THE LONGEST WAVE : Tuesday 8th December 2020.

I saw 'THE LONGEST WAVE' at my local multiplex last week, and this documentary film is Directed, Written and Co-Produced by Joe Berlinger, who among his forty-eight Directing and fifty-three Producer credits are included 'Brother's Keeper', 'Book of Shadows : Blair Witch 2', 'Metallica : Some Kind of Monster', 'Crude', 'Under African Skies', 'Tony Robbins : I Am Not Your Guru', 'Intent to Destroy' and 'Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile' most recently last year. Berlinger and his close collaborator Bruce Sinofsky are perhaps best known for their Paradise Lost Trilogy 'Paradise Lost : The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills' released in 1996, 'Paradise Lost 2 : Revelations' released in 2000 and 'Paradise Lost 3 : Purgatory' released in 2011 which earned the pair an Academy Award nomination. The trilogy, shot over two decades, focused on the 'West Memphis Three', a group of teenagers who were wrongfully convicted of the brutal murder of three children. For this film, however, Berlinger takes a very different turn from his usual focus on true-crime and social justice issues to home in on the legendary windsurfer, pioneering waterman and twenty-four time world champion Robby Naish. 

Throughout his esteemed career spanning some forty years, Robby Naish has pioneered watersports including windsurfing, kiteboarding, stand-up paddle-boarding and foil surfing to become front and centre for the watersports adventurer the world over and in the process has accumulated twenty-four championship titles. We join the Oscar nominated film-maker Joe Berlinger following a series a talking head testimonials from those who grew up with Robby (including Laird Hamilton, Pete Cabrinha, Chuck Patterson, Kai Lenny and Rick Naish) and came through his watersports of choice with him. Over an online conversation Robby discusses with Joe a planned trip to potentially three long wave hotspots on the world circuit - Skeleton Bay in Namibia, Chicama in Peru and as the last option Pavones in Costa Rica. Robby elects to take his 20 or so year old protege Kai Lenny with him and his long term friend who is closer to Robby's age, Chuck Patterson. 

Robby won his first world title at the age of just thirteen, at the 1976 Windsurfing World Championships in the Bahamas and now that he's in his mid-50's he's reached a junction in his life with which comes the inevitable question of just how much longer is it likely to be before he officially retires from the sports that have given him so much and which have been his overriding focus in the last four decades. 

Robby's family members, friends and associates readily describe him with a single-minded obsession with surfing and winning any surfing competition he chooses to compete in. Whilst being a sore loser he’s also generous when it comes to helping, supporting and mentoring other surfers (Kai Lenny as a case in point). Naish openly admits this is true, and he knows that his unwavering focus on being a pro-surfer (which has included long periods away from home over the years) has resulted in his two marriages ending in divorce. Robby was going through his second divorce at the time this documentary was being filmed. 

As if that separation wasn't enough, Robby experienced some major challenges during the making of this film, including a broken pelvis (which required a recovery of at eight months, or so) and then a broken foot. While traveling to Skeleton Bay in Namibia, the Naish team had the unfortunate luck of several of their luggage items (including Naish’s surfboards and gear) not arriving, so they spent the best part of a very frustrating week watching the surf that they couldn’t ride, and when they could surf the wind picked up and so did the swell making conditions ultimately too perilous. 

Despite such setbacks Robby doesn't let these obstacles stand in his way, but you would be forgiven for wondering just how much longer he is willing to risk severe injuries in the pursuit of his chosen sport and career which has defined him. He makes it plain in this film that he has no regrets, and he’ll keep surfing as long as he’s physically able to.

In the end Robby and Chuck Patterson and an abridged film crew go to Pavones in Costa Rica (by this time Kai Lenny blindsided Robby with a decision to go it alone and leave the Naish stable) and there ride one of the longest waves on his standup paddle-board and on a foiler, which by this time Robby had mastered too. 

You don't have to be a mad keen surfer to enjoy 'The Longest Wave'. There are some great moments of aerial footage on show here and big wave riders which makes this a film to be best seen on a big screen. Robby opens up about his personal life, the struggles he has faced as a husband, father, businessman and mentor and how his love for his chosen sport defines him and as such the way in which he has chosen to live his life and pursue his dreams. This film feels a little disjointed at times, and I was left wondering if this was a biographical doco charting the life of Robby Naish, or a film of Robby Naish seeking the longest wave ride as his last hurrah. That said, it's worth seeking out this Red Bull Films production and seeing just how many times you can spot their product placement, as well as some great surfing photography and seeing how Robby's determination ultimately wins the day.  

'The Longest Wave' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-