Les dieux du surf

If it weren't for the stunning footage of surfing in this film, it wouldn't even be worth writing about, let alone watching.

The writing, dialogue and story, is so ghastly, it's difficult to tell what Zalman King was thinking. Does he hate the sport? Did he realize that the highly polished, kinetically charged surfing sequences would have made a great documentary, and so he decided to show his contempt for them by slapping on empty-headed melodrama?

In the beginning there's some ludicrous high jinks in some African country (name of the country? I don't know -- New Orleans, I think, or maybe Hong Kong), followed by some scenes aboard a freighter (a freighter with no discernable purpose, manned by a crew of three), followed by a sequence at a surfer training camp (?), followed by scenes wherein one of the main characters gets struck down with a terrible sickness (yellow fever? small pox? heat cramps?), and then gets well. It ends with a bunch of surfing followed by a bunch of surfing.

The dialogue is hollowed-out, cheesy ersatz Kerouac, mostly from a fellow who talks into a tape recorder for some vague future purpose (Dennis Hopper in "The American Friend," anyone?)

On the upshot, if there was money spent on anything for "In God's Hands," it was the film stock and the cameras. Rarely has cinematography been this glisteningly, unabashedly beautiful, without a specific color scheme suited to the story (i.e. war movies, westerns). It rivals anything John Toll achieved in his photography for "The Thin Red Line." In the end, however, this film is reduced to being a ninety-six minute screen saver, and belongs in the same trash bin as Hype Williams' "Belly" and Claude Lelouche's "A Man and a Woman."

Firstly a word about this IMDb voting business. I'm a film buff, I can and generally do find enjoyment in most films, and this is a good example. If I were voting for the screenplay, direction, acting, it would get a 3. Technically a 6, yet for the cinematography a 10. I'm not fence sitting here, as a film is generally a team effort, utilising the skills of many, and to succeed the director/producers have to pull it all together, and pull up those lagging behind, not let them pull you under. Sadly the latter appears to be the case with "In God's Hands", hence the fact I find it hard to give a single vote, due to this disparity of skill, But all will become clear, as you read on,

Well although it's a few years old now, "In God's Hands" deserves some comment I feel. I've had it on DVD a few years, and only just got around to watching it a second time, (thanks to the random button on my DVD archive), as I probably would not have bothered otherwise.

But having got through it, it does have some redeeming qualities, and a few mind blowing ones, hence this additional comment for IMDb.

It is one of those films that could have been so much better, if only they had stuck to a core story line. Great surfing, huge waves, awesome locations, and some of the best cinematography you will EVER see, (but more on that shortly).

Where it all goes horribly wrong, is the fact these amazing surfers, some of the best in the world, are simply NOT actors. They are not aided by the fact much of the dialogue scripted them, is hammy beyond belief, the result of which nearly sinks this film.

Had the makers actually committed to making a surf movie, scrapped all the sub plot, and story lines used, it would have made a far better movie.

Actually the scenes with Brion James, show up the leads lack of acting ability, which isn't really fair on them, they are world class surfers after all, not actors. But it is a good example of just how a skilled actor, much like good special effects are transparent, You accept the performance without a second thought. The reverse is not true, and poor performances/acting ability, delivery, timing etc, tend to stand out during much of the surfers dialogue scenes. Maylin Pultar is worth a mention here, Parisian multi talented, multi artiste, really smolders in some scenes, and knows how to pull it off too, much of the time without a word uttered, (take note lads, this is how you should have handled your dialogue as well).

So back to the movie, and this is the sad bit really, this has to be one of the prettiest films of the last 20 years. John Aronson is without question a master behind the camera, knowing when to lock off, and not move the camera, to maximise the impact of some JUST PERFECT composition. When it's all out there, right in front of the lens, having the maturity to lock off, and just roll. GREAT, so seldom done these days, it is like a breath of fresh sea air. Such a shame, the writers were not as skilled.

The shots filmed from right there in the surf are great too, god knows how they did that safely?

The soundtrack is worth a mention here, as it is pretty good too actually, the big waves need some big subs though, but those frequencies go way, WAY down, so caution to those with unbalanced sound systems, and a preference to high volumes.

So what does all this leave us with? Well a mixed bag I'm afraid.

If you're a script writer, this is how NOT to do it. If you are a stills photographer, and/or have an appreciation for the golden rules, section, ratio, mean, light, shade and shadows, you will love this film, drop the audio out, cue up a Café del Mar CD, sit back and enjoy. If you're a budding cameraman, this is how it's done, make no mistake, old school rules or not, I can't think of more extreme shots, from locked off to in the surf! And if you are into surfing, you can't go wrong with this one, the surf scenes are simply great.

So it is what it is, (pity they didn't just let it be).

I am working as a lifeguard in many places all over the world...

These movie is the greatest i have seen - these waves - these guys...

If you like watersports - it is a must!!

I was in waves 6-7 meters - but in this movie - wohhh!

This film is definitely not for everyone. It is less about story, and more about life. It has a Zen-like quality about seeking for the pursuit of happiness. I am not a surfer, but I love this movie. As one who is an avid mountain biker, this film provides a dream of being able to enjoy a sport and a lifestyle to the max. Anybody who loves adventure sports would thoroughly love this movie. Not only is it fun to watch for the lifestyle, but the cinematography is absolutely amazing. It's hard to find better.

Tonight I though about watching the 9PM-movie. It was called "In God's Hands" and I were not really sure about it. I decided to do the usual "pre-sneak" ; reading a few IMDb reviews plus the average rating. The <5pts rating was speaking bad about the film from all the beginning. However, I though "I'll not let the mainstream opinion hold me down, I'll give this movie a shot". Next review was totally different from the first one. Someone wrote about it as an excellent film, but he/she understood why people had given it such bad review, though it should be watched by people who can relate to the story / scenario / lifestyle which the film is built on.

I got even more interested and eazed back in the bed, made my self comfortable and thus ready for watching the film. I saw it, really tensed to the television, even to excited to go get myself a glass of Coca-Cola during the commercials. Furthermore, now when I've seen and analyzed the film from A to Z, I can tell you, the film is really great. I couldn't find any Really wack actors, and the story worked fine with me. A few hidden "wisdom-quotes" made the film even more touching.

Go see this one!