favorite film from this year’s festival. I am not usually a big fan of 3D films but this one was an exception, and a very good one indeed. Justin Mcmillan and Christopher Nelius follow and document as group of famous and world renowned big-wave surfers from Australia as they try to find and tackle some of the worlds biggest, most dangerous, and harshest waves ever encountered by surfers, or human beings for that matter. This film is quite a unique experience for various reasons. For starters, the surfers are both the stars and filmmakers of this documentary as they manage to film themselves riding big waves and going inside the barrel of a wave all while holding 2 Go-Pro Cams that are perfectly synchronized to give the audience the full 3D effect. These surfers and filmmakers are without a doubt some of the most courageous and hard working individuals out there in the freezing waters, despite what the documentary says about them – a bunch of spoiled and lazy beach bums. These guys are explorers, adventures, scientists, and in many ways pioneers of their sport.

I was very surprised at how excellent the quality of the footage was despite only using Go-Pro Cams. The cinematography and imagery is beautiful. The 3D effects are mind blowing as I found myself wanting to wipe away droplets of water that seemed to be on my 3D glasses. The camera work is great and the quality is that of a motion picture rather than that of a low-budget documentary. The underwater shots were my favorite as it shows what happens to a surfers when he wipes out and gets sucked into this vortex of salty water which forces the surfer to remain underwater for a long time. Kind of scary.

What captivated me the most about this film were the film’s stars: professional surfing legends Tom Carroll and Ross Clarke-Jones. As both Carroll and Jones reach their middle ages, they both seem young spirited and young at heart as they can’t seem to stop “exploring the globe for that elusive rush of adrenaline and thrill of danger, in search of the ultimate wave.” After the credit we had a chance to meet the cast and crew for a session of Q&A. What was interesting about the meet and greet is that the cast and crew seemed so at ease and friendly. It felt like we were watching them on the screen all over again. They gave great advice in terms of surfing and filmmaking by saying “If we can do it, then any of you can sure as hell do it. Maybe not when it comes to surfing those monstrous waves but surely when it comes to getting out there and surfing or simply just shooting something on film.”

Overall, Storm Surfers 3D is a great film to watch whether you like surfing or not. This can even serve as a motivational film for many who have never even considered surfing, like myself.