After so many years, you’d think one might tire of seeing Laird Hamilton’s chiseled face, but the dude refuses to cease innovating surf equipment, techniques, fitness, and training. That’s why a new documentary centering on the bronzed icon is a welcome development even following decades of surf films, TV segments, magazine articles and even a New York Times bestselling book that have feasted on the legend.
Information about the film, currently being shown at Sundance Film Festival, is scant. And since no trailer is available online, for now this official Sundance description of the movie will have to suffice: “Transcending the surf genre, this in-depth portrait of a hard-charging athlete explores the fear, courage and ambition that push a man to greatness—and the cost that comes with it.”
Yet another reason to be optimistic about “Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton” is its director: Rory Kennedy (yes that kind of Kennedy) the maker of substantive docs about the Vietnam war and Abu Ghraib prison.
The movie traces Hamilton’s life story, but Kennedy was also smart and lucky enough to shadow him during last year’s historic El Nino. It seems that the film takes a much broader view, though, than just Hamilton’s big wave prowess, relentless innovation, and superhuman fitness.
“Laird’s story is relatable across the board, and that’s what drove him to be who he is, his personal story, goes well beyond the normal surf film,” Kennedy told the Park Record.
