Monday, February 20, 2017

Review: Surfwise and Scratching the Horizon

The film Surfwise and the book Scratching the Horizon really deserve to be reviewed together. The film is a documentary about the Paskowitz family, a family of eight sons and one daughter, children of modern gypsy parents who raised their children on the road on a never ending surf safari. It sounds like a such a charming, romantic story- successful doctor goes back to the land (or ocean) to raise his children purely.  It's an interesting story, and well worth the watch, but it does prove the old maxim about dysfunctional families.  They did it with style!  What bothered me though, was the underlying attitude of the parents- they repeatedly referred to the sons, and didn't and don't seem to value their daughter as much. 

Scratching the Horizon: A Surfing Life is a memoir by Izzy, on of the sons.  It felt like a really honest book.  He did not shy from the darker moments on the road, but still imaprts that they were a family. He is unflinching in the struggles to move from surf gypsy grom to responsible adult.  Seems like he got their though.  He now runs an foundation that brings surfing to autistic children.  At least one success story came out of that family! 

No comments:

Post a Comment