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Back Shelf Beauties
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First Descent Even if you are not a snowboarding fan, First Descent is a fun and astonishing look at the sport's history complete with amazing footage of the most harrowing snowboarding you will ever see in your life. In other words, you get to see crazy people do stupid stuff you have to be very very very drunk to try, but they think it is fun! At least, it's fun and cool to watch. In this documentary, directors Kevin Harrison and Kemp Curley have gathered together three of sport's legendary pioneers - Shawn Farmer, Nick Perata and Terje Haakonsen - along with two of today's biggest stars - Shaun White and Hannah Teter - to take a two week trip to the backcountry of Alaska for some of the most dangerous and exhilarating snowboarding they have ever encountered. During the trip, we learn about the history of snowboarding, the backgrounds of each person on the trip and see some killer action on mountains no one has ever tackled. Like a great Warren Miller movie, Harrison and Curley know we want to see the death defying snowboarding, and they don't disappoint. The audience is held in suspense as each snowboarder tackles huge jumps, avalanches, steep runs and exceed heights most rational human beings would avoid, especially in First Descent's closing moments as we watch one snowboarder tackle a run more dangerous than you have ever seen. Of course, that's the fun of it all as we witness them accomplish something visually stunning and show bravery I could never muster (I have enough trouble riding tall escalators, I can't imagine I could shoot down one while riding an ironing board). However, we get more than some aerial maneuvers. Harrison and Curley also bring us the history of the sport from its genesis as an oddity in the 1970's (and earlier) to its punk insurgence in the 1980's, which includes a fortuitous melding of snowboarding and skateboarding, to its rise in popularity in the 1990's and today. They take time to talk to people who were there in the beginning, and do a wonderful job showing us how a anti-establishment feel permeates the sport because of how snowboarding was treated in its early years and who was attracted to it. Most fascinating, the audience sees how corporate sponsors and the sport's inclusion in the Olympics have invaded what used to be a rebellious activity, and how the participants feel about it (Sure, they aren't happy about being co-opted, but they take the evil corporate cash because it buys nice houses and cars and stuff). Best of all, Harrison and Curley are not in our face about respecting the sport or embracing it as something better than any other sport around. This lack of proselytizing lets the footage and words of the interviewees speak for themselves, which is quite refreshing in a movie such as this. I wish they would have tackled the uglier side of snowboarding's history, including what appears to be the rise and fall of Farmer (who seems a like a broken man who used to be on top of the world in his early twenties, blew it, and now has nothing but some memories), and the pace could be quicker, but First Descent is worth a look. 3 Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2005 - WaffleMovies.com
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