La grande onda

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!

Alright ....for those of you who can actually admit that you are annoyingly retentive on a movie having a clear plot, resolution, and all those school book-type terms from a movie, steer away from this one. You will be tearing your hair out=)

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For those of you who surf, who know what it *feels* like to ride a wave, you will appreciate this movie ( I guarantee) more than any other surf movie or documentary you've ever seen. Believe me, take it from a surfer. THESE 'ACTORS' ARE NOT ACTORS. THEY ARE WORLD-CLASS/COMPETITION SURFERS.



And though those retentive people will point out that they can't act, I am saying what they do in this film is the *only* way to act. Zalman King used his head here to have three world-class surfers, ( Matt George, Shane Patrick Dorian, and Matty Liu), one of which was #1 in the world for three straight years(Dorian). I have a friend who met him and told me how cool he was and that he's actually *very* self-conscious about the gap between his teeth. I think it is beautiful to watch him try to speak without showing it in the film, because this is a reflection of his true self; his true insecurity. He is also shy about being in the spotlight, even limiting televised interviews on surfing networks.

Anyway, the screen gladly welcomes him here, along with many other surfers, including many 'seniors' over 35, (one of which who invented the toe-in surfboard), who make a few cameos throughout the movie.



*** IF YOU'RE A CINEMATOGRAPHY LOVER (as I am) you will LOVE this movie. The waves, the colors, the sensuality. Yes, this movie is *very* sensual. This film was directed by the same guy who made 9 1/2 weeks, and Two Moon Junction. Because the main focus is on the surfing, the tiny love story in it keeps you wanting more. Somehow everything looks sensual (ie: flowing hair, pearls falling on a seashell in slow-mo, the smiling girl on the train, the music). Everything in this movie can be freeze-framed and it would never look boring. There is always something deep within each picture the characters seem to be thinking and transferring to the screen. SIMPLY PUT, this movie is a work of art.

*** IF YOU LIKE MOVIES TO ENLIGHTEN YOU, this movie will serve its purpose. It delves into the minds of these young men. It steers clear of trying to be something it's not. You end up wanting to be out there with them, riding those waves. You end up understanding, by the end of the film, why (at least Dorian) was always looking for that 'one big wave that starts all the other waves', to simply get that feeling. You'll end up wondering what would make you feel that way in your own life. It might be surfing.



And YES, this movie could've been changed to a documentary on surfers, but why? They would not have had as wide of an audience, and there are simply NOT enough movies about surfing out there. People need to know more about the greatest sport on Earth.

This movie is for everyone except for lazy, narrow-minded people, who can go back to criticizing movies that "should have been documentaries". (not to sound TOO harsh)=)

peace, -Sep

it is easy to criticize it. or define as a not the best movie. but it has a great virtue - the honesty. than - a kind of poetic image about a hobby. beautiful images. and something else who reminds a documentary. sure, it is not great or memorable. but it presents a not complicated story in correct manner. the passion, the death, the friendship, the small circle of few people, the personality of each, the advises for survive, the joy, pain and a kind of romanticism who can impress. a film about a risky sport and more than a hobby or competition. the good point is the portrait of a special form of solitude in middle of powerful solidarity. the strange form of hunting, adventure and madness. not the great script, not an extraordinary film. but, most important, a honest one.

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."

My boyfriend is a surfer and one night I rented this movie for us to watch. When he was out of the room I started it and as soon as he heard the waves crash he ran into the room. The movie is great because it has great action to keep the guys interested but there is an underlying romance between the extremely gorgeous Patrick Shane Dorian and a really pretty costar that makes it a good movie for couples to watch. My boyfriend was very appreciative and I'm sure any other guy would be too.