Just what is a slab wave? Once you’ve seen one in the trailer for Facing Monsters, you’re unlikely to forget it: considered the world’s heaviest waves, they’re made up of a huge wall of deep water suddenly hitting a shallow reef.
The physical risks of surfing such a beast are immense, but they’re worth it to daredevil Australian surfer Kerby Brown. And at least we get to watch on in terror, with Facing Monsters currently gushing into cinemas around the country.
Much like the Oscar-winning documentary phenomenon Free Solo, Facing Monsters seems to combine tremendous sports footage with a personal portrait, illuminating the kind of guy bold enough to find this death-defying stuff fun. After making news for his conquer of a 40-foot wave, Brown is still addicted to big, dangerous surf expeditions.
As much as he’s daunted as the power of the waves themselves and the skull-splitting rocks that are right there, Brown claims that not surfing would have just as much of a self-destructive impact. “When I don’t have the ocean, I tend to turn to alcohol and drugs”, he admits in the trailer below, his inner demons more at peace in the devastating turbulence of the sea.
The enigmatic West Australian will be forced to weigh up his bone-deep love of surfing with the concerns of his family and friends. “Why are we doing this again?”, one of them laughs nervously from a rocking speedboat, and footage of Brown’s young children reinforces that question.
A selection at Slamdance and Brisbane International Film Festival, Facing Monsters should help Australian audiences face the terror and might of the ocean surrounding us on all sides—and perhaps even the tumultuous currents running within, too.
