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The blend of footage and the peculiar charm of “The Endless Summer” is something that I have yet to fully work out in my head. This is especially puzzling because this is, at last, a comprehensible film that is unrefined, simple, and clear. What is even more baffling is how this film is made so it gives an appealing aesthetic. Why?
Most of the answer lies within the filmmaker’s unconventional style, Bruce Brown, who, with a 16-mm camera packed alongside telephoto lenses in his suitcase, decided one morning to travel around the world with two surfers. He sonically locations as Kupang and flew to the West Coast of Africa where, on a micro budget ($50000 for a 90-minute film is almost unbelievable), they sampled the beaches in Senegal and Ghana before hopping down to Cape Town.
Following their time on the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean beaches in Cape Peninsula, they spent time hitchhiking along the popular Garden Route all the way to Durban which is 1000 miles away. During their journey, they discovered what they call the “perfect wave” located at Cape St. Francis. This wave, which is four feet, has the potential to give rides lasting up to 15 minutes and comes in so frequently that it appears to be manmade.
Stops in Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Hawaii came next. These locations served as the final destinations and also provided breathtaking views of Hawaii’s famous “Pipeline” as well as the largest, most powerful wave sitting over a razor-sharp coral bottom.
Once again, Brown is narrating those episodes with the aloofness and tone exaggeration characteristic of a low budget film buff. “The odds against a wave like this are 20,000,000 to 1,” he claims in astonishment towards the end of the film where he finds the ideal wave. Which odds? He presents the word “remarkable” as if he were a vendor of old collectibles. His general attitude towards the countries he moves is similar to that of an overly excited unversity student. “We had no idea whether those natives were paddling out for dinner or for surfing,” he chokes, “We could see those paddlers coming from a distance.”
The irony in this extreme, immature and overly casual enthusiasm mixed with silliness is precisely what the film is missing. When on the beach with good waves, who even cares what the correct odds are? And, ultimately, what do they even mean?
If the film offers exactly what it promissed, being 91 minutes of day dreaming, the content in which it is filmed offers the same to professional filmmakers. Instead of carrying the tons of equipment usually taken for location, Brown packed only what he could carry. The stunning photography he brought back home makes one wonder whether Hollywood has been putting too much effort.
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