Surf Movie Review - The Present, a film by Thomas Campbell

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JettyGirl Surf Movie Review - The Present by Thomas Campbell and Woodshed Films

Surf Movie Review - The Present. A film by Thomas Campbell. JettyGirl Online Surf Magazine.

The Present - a film by Thomas Campbell

Film Description: A wide and varied journey into the here and now of surfing on this strange and beautiful watery planet. Shot primarily in 16mm film on location in West Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, California, Sumatra, Java and Peru.

The Cast: Dave Rastovich, Dane Reynolds, Joel Tudor, Chelsea Hedges, Kassia Meador, Harrison Roach, Dan Malloy, Devon Howard, C.J. Nelson, Ry Craike, Jacob Stuth, Sofia Mulanovich, Chris Del Moro, Michel Junod, Ian King, Danny Hess, Alex Knost, and Rob Machado among others.

Music: David Axelrod, Bonnie Prince Billy, Mice Parade, The Mattson 2, Cass McCombs, Plants and Animals, Vetiver, The Photographic, The Ndabva Kure Band, Japanese Motors, Gabor Szabo, Ray Barbee & The Mattson 2, Jeff Parker, and Tommy Guerrero.

Running Time: 74 minutes plus over 2 hours of bonus features

JettyGirl Surf Movie Review: "The Present" - a film from the maker of The Seedling and Sprout, Thomas Campbell

It's with great pleasure that our initial review covers Thomas Campbell's newest film, The Present. Whether you ride a longboard, fish, shortboard, alaia, or even a ladder (yes, a ladder), The Present has something enjoyable for virtually every type of waverider. The ultimate compliment we could pay any surf film is that after watching it, the first thing the viewer would want to do is to go surfing...and The Present does just that.

Like Thomas' other two films, The Present has a casual and folksy feel to it. However, unlike The Seedling and Sprout, along with more traditional waveriding methods, there is also a good mix of high performance shortboarding included from the likes of Dane Reynolds and Ry Craike. For alaia fans, there is a lot to smile about in The Present and the film goes to great lengths to show how functional these unique boards can be under the right set of talented feet.

But what about the girls...?

While The Present isn't a female-based surf film, it does contain some excellent footage of the girls. Kassia Meador can be seen sliding waves in New Zealand and she also joins in on one of Thomas Campbell's humorous skits. The opening of the film though is a true eye-opener to what's going on with high performance surfing within the women's ranks. World champions Sofia Mulanovich and Chelsea Hedges provide some of The Present's best moments with Sofia blasting huge turns on the Indo lefts while Chelsea drops into some of the longest barrels I've ever seen ridden by a female surfer.

For anyone that owns The Seedling or Sprout, The Present is obviously a must-have. For everyone else, especially those who live by the "ride what you like" philosophy, The Present is well worth the price of admission...and when you add in the over two hours of bonus material on the DVD, dollar-for-dollar Thomas Campbell's latest project may also provide the best value out there as well. --Chris Grant

To purchase The Present, please click here

Film Trailer Format: Flash

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