For those of us who don't skate, surf or snowboard, about the only redeeming quality of these videos is the music, which often serves a nostalgic purpose for me, reminding me of my teenage days when I wasn't such a sap and had more pop-punk in my musical diet.

Noah's Arc (2004, Walking On Water)breaks out of being audience specific by focusing more on telling a story about a group of surfers, in particular a professional surfer from the Outer Banks named Noah Snyder, than just simply showing a bunch of pro surfers shredding waves in exotic locales. There's plenty of footage that you'd expect in a surf film and a fair share of travel involved to exotic destinations, but at the heart of the story of a surfer from North Carolina who made it to the top of his sport is a message of transformation.

But before the film ever gets to talking about its core message of transformation, filmmaker Nic McLean introduces you to the scene, the characters and the beauty and isolation of the sport. From the opening, where tender close ups detail a patient craftsman shaping a board, the mystery and wonder of the sport is displayed. You get the sense that you are watching a documentary because there are all the typical features of a documentary - interviews, old footage, pictures - but soon into the film you become aware that the story is more than just the garden variety local kid made good doing what he loves kind of story. It's about the culture, the environment, and naturally, the waves that shaped Snyder and his pals coming of age.

For the novice like myself (aside from a friend who surfs regularly, my only exposure to the culture has been through Beach Boys songs and a surf art festival I attended a few months ago), it's an introduction into the carefree lifestyle and love of the water that drives people like Snyder to surf in a wet suit in freezing waters or he and others profiled in the film to drive 12 hours just to catch a few waves off the coast of Florida. I can't point out specific tricks shown in the surf footage or react in any other way but awe at the site of someone weaving a board through a powerful pipeline of crashing waves, but the familiar tunes scattered throughout - I'd rather not try and take guesses at remembering specific songs but I do recall tunes from MxPx and Pedro the Lion to name a couple - provide a pumping soundtrack for impressive footage shot both in video and 16 mm.

It isn't until about halfway through the film that the focus shifts to the faith all seven surfers profiled share. For those skeptical of the film's evangelical intent - I saw the film at the Ocean City, NJ music pier at a free event hosted by the local Christian Surfers chapter - they might say this is an intentional ploy to suck in the viewer and then slam 'em with the gospel, but that's hardly the way it plays out. In fact, there's really no Bible thumping at all - it's simply a group of surfers telling the story of how they all decided to change their lives around and put a higher power above even the waves that allowed them to earn a living. As far as testimonies go, Snyder's is impressive in its simplicity. As he explains, his search for the divine came out of feeling an emptiness he wasn't supposed to feel when he had reached the pinnacle of his surfing career. Through their personal testimonies, Snyder and a host of surfers, including 2001 World Champion CJ Hobgood, Jesse Hines, Damien Hobgood, and Matt Beacham show a different side of the surf culture you rarely see in popular culture.

Setting aside the reckless party life often associated with sports considered extreme or risk-taking, this pack of rebel surfers share about Bible studies and long car ride conversations and Sunday worship services at a church called The Ark, where Snyder and several of his friends made the decision to follow Jesus Christ.

Teaming up with churches and Christian surf organizations, the film has toured much of the west coast and recently completed a tour of the east coast. It's also out on DVD. In this way, it serves as the surf counterpart to the "Livin' It" skate and bike DVD produced by Stephen Baldwin that's been making waves at Christian festivals and youth rallies across the country. The only difference of course, aside from the lack of a nerdy Hollywood Christian with a WWJD hat plugging it, is that this a film of highest quality that appeals to a wider audience.

I took advantage of the rare opportunity to take a group of junior high girls from my church to see the film when it showed in Ocean City, NJ last month. They weren't necessarily sold on the whole "documentary" aspect of the film and a couple fell asleep during it, but I honestly can say I appreciated that the film was anything but second rate. How it compares to other surf films is hard for me to say, because I don't think McLean, who spent more than two years making the film, was going for that. But I can say that it stacks up with other documentary films as a striking portrait of Snyder, the fellow surfers he considers closer than brothers and the passion that drives him.

posted 12.16.04