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The premiere last week at the Yamba Cinema of the new needessentials surfing movie, Following the Fall Line, was fantastic. It reminded me of going to see surfing films back in the 1970s. Packed houses and red-hot surfing, with the family-free vibe that filmmakers Bob Evans, Paul Witzig and Albe Falzon generously manifested. While the film focuses on the incredible surfing of Bryce Young, what emerged was the love between a young man, his family, their community, and the surrounding coastline. Bryce didn’t just inherit the surfing brilliance of his father, Nat Young, but also the loving nature of his mother, Tye Deaton-Young, who shot much of the footage featured in the movie. This film, in more ways than one, is a labour of love.
It was a stroke of genius to include at the premiere two short films before the main feature. The first, the final sequence from The Hot Generation (Paul Witzig.1967), featured Nat, Bob McTavish and Dick Brewer sharing perfect overhead waves at Honolua Bay, Maui. This sequence doesn’t just pay homage to the cutting-edge prowess of the surfers of the day, it actually documents some of the first shots fired in the short-board revolution. It also clearly demonstrated the lineage from which Bryce sprang forth.
The second short film was a segment from the remarkable documentary feature, Fall Line (Nat Young. 1977).Watching this for the first time since its release over forty years ago, I was just as blown away by Nat’s observation of the relationship between the many different disciplines of sport that he and his cohort practise. The treatment of the footage in the editing process was revolutionary at the time, and once again blew minds last night. Particularly the overlaying of surfing and skiing together. The melding of concept, art, music and action, wasn’t only futuristic in terms of filmmaking, it was also prescient in its perception of the place Extreme Sports would one day inhabit in our society.
Following the Fall Line (Milo Ingelis. 2023), was not only a credible addendum to these iconic surf films, but it was also a revelation. The surfing of Bryce Young is electric from start to finish. Ryan Burch’s multiplicity of handshapes suit his surfing almost supernaturally. Bryce’s descendance from an ancestry of multidisciplinarians manifests in his riding of more different types of surfboards than seems imaginable. The music and editing are world class and follow faithfully in the footsteps of the two pre-screened shorts. Bryce rides every conceivable surf craft, with a degree of free-surfing excellence that rarely finds its way onto the big screen. The last song, Solid Rock, (Goanna. 1982), brought the house down.
For many years, in fact decades, I’ve seen Bryce surfing the myriad waves of the Clarence Valley coast. Often, he’s mixing it up with his extended family and friends, or professional surfers who just happen to be passing through. Even more often he’s riding an unusually designed surfboard. Many times, over the last ten years, I’ve seen his mum, Tye, videoing him, rain, hail or shine. But far more often I’ve seen him alone, in every conceivable range of conditions, on every surf-craft imaginable, doing what he does best. He reminds me of John J Dunbar, in Dances with Wolves. Only, Bryce dances with waves.
For me, Following the Fall Line is much more than just another surfing film. A cynic might suggest that this is because I know Bryce and the Young’s and have lived alongside them in the same small town for generations. But I believe it’s something else. Watching the film, I couldn’t help but think of the sacrifices that Bryce has made to surf as well as he does. And the sacrifices of others. A true artist must dedicate themselves to their practice and suffer the consequences of not pursuing more conventional paths. Some may frown upon this, but when the day of days comes, which it inevitably must, it’s abundantly clear why they live the way they do. For them, there is no other option. It’s more than an addiction, it’s a way of life. Indeed, their destiny.Â
My experience of seeing the film last week was so much more than just watching another surfing movie. What I witnessed on screen was an act of generosity. Generosity and sacrifice in the name of art. Even more than that, it was evidence of the most beautiful thing that I know of, the love of a family and community for one of its own.
All I could think of as I left the cinema, was the thousands of Bryce’s trademark top-turn-carves, that have not only gone by undocumented, but that went unseen … by anyone.
