A camera rolls across the landscape of a remote beach. This particular beach, at this particular time, is devoid of the average fun-in-the-sun kind of person. The sun hides behind dense cloud coverage, and the waves are higher than usual. The wind periodically blows grains of sand through the air during this early hour of the day. This is not a good beach day for the average person. It is a great day for surfing, though.
After a panoramic shot of the beach, the camera pans over to the water. The waves’ undulating movements offer a sublime illustration of nature’s power. However, the show is just getting started. A lone figure paddles, shoots up and expertly begins to carve the wave as if it’s Thanksgiving dinner. The surfer has just “schooled” nature, and his victory is on film to prove it.
There’s nothing quite like a good surfing documentary. Faraway places, remote beaches and curling waves offer viewers a glimpse of paradise. The only thing that outshines nature, the true star of the film, is the passion that radiates from the surfers who travel to a particular spot to catch the next big wave. When they do catch it, their exuberance for the sport is humbling, to say the least.
The Grey Whale Sessions is a documentary that takes the typical, thrill-seeking surfing paradigm and adds something else to it. The film is about the surfing culture of Baja, and it features plenty of wave riding. Nevertheless, it is equally about what happens when a pod of surfers travels the entire length of Baja in a bus.
Like any other Malloy Brothers documentary, this film reveals the adventures of California’s most daring thrill-seekers, conservationists and surfers. As they travel northward, they surf, they fish for squid and they just live the good life. In the end, they simply experience Baja.