Ross Whitaker’s documentary on a year in the Irish surfing mecca of Lahinch should be required viewing for anyone interested in studying cinematography. The camerawork by Whitaker, Kev L. Smith, and Brian Moore is simply stunning, with striking views of majestic yet also tumultuous coastline and breathtaking presentations of amazing surfers riding extraordinary waves. Unfortunately, the glorious camerawork covering the aquatic feats of man and nature is stuck in a lackadaisical narrative following the surfers who descend on Lahinch and travel along the Irish coast in search of the perfect wave. Viewers do get a glimpse into their lives away from the beach—one is a freelance mining engineer married to a designer soap maker, another walked away from professional surfing to raise his family on an organic potato farm—but these individuals tend to be most interesting when they are standing on a surfboard. Surfing icon Shane Dorian turns up briefly, but is never directly interviewed. A fantastic-looking if also somewhat meandering surfing documentary, this is a strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)
Between Land and Sea
(2018) 94 min. DVD: $24.95. Film Movement (avail. from most distributors). Closed captioned. Volume 33, Issue 6
Between Land and Sea
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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