Water Sports: Just a bunch of folks getting wet

Is this for you?

If you have any interest in how people spent their time on the water a few decades ago, you will probably dig this. If you are looking for a story, or even a coherent theme, you are going to be bored to tears within five minutes. 🌊

It is essentially a collection of clips where people just go fast. No narrator trying to tell you how profound the ocean is. Just wind, waves, and a lot of spray.

The highlight

There is this one moment with Christian Peterson that honestly made me rewind the tape. He is doing a human surfboard bit at 45 mph. Forty-five miles per hour.

Watching him balance like that, you can tell he is absolutely terrified, or maybe just completely out of his mind. It is a strange, jarring shot that looks way more dangerous than anything in The Siren.

• The sailboat racing parts feel like they last for an eternity.
• The camera work is mostly just 'point and hope for the best.'
• The salt spray on the lens makes everything look a bit blurry, which is kinda charming.

It’s not as tightly put together as something like La Joie de vivre, but it has this weird, frantic energy. It feels like the person filming just wanted to get back on their own board as soon as possible.

I don't think anyone involved thought they were making high art. They were just filming their friends doing stuff that would probably get them sued today. 🏄‍♂️

The pacing is all over the place. Sometimes it feels like a dream, other times it is just a guy holding a camera while getting smacked in the face by a wave. I kinda respect that lack of polish.

You can see the seams everywhere. It’s messy. It’s loud. It’s wet. Honestly, it’s a pretty fun way to waste twenty minutes if you’re bored.