Alright, I’m writing to inform you all that there is a movie out there right now, on Netflix, that you need to stop what you’re doing and watch immediately. Put down the fork. Turn off the computer. Put the kids to bed. Priority #1 for the next 90 minutes should be logging onto Netflix, scrolling to the documentaries section, and pressing play on The Endless Summer, a surf film from 1966.
Filmmaker Bruce Brown
The movie is directed by legendary surfing filmmaker Bruce Brown, who recently passed away at the age of 80. Bruce gifts us with a journey that follows California surfers, Mike Hynson, and Robert August, as they trek around the world in search of the endless summer and perfect wave. The crew starts their journey in Africa before heading down to South Africa and then eventually on to Australia and New Zealand.
As someone who has never even stepped foot (literally) on a surfboard, I want to quit my job right now and find the perfect wave in South Africa to rip to shreds as soon as yesterday. The film is a mix of silent footage narrated by Bruce Brown himself, coupled with a groovy guitar soundtrack from the 1960’s band The Sandals, who have immediately been added to my Spotify playlist. The film itself is just so unique in that it follows these two dudes across the world as they hang ten at some of the most discrete, unique beaches known (and unknown) to mankind. They interact with the locals at each location, my favorite being the short stint teaching the children of Ghana what surfing even is, and then hitchhike their way on to the next premium spot.
It’s remarkable really. The amount of travel they did over the course of a few months in their quest for the forever endless summer. It makes you want to grab a surfboard and head out to the nearest beach to cruise the waves. I don’t even know if that’s surfer lingo but this movie has me thinking it is. Check out the trailer below and do yourself a favor this year by giving The Endless Summer a few hundred views through.
Twenty18 Movie Rating:
