Synopsis
But, the heat around Jordy Smith is how he freed surfing from the straitjacket of contest surfing, the dead-hand of predictability. A year ago, the cleanest, biggest and most perfectly stomped rodeo, one of those rare surfing maneuvers that is so spectacular it crosses the boundary into mainstream, yielded the kid millions of hits on youtube. Bending Colours takes the distorted life of this icon, and through the use of new camera and production technologies, changes the audience's perspective on what a surfing film can be.
Time, the human perception of motion, even the flex of a surfboard, are manipulated in a manner you might wanna describe as the dissolving of the usual linear narrative, a shift between layers of speed and slowness. It's director Kai Neville's strategic mix of cinematic highs (visual manipulation) with the artistic low of straight surf action.
But, the surfing of Jordy Smith, when it's dissembled and rebuilt into abstract fragments of intimacy, richness and clarity? Get your mind around Bending Colours. "