Ride the Wave

The personal story of a very young Scottish surfer is told with memorable visuals.

The title chosen for this documentary has both advantages and drawbacks. It certainly carries a strong and valid hint that Martyn Robertson’s film is about surfing, but that will not be an encouragement for everybody. After all, there have already been a large number of features dealing with the world of surfers including the very recent release Girls Can’t Surf which studied the sport from a fresh angle, the struggle for full and equal recognition by female surfers. Furthermore, the title Ride the Wave suggests a standard look at surfing whereas, in fact, Robertson’s film – seemingly his first but superior to Girls Can’t Surf in its filmmaking craft– adopts an unusual approach which gives the piece its own character and individuality.

When he was no older than twelve, Ben Larg, who lived in Scotland on the island of Tiree with his parents and two younger sisters, was already an under-16 surfing champion. Robertson actually begins his film three years later when Ben was facing his biggest challenge by far by seeking to ride the notoriously large, cold waves to be found at Mullaghmore on the Irish coast. Conditions were far from ideal and the film postpones revealing how things went. Instead, from then on it tells Ben’s story in chronological order and starts by going back to the 12-year-old visiting Japan with his father, Marti, to participate in the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships.

What follows is a close study of Ben’s development over these three years presented in entirely personal terms. Both parents, Iona as well as Marti, feature prominently and Ride the Wave becomes the story of how Ben coped when he and his family on moving to the island found themselves treated as outsiders. Ben himself suffered from bullying at school and, in consequence of that, building up his intense interest in surfing became a way of asserting himself and countering the humiliation of being the victim of persistent bullies. Both parents supported him in this – and all the more so when, with the passing of time, his sporting participation enabled him to gain in confidence. But, as his mother readily acknowledges, it was a tricky issue because it involved balancing the importance of extending his confidence against the knowledge that surfing on this level could be decidedly dangerous, especially for one so young who nevertheless felt compelled to gain experience.

As will be recognised, Ride the Wave functions as a family tale and as a portrait of Ben himself and on that crucial level it comes over most naturally with Ben and the others appearing quite at ease when being filmed (that is almost certainly a tribute to Robertson for the trust he built up with the family). But, if that element is what distinguishes Ride the Wave from other surfing films, this documentary also delivers when Ben’s surfing experiences are to the fore. With two photographers on board, Jamie Dempster and Julian Schwanitz, the film captures the world of the surfer in images that can be both beautiful and daunting, at times simultaneously so. The visual impact is so strong that I would recommend that wherever possible this movie should be seen on a cinema screen. It may be a work to appeal first and foremost to those already drawn to the world of surfing, but the human tale at its heart gives it a more general resonance even as the visuals help us to recognise the magic that Ben finds when riding waves.

MANSEL STIMPSON

Featuring Ben Larg, Marti Larg, Iona Larg, Robyn Larg, Lily Larg, Gary Kohner, Dylan Stot, Willie Dały, Ollie O’Flaherty, Mark Rees, Peter Conroy, Fernando Aguerre, Cande Resano, Peter Laing.

Dir Martyn Robertson, Pro Martyn Robertson and Louise Storrie, Written by Martyn Robertson, Ph Jamie Dempster and Julian Schwanitz, Ed David Arthur, Music Scott Twynholm.

Blackhouse Films/Undercroft Films/Creative Scotland-Cosmic Cat.
86 mins. UK. 2021. UK Rel: 9 September 2022. Cert. 12A.