by Cain Noble-Davies
Worth: $14.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Matt Formston, Dylan Longbottom, Layne Beachley, Sam Bloom, Lucas ‘Chumbo’ Chianca, Joel Parkinson
Intro:
… a well-framed look at disability in sports and a holistic and (however sporadically) thrilling look at sports in general.
After an introductory montage that combines images of the Isa World Para Surfing Championship at Pismo Beach, with flourishes that can be best described as an audiovisual Williams Mix, blind surfer and main subject Matt Formston lays out what he wants this doco to accomplish: show how he does what the audience will see him doing, so that disabled audiences might be inspired to try something new or push themselves harder in what they’re already doing, and that abled audiences might better understand that “just because you have a disability, doesn’t mean you have to just stop and not do things.”
As easy as it would be to relegate this to being just another ‘inspiration porn’ depiction of disability, it thankfully weaves out of that framework because, as disability activist Stella Young famously described it, inspo porn is the act of presenting disability as inherently inspiring, even if the disabled person in question is just… existing. Matt’s eventual mission is to surf the legendarily massive waves of Nazaré, Portugal; even his able-bodied contemporaries would have to think that one over first.
In regards to his opening mission statement, he and director/writer/editor Daniel Fenech put in the work to show both the steps Matt has taken to live a full life and the mindset behind each one of those steps. Some of the effort made to give the full picture of Matt’s world can feel unnecessary (there’s an early showing of his work for Optus that just comes across as free publicity for the telco), but the footage of Matt in his element, along with the interview testimonials, still deliver a proper portrait of who he is; someone who has lived his life in direct opposition to what others ‘think’ he is capable of, from the heartbreaking (and frankly infuriating) recollection of what his doctor told his parents about his initial macular dystrophy diagnosis, to his decision to brave the fifty-foot waves of Nazaré. It’s “the best revenge is living well” on steroids.
While this extreme sports doco doesn’t get the heart rate up as much as it could (the aforementioned John Cage-esque editing touches serve more as momentary pulse accelerants than anything production-defining), seeing Matt at work still brings a certain thrill to the proceedings. This is boosted by the effort made to show what it takes to get there, from a visualisation of what his literal POV looks like (aided with an appearance by Aussie surf legend Layne Beachley), to the support network around him both at home and on the water, to the systems in place that allow him to explore this passion. Seeing him not conquer but be one with nature in this way (a nice flip on the typical mentality behind these kinds of man vs. nature narratives) highlights not just his own resilience but also the mateship of everyone looking out for him and aiding him in achieving his goals. To paraphrase Matt’s dad, it emphasises the difference between barriers that stop a person and obstacles that a person can overcome with the right assistance.
The Blind Sea delivers a down-to-earth and intimate depiction of its subject, and shows some crazy levels of potential in its debut director. It may not go as hard as it could’ve, just from the craftsmanship on display already, but it works very well both as a well-framed look at disability in sports and a holistic and (however sporadically) thrilling look at sports in general. Here’s hoping that Daniel Fenech keeps at it, and that Matt keeps smashing records in his wake.
