Walking on Water may be the living embodiment of the old maxim ‘no risk, no reward.’ Though a documentary about surfing (with strong Christian overtones) would seem like a pretty easy target to hit, Walking fails to engage simply because it so clearly doesn’t want to possibly be seen as anything else than what its filmmakers set out to make, being one that affirms Christian faith and values. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if the directors were ever in doubt as to what the film would be about, or open to new experiences themselves in this journey, that process is in no way evident in the final product. This would be less of a liability if they were teaching a master class in theology, but they have instead produced a travelogue with startlingly little sense of adventure.
When Bryan Jennings was 14 years old, he took a trip around the world with a professional surfer, and credits that experience with shaping the worldview that he has now. Now grown, he wishes to impart the same experience onto two young men of about that age, and recruits Tyler and Luke to go along with him on a similar journey. Along the way, they meet up with a number of professional surfers, most of whom impart some sense of ready-made wisdom that relates to spirituality in a certain way. Names featured in the film include Tom Curren, Al Merrick, CJ Hobgood, Damien Hobgood, Bethany Hamilton, Garrett McNamara, Noah Snyder, Matt Beacham, Jesse Hines, Cheyne Cottrell, and CT Taylor.
Like a lot of Christian media, Walking on Water falls into the trap of never quite deciding whether it wants to act as an affirmation of faith to the believers, or as a beacon for those who have not yet converted. While a number of the interviewees talk about their belief in God with an assurance that suggests that a long, heartfelt process was involved in coming to that conclusion, none of them are ever given enough time to speak to really elaborate on how they got there, or provide any real insight into how their faith might help others (aside from just stating it, that is). However, the fact that the Christian content doesn’t appear until after the halfway mark feels a little disingenuous, as the makers either weren’t comfortable with declaring their faith upfront, or were trying to make their audience complacent enough that they wouldn’t get up and leave once they realized the nature of the material. Either way, it comes across as calculated, and clashes harshly with the sincere nature of the subjects. It doesn’t help that Jennings narrates the entire film himself, more or less denying a real voice to Luke and Tyler, who the film is supposed to be about (as it states on the front cover). The fact that there might be negative implications to a grown man taking a pair of adolescent boys on a trip without their parents never seems to have crossed the mind of any of the film-makers, though in a way that works in the film’s favor, as it makes it seem too naïve to really consider any of the ‘big issues’ in a more comprehensive way than it does.
But Walking’s biggest failing is its inability to really connect surfing and spirituality in any meaningful way. With most of the subjects wisdom confined to short sound bites of varying degrees of insight (at one point, one of the boys notes that even though people in different countries speak Spanish, they possess qualities similar to him), no true connection is stated (not even a monologue about surfing as a form of prayer, which Point Break demonstrated was a reasonable connection to make), let alone meaningfully expanded upon. Without that, Walking lacks a center, and comes up as a disappointingly shallow experience.
Bonus Features
The DVD also has two featurettes about Bethany Hamilton, the surfer who lost her arm to a shark but continued to pursue her dream. They are called “The Hamilton Family: A Soul Surfer Journey” and “Bethany Hamilton and Friends in Indonesia.”
"Walking On Water" is on sale March 1, 2011 and is not rated. Christian, Documentary. Directed by Nic Mclean. Written by Bryan Jennings. Starring Al Merrick, Bethany Hamilton, Bryan Jennings, Cj Hobgood, Cheyne Cottrell, Ct Taylor, Damien Hobgood, Garrett Mcnamara, Jesse Hines, Luke Davis, Matt Beacham, Noah Snyder, Tom Curren, Tyler Hallen.
