Jan. 04, 2012 - Issue #846: Year in review
Reinventing ski porn
Producers explore ways to keep things fresh
» Mike Brown shoots Austin Ross on some untouched powder in Solitaire
"Naturally what we see is the beauty in the sport, the culture and the lifestyle, and those are the things we want to focus on," says Sweetgrass director Nick Waggoner. "There's been 60 years of films that focus on the other aspects."
A little history: Warren Miller largely invented the ski-porn formula, with its hallmark slick production, thin plots and great action sequences that first inspired the allusion. Of late, however, the industry is undergoing some transformation, punctuated by the recent Level 1 vs Warren Miller Entertainment lawsuit, the rise of "serious" ski films and the instant web edit. For a genre that has largely relied on pure entertainment as its model, suddenly producers and audiences alike are confronting the question about how the industry can and should evolve.
"There's multiple ways to progress ski movies," suggests Zac Ramras, Sweetgrass' producer. "We're trying to explore other options, alternative ways to do that." Looking back at some of the notable releases of 2011, this undercurrent of change in the industry plays out in interesting ways.
All.I.Can
Sherpas Cinema
With its colourful montage and dramatic scoring, the opening sequence of All.I.Can begins almost like a Fellini movie. Action, the central element of so many ski movies , plays only a co-starring role with scenery and storyline here.
ESPN.com's Jamey Voss called it "the best movie in skiing," and there's a strong argument for that. The Sherpas certainly brought us the single best segment of 2011 with JP Auclair's street-skiing scene, and the cinematography and locales are incomparable to boot. And as a call to action to skiers et al on "the forefront of climate change," the filmmakers have elevated their message beyond your average ski porn.
But, with such an ambitious endeavour, weighting is delicate—titillation versus education, action versus story—and at times it's hard not to wonder if the scales are somewhat imbalanced, as filmmakers weave storylines in and out, and force viewers to wait patiently for the final payoff while the film attempts to tackle its almost limitless topic. Whether the conclusion lives up to the buildup remains in the "I" of the beholder.
Art of Flight
Red Bull Media House/Brain Farm
Lacing surreal cinematography with over-the-top action, Art of Flight succeeds where many have tried and failed—topping Miller—but it's an empty victory. The pursuit-of-bigger-untracked-lines angle is stale, the gratuitous escalation of action scenes overdone and the personalities flat as cardboard.
Travis Rice seems to have grasped the value of the Western celebrity machine as a moneymaker, but little else. Art of Flight is a thinly veiled, self-promotional vehicle and, quite frankly, Rice comes off as a surly, castrated bull—crotch rocket-jockeying on planes, ocean liners and sleds to service his own ego and powder whims to the point of parody. Had he pushed it a little farther, the film might actually have crossed over into genius—the Dr Strangelove of snow sport.
But he didn't, and it isn't. In one scene he criticizes another athlete who wants to abandon the backcountry for a hospital after a bone-breaking fall. The camera zooms in on Rice, hawking and spitting from a nosebleed as he voices over generic platitudes about the toughness and sacrifice necessary to achieve greatness.
Seriously? Rice is an amazingly talented athlete, and Red Bull/Brain Farm have the wealth and knack, but the sum is far less than its parts.
Attack of La Niña
Matchstick Productions
If annual ski-film releases were a political contest, Attack of La Niña would be the sleeper candidate. Coming up the middle between artistic, elevated themes and wanton excess, Matchstick brings some essential levity to the slate, staying true to its heritage.
Where Rice and Co fail, Matchstick excels by communicating the joy of skiing in its unpretentious, self-deprecating way. Colby West camps it up with trademark flair while Mark Abma, Eric Hjorleifson, Sean Pettit and Rory Bushfield perpetrate juvenile gags (Bushfield's "flipping off everything" entrance is classic) in between spectacular riding so that by the time Pettit and Hoji engineer a descent on the thinnest of spines imaginable it doesn't feel like posturing, it's just an extension of their passion for the sport. Great art it ain't, but great fun for sure.
Solitaire
Sweetgrass Productions
Finally, Solitaire. While it shares roots with the rest of the films in this genre, this release just feels different. From the aforementioned Spanish subtitles to its understated score and Hemingway-esque storyline (think iceberg theory), there's more thoughtfulness than testosterone in this release.
Without preaching, the film tackles intricate topics, shying away from conclusions and challenging audiences to delve into the issues it unveils. At the film's showing at the Banff Mountain Festival, the first question to Sweetgrass's Nic Waggoner and Zac Ramras was for further explication. This is hardly an indictment, however, but a simple indication of the depth of the subject matter.
Yet, through treating skiing as the physical art form it can be, Sweetgrass is also able to get across some of the exuberance, natural beauty and community elements that enable the sport to transcend formula and genre.
Individual tastes will differ, as they always do. Not every skier will gravitate towards the artistry of Solitaire. Some may prefer the fist-pumping, supercharged Art of Flight approach.
The answer to how things progress from here lies with every skier and snowboarder, but the growing diversity reflected in the films of 2011 hopefully indicates a rejuvenation of that old favoured standby, the shred flick.
If ski porn is dead, long live ski porn.
More stories in Snow Zone »
vueweekly.com comments: powered by DisqusPrivacy Policy:
Vue respects your privacy. We will not forward your personal information to any other organization except as required by law, and will use your e-mail address only to respond to your comments. We reserve the right to edit and remove comments for length, clarity and/or if they are illegal or inappropriate. Your email address is never shown to visitors to vueweekly.com. Read the whole policy at: http://vueweekly.com/privacy
Comments policy
Comments go online directly without first being seen or reviewed by editors at Vue. Don't personally attack people, don't be defamatory, don't be spam-atory, don't hawk your band, don't pretend to be someone else, be clear, be on topic, be nice. Read our extended comments policy here. »
We use Disqus for our comments system. What's that all about?
We found that managing the comment community at Vue was easier to do with a system like Disqus. If this isn't straightforward to you, get help here.