Drift - Defeat the Wave - Blu-Ray

Movie: After leaving her husband in a fly-by-night action, Kat Kelly (Robyn Malcolm) moves from Sidney to the west coast of Australia with her two sons, Andy and Jimmy. There, the two boys quickly discover their love of surfing. Years later, Jimmy (Xavier Samuel) in particular has become one of the most talented surfers in the region. Andy (Myles Pollard), on the other hand, hardly has time for surfing anymore, as he has to work hard to keep the family financially afloat. When the brothers meet surf photographer JB (Sam Wortington), who leads a laid-back nomadic life in his colorful bus, Andy is extremely intrigued by his outlook on life. Despite the prospect of a promotion, he decides to quit his job and open a surfing accessories shop with his brother and mother. Not only does he want to sell excellent boards and first-class suits, he also wants to deliver a very special lifestyle to his customers. Word quickly spreads about the good quality of the Kelly brothers' work and their brand could become a real success. But they simply can't get a loan for the start-up capital they need. To make matters worse, their buddy and co-worker Gus (Aaron Glenane) gets involved with local gangster Miller (Steve Bastoni), whose drug dealings could also spell doom for the Kelly brothers' business...

Drift - Defeat the Wave is based on true stories about the origins of the surf industry in the early 1970s. On a fairly low budget, directors Morgan O`Neill, who was responsible for the dramedy-driven scenes, and Ben Nott, who directed the surfing sequences, have staged a very atmospheric surfing drama that scores points for good acting and engaging visuals. Especially when the Kelly brothers get on their surfboards and brave the huge waves on Australia's west coast, the triple award-winning work at the Rome Independent Film Festival has a very high show value.

The mixing of drama with a bit of dry humour also works very well, thanks in part to the relaxed acting of supporting actor Sam Worthington (Avatar). What the film suffers from, on the other hand, is that the makers have completely overloaded the story with too many subplots. If these individual storylines were all well fleshed out and engagingly directed, this wouldn't necessarily be a problem. But some of them remain rather superficial and are primarily dominated by clichés, so that they rather harm the positive overall impression than add to it. Of course, the two brothers have to fall in love with the attractive Hawaiian Lani (Lesley-Ann Brandt), and of course, a falling out between the brothers ensues. This is just as predictable as the problems Andy gets into with the nasty Miller or what happens at the big surfing competition at the end of the film. Craft-wise and acting-wise, it's all very well done. But it's just too much of a good thing. A little more dramatic depth with fewer plot lines would have certainly done Drift good.

Surf enthusiasts may also be bothered by the fact that there are relatively few surf sequences to see in the nearly two hours of running time. But despite these criticisms, the very positive overall impression prevails in the end, which is achieved by the relaxed atmosphere, the beautiful shots of the Australian west coast, the good actors and the harmonious soundtrack. Surely Drift - Defeat the Wave won't be a classic surfer movie. But worth seeing is the Australian cinema hit all the time - and not only for passionate surfers!

Picture + Sound: The highlight of the film, the great surf sequences, present themselves on the Blu-Ray in great quality. The colors appear very powerful, in the clear blue of the sea you can lose yourself downright. The sharpness of detail is overall at a very high level and the matching of contrasts and black levels can also convince. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix presents not only ambient sounds and sound effects, but also the dialogue on the surround channels. Those who don't watch the film through a surround system will then find that when the dialogue isn't directly in front of the camera, it sounds a bit quieter than the rest. But if you have the appropriate surround channels, you'll get a pleasant amount of movement in the tonal action here. Good!

Extras: In addition to the trailer for the film, a brief visit to the Australian premiere of the film (approx. 6 min.) and an uncommented look at the filming (approx. 20 min.), the Blu-ray exclusively has a few more in-depth interviews with the directors and the cast (approx. 94 min. in total) to offer. A short promo of the label Quicksilver (approx. 26 sec.) and program tips of the provider round off the additional offer.

Conclusion: Drift - Defeat the Wave is a great filmed surf drama that can shine with some great shots, but dramaturgically offers only good mediocrity. The two directors have bloated the story with too many subplots, making the film as a whole feel a bit superficial. Nevertheless: the beautiful pictures, which are perfectly shown to advantage on the technically well implemented Blu-Ray, and the good actors make the film, despite its dramaturgical weaknesses, on balance absolutely worth seeing not only, but especially for surf lovers

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp