Ah the Paskowitz family. "The First Family of Surfing"
Surfwise introduces each parent and child, all 9 of them - 8 boys and one girl. They are each interesting characters, mainly resulting from father, Dorian, and his egoistic, semi-cult leader persona. Dorian decided to raise his children by piling them into a camper and traveling the world surfing. His wife, Juliette, remains enthralled with him as a passionate idealist.
The children, now all adults, have varying degrees of enthusiasm about their upbringing. The film, directed by Doug Pray, concedes to the fantasy for the first part of the film, depicting the sun-tanned, lean, wild, surfing children and their quirky father's ideas of how to raise a family. Dorian at one point shouts that he wanted to be as good a father as a gorilla. So if a gorilla breast fed until the baby was two, that's what they would do. He seems to have taken bits of information from many places and latched on to a father knows best mentality.
The rules of the family, including morning calisthenics, all sleeping in a small camper together even though the parents had sex every night in ear shot of the kids, surfing every morning, eating seven grain cereal, etc... sound very 60s cultish. But much of it is appealing.
The siblings all clearly love each other and family is very important to them all. But as the film progresses, the usual cracks appear in family dynamics. The children resent the father's authority, particularly since he was an absolute dictator. The eldest child takes on a fatherly position and the other brothers resent him and compete amongst themselves, especially in surfing competitions. They were so poor that they didn't all have clothes. Many went shirtless at times. They all express regrets about their lack of formal education. None of them ever attended school, and now as adults have a difficult time reintegrating into society.
The film is lovely, incorporating interviews with this very beautiful family, old family photos, and film of them surfing. It is captivating to see such vibrant children and the ocean's eruptive waves. Clearly surfing is a lot of fun.
It's a great documentary that shows a rounded depiction, with an ambiguous perspective, of a unique family of interesting characters. It explores issues of familial loyalty, best parenting practices, consumerism, hindsight, health and love. All with a gorgeous background of beaches and tanned skin. It's a fun watch.
