Antonius Block
This is a documentary that will stick with you. It chronicles the story of Kevin Pearce, who was one of the best snowboarders in the world prior to suffering a career-ending brain injury during a practice run 49 days before the 2010 Olympics. While that may seem like a story fairly narrow in scope, this is a layered film, and you certainly don't need to be a huge snowboarding fan to love it. It's human drama, asks some fundamental questions, and is brilliantly told by director Lucy Walker.To start with, there is the accident itself, which was not only caught on film, but which had filmmakers there beforehand, as Pearce and his buddies in the 'Frends' crew (so named because there is no I in friends) were gearing up for the Olympics. The way Walker presents it is masterful: after the guys play rock-paper-scissors to determine the run order, Pearce drops in, everything seems routine, and then he falls so unexpectedly. There is no build-up, it's just as it happened, and just as things happen in life. She was there to film the immediate aftermath with friends and family, and then stuck with the story for 4 years, on Pearce's long road to recovery, which was filled with physical, mental, and spiritual challenges.Along the way, Walker rewinds through Pearce's childhood and his ascent to becoming a serious challenger to Shaun White (if not already better than him) in the years between the 2006 Olympics and 2009, having beaten him in several competitions. That caused White to kick Pearce out of his apartment, effectively ending their friendship (these two Friends, despite going back to when they were young, certainly had an 'I' in their relationship, that belonging to White). White is interviewed for the film, and far from demonizing him or exercising a heavy hand, Walker simply lets the facts and people speak for themselves. White is a genius snowboarder but also a selfish loner, obsessed with winning, which runs counter to the sport's culture; while Pearce is just as competitive, he's beloved for his attitude and generosity.But this is really the story of what happens in recovery. Pearce first struggles just to survive and then to regain control of basic body functions, but all along he still has the dream of returning to snowboarding. However, he has TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), which creates a whole host of complications: memory loss, mood swings, impulse control issues, diminished ability to decide things for himself, and substantially higher risk for serious injury if he hits his head again. The sport is full of people who have gone back to it after one TBI only to get another, and become incapacitated or die. In a moving and disturbing scene, Pearce meets one such guy, who, while still mobile, is pretty far gone, and abusive to his own mother.Pearce's family is, quite frankly, amazing. It's so close-knit and a model of unity and love, with both parents supporting their son but calmly expressing their concerns. His brothers simply do the same. The documentary really fleshes all of them out, showing footage from them growing up, the brothers competing (including David, who has Down's syndrome, in handicapped competitions), and the dad's glass-making business. As Pearce stubbornly persists in his desire to snowboard when it almost seems laughable to the rest of us who are not the best in the world at something (and who may forget it would be like telling Mozart he could no longer make music), the fundamental question starts to emerge: when does your decision to pursue your passion, the thing that drives you, become selfish because of the grave risks, and what you've put your loved ones through? To see these conversations with doctors, therapists, friends, and at the family dinner table, and to see them evolve over the years, is outstanding filmmaking.A question specific to the sport, of course, is safety. With wall height increasing in 'super pipes' and the explosion of stunts, athletes literally need to practice new tricks on runs with foam or mattress landings because of the risk. As Pearce's father says, and so rationally even after everything that's happened, the athlete will always push himself, and in other sports such as auto racing, eventually there were rules for things like engine size for safety.We see Sarah Burke, a pioneer who pushed getting super pipe skiing added to the Olympics in 2014, interviewed with her boyfriend Rory Bushfield, talking about Pearce but also her passion for the sport despite all the injuries she's sustained over the years, then we see her get married to Bushfield, and then we hear she died tragically at the exact same spot Pearce had his accident. It's ominous and moving to hear her say "It's what our lives are, is being on the hill. And there's a reason for that — it's amazing. It's where we met, it's where we play, we live...", and then Bushfield gently adding "and hopefully where we'll die." There is a cringe-inducing crash reel of sorts shown for other falls towards the end, for both snowboarding and motorcycle stunt riding, but Walker uses restraint and does not sensationalize. As Pearce eventually comes to a place of acceptance, one can't help but be touched by his story and by his family and friends who stuck with him, and yet also feel concerned for the sport, despite the majesty and beauty of athletes skillfully twirling through the air at what seem like impossible heights. The soundtrack is excellent and adds to the emotional impact the film makes. I didn't know Pearce's story or really understand what this documentary was going to be about, and ended up riveted.
Sindre Kaspersen
English screenwriter, producer and director Lucy Walker's fifth documentary feature which she co-wrote with Brazilian screenwriter and film editor Pedro Cos and co-produced, is inspired by the director's first encounter in 2010 with a dedicated 21st century Winter X Games medallist who wished that he could inspire other action sports athletes to use their stage for social change. It premiered in the U.S. Documentary Premieres section at the 29th Sundance Film Festival in 2013, was screened in the Berlinale Special section at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival in 2013, was shot on location in America and is an American production which was produced by producer Julian Cautherly. It tells the story about a professional American snowboarder in his mid-twenties named Kevin Pearce from the town of Hanover in the state of New Hampshire in the United States whom during a winter in the late 2000s whilst living with his father named Simon, his mother named Pia and his brothers named Andrew, Adam and David and being in hard training for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada suffered a life-altering head injury after a close to deadly fall in a half-pipe in Park City, Utah in America. Distinctly and subtly directed by English filmmaker Lucy Walker, this finely paced documentary which is narrated from multiple viewpoints though mostly from the main character's point of view, draws an intimate, considerate and gripping portrayal of an uncommonly talented athlete's relationship with his family, his competitive and friendly relationship with an equally profound snowboarder, skateboarder and Winter Olympics Gold medallist named Shaun White who was born with a heart defect and told that he wouldn't be good in sports, and his heart- wrenching awakening to life at a hospital as a different person than he was and having to learn almost everything again. While notable for it's variegated milieu depictions, fine cinematography by cinematographer Nick Higgins and multi-dimensional scenes of snowboarding, this narrative-driven story about variegated kinds of love, disenchanting and courageous compromises, human boundaries and a physically and mentally demanding and gracious American invention and art form which became prominent in the late 20th century and which can bring both fortunate and fatal consequences, depicts a real-life study of character with cinematic dimensions and contains informative, authentic and at times shocking interviews with snowboarders, family members, friends, other extreme sports athletes and witnesses. This somewhat historic and at times breath-taking appreciation of life and documentation of real events in the life of a son, brother and friend who during the peak of his career became the number one challenger for one of the world's greatest and most renowned snowboarders, which is set mostly in America in the 21st century, where shame is virtuously turned into acceptance, where brightness turns into darkness in a matter of seconds, a person comes back to the light, a 29-year-old Canadian freestyle skier named Sarah Burke goes training at the same large half-pipe as Kevin Pearce and a straightforward man named David Pearce who regards himself as an up-person makes his brother know the difference between confidence and reason, is impelled and reinforced by it's fragmented narrative structure, substantial character development, efficient continuity, pivotal film editing, interrelated stories, multifaceted use of archival and other types of footage, home video recordings, versatile perspectives, timely use of music, perceptible underlying spiritual grace and the hardly noticeable presence of the instructor who spent two and a half years with the main subject and his supportive family. An exceptionally humane, existentialistic and gravitating documentary feature which gained numerous awards at various film festivals.
