WILD GOAT SURF: 3 STARS. “evokes a wonderful sense of childhood.”
“Wild Goat Surf” sounds like three random words you might put together as a password for one of your social media sites, but it’s actually the name of a charming new film, now playing in theatres, about a twelve-year-old’s dreams of becoming a surfer, despite never having ridden a big wave.
Set in the early 2000s, in the resort town of Penticton, British Columbia, the movie sees Rell “Goat” Anderson (Shayelin Martin) and her mother Jane (Caitlyn Sponheimer, who also wrote the film and directs) living rent free in an RV park. As Jane ekes out a living working two jobs and turning their bungalow into a sublet for tourists, Goat daydreams of becoming a professional surfer, just like her late father.
When Goat meets the awkward Nate (Leandro Guedes) at the RV park, they immediately form a bond. They spend their days skateboarding, surfing on make-shift boards and doing petty crime. It’s all fun and games until their shenanigans have real life consequences that threaten Jane’s reputation and Goat’s dreams of becoming a surfer.
“Wild Goat Surf” is a sweet-natured, summery coming-of-age story that uses surfing as a metaphor for life. Goat wistfully dreams of following in her surfer father’s footsteps, but in a metaphorical sense, it is about taking the plunge into life, and surviving, no matter the consequences. “Those waves are going to push you down,” says one of her fantasy surfing heroes, “but you have to come up for air.”
The sentiment isn’t exactly new, but it is presented with panache. Sponheimer carefully recreates the time frame and sultry feel of an endless, eventful summer, but it is the young actors and their nice, natural performance that evoke a wonderful sense of childhood in all its aspirational and awkward glory.
“Wild Goat Surf” tackles big topics, like poverty and personal ambition, but works best as a character piece
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