DOCUMENTARY Review: Julie Angelicola

Step Into Liquid (2003)

Director/Writer: Dana Brown

I love surfing documentaries so for this week’s review I watched Step Into Liquid, one of Dana Brown’s many films aimed at exploring and understanding the culture of surfing and the people who love it. Step Into Liquid is narrated by Dana Brown who tends to narrate almost all of his films. Through his narration we are taken across the United States and far across the globe to different surf spots, some well-known, some best kept secrets, and introduced to everyone that has formed relationships with them. Dana becomes the voice of authority although he is merely guiding us to different locales. He is less authoritative and more like our own personal tour guide

The people we meet along the way vary from pro-surfers, men and women, children, parents, grandparents and entire families. These people share their stories of who they are, what they’ve become, their journeys, and why they’ve all turned to surfing as an important part of their lives. Some stories involve life or death situations while some are light-hearted accounts. By traveling across the globe we meet people of many different cultures and gather a well-rounded and unbiased view of surfing. The film does a great job of exposing the viewer to new and uncharted territories. If you already surf it makes you long to get back into the water again, and if you don’t surf it makes you willingly want to try it. There are no stereotypes, no stuntmen, and no special effects.

The story of the film progresses through countless interviews with these people, employing a primarily talking heads style documentary. We learn to understand the events and situations of the film through these interviews. There is not one primary character like in narrative films. In the film there are struggles but in a different way than a protagonist facing a problem he must overcome. These struggles are recounted, not faced in the present. This film is not direct cinema or a self-reflexive documentary. The film making process is not explored and the narrator is not seen as a character. Through the talking heads interviews the viewer is exposed to the breaking of stereotypical surfers and shown that this is a sport or hobby for anyone and everyone. There is a connection between the style of the film and surfing itself, showing that it is not judgmental and invites you to join at any time.

This film is different because like most documentaries it doesn’t make claims, arguments or assertions about the world. It is simply a journey to explore surfing and those who hold it so dearly. The goal of the film is to show the viewer surfing and surfers in a pure and natural state.