Ceerry Lopez once told me, in the most sincere of ways, that just getting in the ocean, just letting the salt water run over your skin, can soothe the soul. Can make a bad day better and a good day great. Even if you don’t ride a wave.
And it’s a well-trodden concept in the surf world: that the ocean cleans us, makes us whole, feeds us, makes us feel, well, better. And it’s one that many filmmakers keep coming back to because it sort of defines why we love the sea. Such is the case with Keith Malloy’s new documentary, “Fish People,” a look at this obsession through an eclectic cast that doesn’t just surf boards, but uses their bodies to ride swell, or brandishes a spear or simply swims–all finding happiness in the deepest depths, or shallowest pools of mother ocean.
You’ve probably felt that cleansing sensation yourself countless times–a dawn patrol mission makes the rest of a busy workday easy to handle. Or an evening whomp washes the stress of the world away.
You can pretty much guarantee that nobody tells a good living-life-right story like one of the Malloy brothers. They seem to know how to explain in film why we all love the ocean.
Keith Malloy’s Fish People will be available on iTunes starting in July.
