Finally a UK surf movie has come along that captures the essence of surfing in Britain...well Cornwall but as surfers we can all relate to what we're seeing on the screen for a change!
I for one was glad not to see a pair of board shorts in sight. You'll not find any yachts, palm trees or double over head barrels either!
'Land Of Saints' is filmed entirely in Cornwall - with over 1000 hours of footage, featuring many of the top uk surfers showing how it's done 'Cornish stylee'.
It has definite undertones of the Jack Johnson/Moonshine Conspiracy genre about it, which can be seen in the editing, focus and soundtrack. It's a definite 'soul film' so if you're into more new skool action and rad manoeuvres then you probably won't enjoy it.
Not taking anything away from the surfers as there is some seriously good talent on display here - Alan Stokes, Lee Bartlett, Mark Harris, Ben Baird, Tom Curren, Tyson Greenway, Russell Winter, Spencer Hargreaves, Ben Skinner, Jake Boex to name but a few but as a welsh surfer I would've have liked to have seen some of the top welsh guys tearing up a few scones!
You get plenty of picture postcard scenery in the film and a real sense of nature...something that we as surfers experience first hand and the waves aren't too bad either!
I enjoyed seeing less than perfect waves as well as the odd epic session being thrown in for good measure. I'm not sure how long a time period the film was shot over but it would've been nice to have seen some bigger stuff and proper winter swells as I found towards the end of the film I was yearning to see a few good wipeouts and some bigger drops.
Lee Evans was out shooting footage at the recent Sri Lanka BPSA Tour so maybe we can expect a few warm water barrels thrown in for the second film... It's outstanding as a first effort though and where it lacks in the big budget editing from the major surf labels it makes up for in soul.
If you're a UK surfer then it's a definitely one to watch and if you're not, it gives a good indication of the sorts of waves we get here. Let's hope the next one feature more spots such as Wales, Scotland, Ireland and the North East as we all know that there's a lot of quality outside of Cornwall.
