Kelly Slater and a group of friends arrive in Tahiti.
With their host, Tahitian surfer Raimana Van Bastolaer
they will seek out the best waves breaking on the
reef at the famed surf site Teahupo’o. Kelly
and Raimana share a passion for the waves, but different
ideas about what surfing means: is it a modern competitive
sport or an ancient Polynesian wave-riding art? Either
way, if the right conditions arise, they hope to surf
some unique giant barrels created by storm swells
breaking atop the shallow reef.
As the surfer’s quest unfolds, the film explores
the hidden forces at work shaping the waves and the
islands that lie in their path. In stylized animated
segments, the audience is propelled into the cosmos
to discover the sources of a wave’s energy;
and then back to Earth to witness the swirling dance
of the atmosphere that will transfer energy deep into
the ocean and shape a wave’s long journey across
thousands of miles of open Pacific.
It’s not easy to predict the best surf and
Raimana hopes his visitors will get what they’ve
come for; in the meantime, he helps keep them entertained.
Waiting for the big swells to arrive, the troop engage
in breath-hold training, paddling an outrigger canoe
and carving up the gentle surf. A local young surfer
boy performs carless antics on a long board under
Raimana’s supervision. At night around the fire,
dancers evoke the ancient rites of the Polynesian
culture.
In animation we witness as fiery volcanic mountains
grow up from the depths of the sea to become lush,
reef-ringed island chains. The blood of the seafaring
people that first rode the waves still runs in the
veins of modern islanders. Raimana reflects on the
arrival of the ancient Polynesians by canoe across
the Pacific.
On the reef we explore the fantastic marine life:
turtles, fish and sharks. The interplay of island,
reef and waves has shaped a habitat dense with nutrients
and life.
Suddenly there is surf. It’s modest but the
surfers are enjoying themselves spectacularly, launching
and performing: Raimana with his paddle and classic
long board, Kelly with his short board performing
elegant flourishes and aerobatic leaps. There is great
surfing action, but there are bigger waves on the
way.
Clouds swirl ominously through the mountainous islands,
through ancient sites and weather beaten homes. Around
the reef lie the scattered wrecks of ships and even
an old Catalina flying boat - waves and weather
continuously reshape the island and its people.
On the sea surface, we witness in animation as a
tiny wave is formed and absorbs energy, evolving into
a giant on a chaotic, storm-driven sea. Waves can
carry storm energy thousands of miles before colliding
with land.
At Teahupo’o, the great waves arrive. On the
reef, surfing play becomes surfing survival as Kelly
Slater tackles some of the heaviest plunging breakers
on the planet - speeding through thundering
barrels as they collapse around him.
Onshore, Kelly and Raimana reflect on the risks,
rewards and injuries - and the loss of friends
to the hazard of the shallow reef. In the water, we
see surfers wiping out and being swept under the wave.
Bells toll ominously in an island church. On the rocky
shore, Tahitian dancers interface with the spirits
of the sea.
In a series of animation vignettes we see how the
chaos of storm-driven waves resolves into ordered
wave sets and how the energy of arriving swells becomes
concentrated by the sea bottom, creating different
kinds of breaking waves. Among the examples are the
plunging breakers that surfers both prize and fear
- including the unusually heavy breakers that
arise at Teahupoo under just the right conditions.
Kelly and Raimana consider what makes a great surfing
wave. In an extended surfing sequence showcasing Kelly
and Raimana, we see the magic of high-performance
surfing on modest breakers.
At the end of day, exhausted surfers climb out of
the water to relax on the beach. At night, around
the fire, the surfers celebrate great surfing with
local musicians before departing the next day for
distant shores and other waves. In the final moments,
Raimana muses that you don’t have to chase the
perfect wave; if you are patient, it will come to
you. He swims across the reef, through the waves - around him are dolphins and humpback whales and the
wide Pacific.
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