Surfwise: The Amazing True Odyssey of the Paskowitz Family (2007)

Freedom for Myself; Prison for My Children

The charismatic doctor and surfing champion Dorian Paskowitz languishes through 2 failed marriages during the conventional 1950s before having his epiphany in which he will be a "free spirit" and travel with his third wife and 9 children like a band of surfing vagabonds. The new lifestyle is great for the father who finds sensual and spiritual fulfillment; sadly, though, it's a prison for his children who must live without schooling, money for clothes, and the normal opportunity to meet kids their age.

This documentary does an excellent job of showing how these children navigate precariously through their one life as celebrities of counterculture and their second life of social dysfunction and resentment toward a father who wanted unlimited freedom for himself and draconian imprisonment for his children. October 2, 2008

Proof that you don't need an SUV, a McMansion and a 401K to be happy...

This movie should change your outlook. If it doesn't, perhaps you need to re-evaluate your priorities. Money does not buy happiness. September 30, 2008

Making Waves with an Unconventional Lifestyle

SURFWISE is a fascinating documentary chronicling the unconventional lifestyle of "Doc" Poskowitz and his family. The latter includes spouse and some nine kids, who live a bohemian, itinerant, surf-centric lifestyle in a 24-foot camper van. No school for these kids! Nevertheless, they lived a somewhat regimented existence, one envied by kids who were more wealthy in material things.

All of the kids grew up with various "baggage" due to the unorthodox upbringing, and the father is a rather magnetic, charismatic character.

The cinematography here is great - you feel you are out in the ocean, in the surf, and can see how this aspect of nature would be seductive. SURFWISE raises questions about the tradeoffs involved in turning your back on the conventional path that society beckons you to follow - the good and bad features, the frayed nature of family ties, the family love that can (at least temporarily) transcend differences and childhood trauma.

Whether you endorse or abhor the lifestyle depicted in this documentary, SURFWISE is an excellent movie!
August 8, 2008

An Unconventional Surf-Centric Upbringing and Its Results.

"Surfwise" chronicles the story of the "first family of surfing": Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz, his wife Juliette, and the 9 children whom they raised in a 24-foot camper, traveling up and down the west coast of the United States and Mexico, following the waves and Dorian's whims for more than 2 decades. Dorian Paskowitz was a respected public health doctor and president of the American Medical Association in Hawaii, before he left it all behind in 1956 to live a peripatetic life of poverty that revolved around surfing. He isolated his family from the outside world, raised his children in his strict lifestyle regimen, and taught them to surf. Many became accomplished competitive surfers, and in 1974 the family opened the Paskowitz Surf Camp in Mission Beach, CA.

Dorian Paskowitz was 84 years old when "Surfwise" was made and still very much a passionate and controlling man, and still surfing. His children are all grown and living very different lifestyles from the one in which they were raised. Director Doug Pray tries to construct a picture of what it was like to be a Paskowitz, living the ideals of a single-minded patriarch in a crowded camper, and what its lasting effects were through archival home movies and interviews with Dorian and Juliette Paskowitz and all 9 of their children -7 boys and 1 girl- and Dorian's siblings. We also get an impression of the family's iconic stature and influence on surfing culture through interviews with "The Surfer's Journal" founder Steve Pezman and some big names in competitive surfing.

The Paskowitz children talk about the benefits and disappointments of their itinerant, impoverished lifestyle, isolated from most of American culture. They don't all have the same attitude toward it, in retrospect, some resenting that their isolation and lack of education left them unprepared for adult life. I would have thought children in such a bohemian environment would be very independent, but their father's controlling nature apparently dictated otherwise. "Surfwise" is an interesting account for fans of surfing culture, but this is, more than anything, the story of a family. It's an examination of the value of nonconformity and convention, selfishness and freedom, in the way families relate to one another and the ways in which upbringing may or may not influence the choices people make.

The DVD (Magnolia 2008): There are 4 featurettes and a feature commentary. In "Doc on Health" (5 min), Dorian Paskowitz explains his ideas on health, about which he has written a book. "A Walk on Water: Surfer's Healing" (3 ½ min) is about the surfing program for autistic children founded by Izzy Paskowitz and wife Danielle. "Dave Homcy: Surfing Cinematographer" (3 1/2 min) is footage of surfers set to music. "Outtakes and Breaks" (12 min) are interviews not in the film, including some funny ones. The feature commentary is by director Doug Pray, producer Matt Weaver, and Salvador Paskowitz. They discuss the genesis of the project, the archival footage, Dorian and his philosophy, the family dynamic, and more. Subtitles for the film are available in Spanish. August 7, 2008

Not what I was expecting.

I picked up this DVD thinking that it was going to be a lighthearted look at a family that I knew 'of' from the time I was a youngster. I grew up surfing in San Diego, and used to see the ads for the Paskowitz Surf Camp in the back of just about every surf magazine I ever purchased. I always wanted to attend, but ended up buying a board and teaching myself instead.

What I found was the story of a very strange family. Sometimes their life looks so wonderful it makes me want to get a camper and take my kids away from the materialism and lunacy we experience in modern life. Other times are dark, contradictory and a bit disturbing.

What I took away from this amazing dissection of a unique family was to affirm my feeling that 'everything' in moderation is the way to live. I also will be more careful about avoiding attempts to control people in my life.

Highly recommended. August 5, 2008

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