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Walking on Water
By Brian Costello,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Sports docu merges surfing with Christianity.
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this movie.
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What's the Story?
Mentored as a teenage surfer, now-grown Bryan Jennings decides to return the favor and take two teenagers on a world tour of surfing locales. The two boys -- Tyler and Luke -- ride waves with Bryan in Hawaii, Peru, France, Australia, South Africa, and Indonesia. In each country, they experience the culture and meet local surfers. Through example and through words, Bryan tries to teach Tyler and Luke lessons in providing charity and kindness to those less fortunate, and how to put their Christian beliefs into practice. Along the way, they meet surfers who practice Christianity, and discuss how their faith keeps them grounded and sustains them through difficult times.
Is It Any Good?
Perhaps the title should be a giveaway, but this inspiring film is as much about the Christian faith of the featured surfers as it is about surfing. Like most surfing documentaries, there are plenty of montages of athletes riding giant waves, but unlike most surfing documentaries, many scenes are also devoted to the surfers discussing how faith sustains them through the good times and bad.
For the faithful with an interest in surfing or sports in general, this heartwarming documentary will provide a reinforcement of the belief in the value of a strong religious foundation. But it's not perfect -- the flaw in the documentary is that it's supposed to be about surfing, and the religious messages sometimes feel shoehorned between the action montages leaving little time to show the older and younger surfers bonding in meaningful ways. Those who are turned off by heavy religious discussions should probably look elsewhere.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how this documentary brings religion into a film about surfing. Did you expect this documentary to be as much about Christianity as it is about surfing? Who is the target audience of this film?
As the surfers travel from one continent to the next, how are the different cultures conveyed in the documentary?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: March 1, 2011
- Cast: Bryan Jennings , Luke Davis , Tyler Hallen
- Director: Nic McLean
- Studio: Sony Pictures
- Genre: Documentary
- Topics: Sports and Martial Arts , Adventures
- Run time: 73 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: February 25, 2022
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