Bustin Down The Door (Jeremy Gosch, 2007): USA

Jeremy Gosch’s “Bustin down the doors” is an exciting adventure into the past about a group of young guys becoming the first professional surfers. Back in 1975, there were no professional surfers, just people who surfed as a hobby. During this time five young guys, Shaun Tomson, Ian Cairns, Mark Richards. Wayne Bartholomew and peter Townend had a different perspective on surfing. By using surfing as a creative outlet, these young guys lost themselves in what was soon to be one of the biggest sports in the world. These four guys had no idea where they were taking the sport. By surfing everyday for eight hours, they moved faster and faster toward a dream they never knew existed in themselves. I saw this film the second screening at the Arlington and it was completely packed full of young people in support of the sport. It felt really cool to be a part of viewing the history of a great sport that so many people in the community take part in. I felt a different energy level in this theatre than most of the others. I could feel how engaged the audience was without even looking at their faces. What made this film so special was the amazing archival footage and photos presented. I was very surprised how good the quality of both the clips and still photos were. Seeing the progression of surfing through the old footage to the most recent was very special.

The archival footage and photos gave the audience a real taste of what it was like for these young talented surfers. I was amazed with a lot of the footage because they were a lot better than I thought they were going to be. These guys surfed some of the biggest waves I have ever seen. I was surprised that these guys evolved so quick and surfed so well. The way these surfers naturally flowed through the waves was incredible. The film also goes into the struggle of territorial issues they had with some local Hawaiians.

The screening of “Bustin Down The Doors” was surreal to me. I recommend this film to anyone. Looking through the life of these surfers was moving and I will always remember this experience.