Shaka

"Shaka" is a documentary in praise of Mathieu Crrepel, an extraordinary young athlete who began competitive snowboarding at age nine and ultimately became a world champion. His longtime friend, filmmaker Morgan Le Faucheur, captures Crepel's astonishing feats on a snowboard, as he defies gravity to perform triple flips in the air, sails across enormous obstacles, and rides down the contours of huge, snow-packed mountains from peak to ground. All of that is spectacular, but the heart of "Shaka" is a decision by Crepel, an affable and buoyant fellow, to take on another challenge: surfing. Faucheur switches gears, and suddenly "Shaka" goes tropical as we watch some of the finest surfers in the world competing at Oahu's North Shore and on the coast of Maui where a nervous Crepel faces the ultimate test riding the infamous "Jaws" wave. An interesting chapter in this story is Crepel's training in freediving and holding his breath for minutes at a time, a dangerous test that leaves him unconscious and underwater at times. Faucheur trains his lens on other surfers as well, and at times almost seems to be filming right alongside them as they ride the curls. Strongly recommended. Aud: E, I, J, H, C, P. (T. Keogh)