Dear Suburbia

Review by Dom Read

Kai Neville. He is a man who has been hard at work for quite some time now. Working furiously with some of your favourite surfers to produce some BIG productions. He is the man responsible for the breakthrough powerhouse of Modern Collective and the ambitious Lost Atlas.

   Kai Neville’s newest flick Dear Suburbia is an epic of travel and diverse destinations. Featuring some of the most talented men (some barely boys) displaying some serious surfing. The travel takes the lads to areas of the globe sometimes glimpsed at, but not so well known to the masses; Japan, New Zealand and the Caribbean feature among other locations like West Oz and Indonesia.
   Interspersed between the locations are small scenes depicting objects of a modern suburban life. If you’re the type who likes non-linear, surreal movies; then you may interpret this as a huge ‘fuck-you’ to said modern suburban living. Or you could take it as playful nothingness from a group of hipsters young at heart; simply used to make you giggle a bit between scenes.
   Some will despise the overly-hipster appearance of the exploration, the standard shot of the Indonesian local features; as does the ‘walking-down-the-street’ shots of Craig Anderson and Dane Reynolds in somewhere you’ve probably never been. This is where Dear Suburbia follows on from its prequel Lost Atlas, a film that showcased how Neville likes to film; A truly magnificent film in itself. As stated ‘Some’ will despise; we however, do not. The exploration/culture aspects are brilliant, and really show what Neville wanted to convey; youth on the run.
   The youth in question includes big ASP tour names John John Florence, Dillon Perillo and Yadin Nicol. It also features some of the most famous modern surfing talent this globe has laid witness to. Mitch Coleborn, Taj Burrow, Craig Anderson, Dion Angius and Evan Geiselman all throw some fins and lay some rail. It’s a joy to see Chippa Wilson stomping some huge aerials in the opening scene as well.

There is one man, and one section of this film that has been saved until last though; Dane Reynolds and Japan. This final segment of this stunning work of art is majestic; heaving barrels, with Dane Reynolds and John John threading some very small needles. The surfing from Dane is beyond anything else. Every other surfer in this film excels themselves, displaying their personal best airs, barrels and carves, but Danes slightly older, larger and more experienced figure takes his surfing to a cut above the rest in terms of pure power. He defies any knowledge of hydrography and water flow, as he seamlessly manages to take his board to critical areas of the wave that one simply couldn’t replicate.

It doesn’t matter why you watch this; whether that be for the artistic value, the locations, the brilliant music adding a hint of atmosphere to each to scene, or the insane surfing. Just make sure you watch it. We here at UKPSN are all ready for a few warm kegs after watching it.