In the 1970s, surfers like Mike Boyum, Martin Daly, Peter McCabe, and Jeff Chitty were always on the lookout for the next adventure, the next, great wave that crashed on the shore. They found their adventure in the jungle spots of the South Pacific, in the remote coastline of Indonesia, and in G-Land, the famed surf spot found in East Java. Director Michael Oblowitz’s new documentary, ‘Sea of Darkness,’ explores this subculture of men. However, ‘Sea of Darkness’ is anything but your typical movie about surfers.
The early moments of the film may lead you to believe just that, but Oblowitz quickly moves the film into darker territory. The darkness that followed this group of young surfers wherever they went is what ultimately drives the film. It is genuinely eye-opening and awe-inspiring as tales of drug smuggling push the story forward with an incredible force.
Oblowitz utilizes all the markings of a first-rate documentary to tell his tale. There is much in the way of talking heads, interviews Oblowitz conducted with Daly, Chitty, and others who came through the group at this time. Oblowitz does so in a way, though, that never feels stale or overdone. Quick editing and Oblowitz’s amazing usage of stock footage keeps the film from ever growing dull.
There is a time or two near the beginning of the film where it feels like it could all fall apart very quickly. Hearing interviews with older surfers about how unstoppable the young surfers of G-Land were tends to grow quite monotonous. Even Oblowitz’s stock footage and the film’s intense editing isn’t enough to threaten the audience with a slight case of repetitiveness. He does do a wonderful job of keeping the audience in the loop at all times, though. With all the names and scenarios getting thrown at you left and right early on in the film, it could easily have gone lost on the audience who all these men were, what they looked like, and the major accomplishments they were known for. Yet, Oblowitz’s decision to continuously subtitle the protagonist’s names over stock photographs of them is an ever-helping hand throughout the film’s early moments of complexity.
Of course, the real meat of ‘Sea of Darkness,’ the moments when the film really begins pushing you towards the edge of your seat is when the talking heads begin going over the drug smuggling business men like Mike Boyum were in charge of. These were clearly troubled men, men who only wanted to surf and have a good time, and their way of bankrolling the whole adventure is what pushes the film into its darker region.
The whole drug smuggling storyline continues to build and build until Oblowitz unleashes his standout moment. It comes in the form of Jeff Chitty iterating the story of how he served as a mule, smuggling China White inside his own body, and the ensuing tale of police intervention. It is a detailed story, one Chitty remembers vividly, and his explanation is ferocious. It is a tale that is almost too ridiculous to be believed. We know it is factual, but Chitty’s fierceness in the way he tells the story just clinches its genuineness.
‘Sea of Darkness’ is a candid look at a subculture of men who wanted to live on the edge. They did it in the best way they knew how, and, for many, it cost them dearly. Remembered fondly was Mike Boyum, and most of the men talk about him as if her were a modern legend. In fact, Boyum’s story does have a somewhat mysteriously legendary outcome. Oblowitz goes from one interviewee to another, each one giving their own, different interpretation of what really happened to Mike Boyum. It’s an amazing way for Oblowitz to cap his picture, and it serves to grow the legend.
