Educational Media Reviews Online

Blackwater: The Story of a Place Called Teahupo’o is a beautiful surf film shot in Tahiti about a famous wave called Teahupo’o. The dimensions of the wave are tremendous—over 12 feet tall and often higher and surfing it is indeed life threatening due to the formations of the coral reef just below the surface. Needless to say, the wave has become the benchmark for surfers all over the world and had done a lot for Tahitian tourism.

What makes this film great is the cinematography. One of the best things about surf films and documentaries from Endless Summer to amateur video is the gorgeous shots of waves and surfers. Many surf films are, like skating films, nothing but film of surfers riding waves and a sound track. Blackwater is different in that it has really high production values and throws in some cultural geography lessons in between the amazing shots of Teahupo’o. Because it is difficult to put into words the joys of surfing (or perhaps it is because many surfers claim surfing to be an intensely personal experience) surf photography and film attempt to capture and convey as much of the experience as it can on its own. Apart from the narrative—interviews, tall tales and scary stories—in Blackwater the amazing visuals tell most of the story of Teahupo’o.

This film is recommended mainly because of the coherence of the interviews and the aforementioned beautiful cinematography. It would be useful for an undergraduate sociology course (surfing/extreme sport subcultures), cultural geography, and ecology collections that support the study of surf culture or general browsing collections in coastal area libraries.