Where the Trail Ends
By Tracy Moore,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Thrilling doc glorifies freeriding; some language and peril.
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Where the Trail Ends
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What's the Story?
This documentary on the thrill of freeriding on rough terrain takes a slew of notables in the sport, such as Darren Berrecloth, Kurt Sorge, and James Doerfling, all from their home in Utah to Argentina and rural China in search of the newest, most challenging new landscapes to master.
Is It Any Good?
WHERE THE TRAIL ENDS is a thrill to watch. It's shot with the incredible clarity of a nature documentary and uses a prominent, often high-octane soundtrack as a backdrop to what can only be described as epic jumps, twists, and flips. The athletes begin in Utah, where they've lost that loving feeling for the challenge of new terrain, and travel the world over to find fresh, often virgin patches of land reached only by helicopter to bike across. There's a lifestyle element here that's glorified, though: These are twentysomething men stoked on gnarly jumps, and although they're jazzed to see new cultures and peoples, their main fix is the adrenaline of new mountains and cliffs and outcroppings on which to test their mettle -- what someone in the doc calls the "dirt, the drops, and the hospitals" that distinguish one place from the next. They wipe out a lot but always get up. Although this is a real visual pleasure, viewers will not learn much about China or Argentina or Utah that can't be determined by the dustiness of the mountain soil. There's a bit of glorifying of the sport -- it's incredible that many of these athletes come off unscathed from terrifying altitudes -- so parents may wish to temper the awesome stunts against the real riskiness to life and limb it engenders.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the danger in freeriding. What do you think is the sport's biggest risk?
What do you think draws people to extreme sports? Have you ever tried any extreme sports? Why, or why not? If so, what was it like?
What were the athletes' attitudes toward other cultures? Did they seem interested in learning about the people or merely the terrain?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: April 25, 2013
- Cast: Darren Berrecloth, James Doerfling, Kurt Sorge
- Director: Jeremy Grant
- Studios: Freeride Entertainment, Red Bull Media House
- Genre: Documentary
- Topics: Sports and Martial Arts, Adventures
- Run time: 81 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: April 4, 2023
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