Surfwise

This movie is not about surfing, although that is the background. It is a movie about parenting.

"Doc" Paskowitz drops out and becomes a surfer. he marries and has nine children. They all travel about the country in a 24' trailer.

Now, one can imagine the effect on the children as their brothers and sisters were being made right before their eyes in that trailer. They had sex every single night. "Doc" had his life, but what about them? No schools, no friends, just traveling from place to place so daddy can find himself.

Of course, you may accept his beliefs that "cultures (like ours) that are all f*cked up about f*cking, will decline and cause wars." And, maybe you can accept that having a bad family is better than no family.

But, you have to agree that his method of parenting had serious implications for how his children lived in the real world.

I couldn't have went back.

I found Surfwise to be a compelling watch. It's all about Dorian Paskowitz, a Stanford educated doctor who, after two failed marriages, decides to travel the world as an organic- living surf bum. With him is his wife Juliette, and their brood of nine (yes, nine) children. All boys and one girl. They travel everywhere in a camper, living poor and off the grid, going from wave to wave.

The Paskowitz family found some fame in the 70s and 80s, when their kids were young and winning surf contests. But as each child hit their late teens or early 20s, they wanted to go their own way, and this was considered treason by Dorian.

We meet each of the Paskowitz kids (now in their 30s and 40s) and Dorian "Doc" (in his 80s) and they each recount the adventures of traveling around like nomads and being the envy of normal, school-going kids wherever they went. That's the other thing. Dorian didn't send his kids to school. Whoops.

Bizarre as it may sound, this Stanford-educated guy actually rationalizes his unbelievably poor decision to not school any of his children. His attitude towards everything is self- serving. Did he never once pause and think "what if one of my children wants to become a doctor?". Maybe, but he didn't seem to care.

In fact, he rationalizes A LOT of self-serving decisions. Like trying to have sex with a 100 different women as fast as possible. Like having sex with his wife every night in the camper while his children were forced to listen.

As a result of the lifestyle they grew up with, the Paskowitz's seem fairly bitter. Like they were forced to stay on vacation for a decade. If you think about it, what would a childhood spent riding in the back of a camper with nothing but your siblings to keep you company be like? After the first few weeks, it would seem LIKE HELL!!!!!!!!!!

And Dorian's wife is eerily complicit with everything. The kids admit that they were beaten and that Dorian was basically a dictator. Did she say nothing?

I found the surfing aspect to the story fascinating as I can certainly understand Dorian's love of the sport and desire to drop out of mainstream existence. But in between his flights of poetic description in comparing surfing to "the jaguar, and the leap of the gazelle" (admittedly enticing) is his creepily propulsive swearing and messiah complex.

Frankly, Dorian just struck me overall as kind of a creepy weirdo who I wouldn't let near kids in the first place. Him and his wife. Their blank stares as they gaze at the cameras reminiscing about how they told their daughter to always thank someone for having sex with her. Bizarre.

Anyway, good surfing footage, and watch this movie for a good examples of how not to raise kids.

Dorian Paskowitz marches to a different drummer and he marched his wife and 9 children to that same beat. The sad theme was that "Doc" naively behaved as if his children were clones of him.

Anyone who is emotionally invested in eliminating diversity from our society will probably have a strong negative reaction to this film.

I'm glad the family decided to pull together for this film. Keeping group of siblings on good terms is a challenge for any family. This family has very special reasons for harboring animosity towards each other and I think it is a testament to the power of love and discipline that they seem to have come to terms with their lot in life.

If Doc and Juliette had been abusive alcoholics living in welfare housing there would have been no movie, nothing unique and certainly no happy reunion at the end. Those families are more acceptable and less remarkable than the Paskowitz family to the American sensibilities because they do not eschew the State but are assimilated into its worst functions.

I wish the kids would have spoken out against family violence. The film doesn't sweep it under the carpet but it certainly doesn't use the opportunity to speak out against it either. Jahfre

Just as the Godfather is a movie about family not crime, so is Surfwise a movie about family not surfing. And although this movie (or the vast majority of all movies) doesn't come close to the cinematic value of the Godfather, it's still one hell of good ride.

The film follows the lives of the Paskowitz family, detailing their strange upbringing that is in equal parts inspirational, radical, and debilitating. There family is so large, personalities so varied, talents so strong that it's easy to get lost between everyone yet the film manages to tie it all wonderfully together.

Full of home video footage, mixed with interviews and some lines causing me to spew whatever I was drinking in laughter and astonishment, this documentary keeps you engaged and thinking the entire time.

It's a powerful story, a mind-boggling piece of 'what if' psychology, and easily appreciated even if you are not a fan of surfing.

Don't be fooled by the title. Surfwise is much more than a surfing movie. It chronicles the amazing journey of "Doc" Paskowitz, his nine kids and his beautiful and understanding wife Juliette. After two failed marriages, the doc packs up his "normal" life and goes Bohemian, living off the earth while teaching people how to surf. The highly religious man meets his life partner in Juliette and they immediately start having kids - one after the other. But that's where the normalcy ends. They travel around the country in a 24' cramped trailer – all eleven of them, eating healthy, the kids getting home schooled, surfing everyday, and staying below the radar from truant officers. To make money, the Paskowitz' start a surf school and "Doc" would occasionally take low-level medical positions. As was the case with "Doc," the kids became champion surfers and the family was profiled numerous times in magazine articles and television segments. Although many outsiders found this nomadic lifestyle idyllic, the kids started to rebel against "Doc." He was unyielding, he didn't offer them options, and it was either his way or "off" the highway as it were. It also didn't help that their parents were having sex just about every night in a small trailer with the nine of them watching and listening. As their hormones kicked in, they needed sexual release as well, but those needs were not met because they were constantly travelling without any chance to make their own relationships. One by one, they left the fold. Many of the kids became estranged from their parents and each other. But through it all, the kids turned out to be smart, intelligent, good parents, creative and successful in many ways. The cynicism in many would think that out of this dysfunctional upbringing would come the typical end game of suicides, failed marriages, or any other downers. But this couldn't be further from the truth.

What lingers is the fact that I really liked these people. I wanted to get to know them better and hang out with them. What "Doc" was preaching years ago is now fact – eating well, preserving the planet and loving one another is essential to survival. And although he didn't give his kids a choice and forced them to live life "his way," one can't really fault him for trying to give them the best that he thought was right.

Doug Pray makes great documentaries and I look forward to his next one.

Screened at the Starz Denver Film Festival.