Customer Reviews

Siestas & Olas - A Surfing Journey Through Mexico [VHS]

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Following the documentary formula crafted in 1964 in "Endless Summer", this film takes 2 surfers and a second-hand Chevy Suburban down to Mexico for a surfing safari to discover the best surfing spots the country has to offer. Along the way, they make new friends and hook up with old friends and generally just drive, surf, eat, surf, sleep, and then surf some more.

Watching this movie is like watching someone's Summer vacation film, but with better camera work, better scenery, more action, better jokes, and this time the vacation is actually entertaining and fun to watch. And the Mexican tunes used for the soundtrack really makes you feel like you're there, sitting on the beach listening to someone strum a guitar as the boys surf the shorebreak. Surf fans will enjoy the action shots; everybody else will enjoy the story.

No nudity (well, except when the boys lose a bet and must wear a T-back bikini on the beach), no profanity, no blood (except for when one of the guys finds a rock in the surf with his head), and no harsh language. Nothing offensive (unless you're offended by the site of a 8' longboard split in two by the force of a wave). A good film for everyone to enjoy.

I had the joy of teaching Tom Wegener (star of the surf movie) back in the 1980s............ He is a wonderful surfer and one of the nicest people I have ever met.

I have never met anyone more stoked with surfing.

The movie is excellent and captures huge hurricane surf.

This film is much better than most of the surf flicks being produced now.

"Siestas y Olas" is the second movie by filmmaker Dan Wozniak (aka DanO), who put together "Ten Toes Over" a couple of years earlier. "Ten Toes Over" was a surf movie in the classic sense, featuring great longboarding by Tom Wegener and Joel Tudor, corny humor, a narrative reminiscient of Bruce Brown's old movies, and a lot of California, Baja, and Mexico action. It was shown theatre-style along the Cali coast as well as the East Coast and Texas, and was released in 1996 on video.

DanO returned to familiar ground with "Siestas..." with the same good longboarding, corny (almost lame) humor, and a good mix of soulful guitar and authentic south-of-the-border music. At the time this was made, Wozniak was the only guy still touring around the country with a surf movie shot on film, part of the scene that we had lost with the advent of the surf video. Other filmmakers have since followed in his footsteps, notably such movies as "Imagine: Surfing as Sadhana."

The premise of the film is simple: a three-month winter surf trip into the heart of Mexico, starting in Baja and getting as far south as Puerto Escondido. The movie stars longboard sensations Josh Farberow and Tom Wegener, with guest appearances by Joel Tudor in Puerto and Marc Kavanagh, an Aussie that hooks up with them shortly before reaching Puerto. The movie starts off with a cool vibe, getting into the cultural details of their ride (a beater suburban from Montana, sans A/C, FM radio, or working power windows) and the various local towns. Baja is skimmed-over quickly, with a touch of footage of small Scorpion Bay, before the ferry hits the main island. Throughout, most of the surfing action is on longboards, with Josh occasionally trading in for a standard thruster on the hollower stuff, and Marc sticking to his shortboard for the duration.

The quality of the movie is a vast improvement over "Ten Toes Over" which was frequently overexposed or shaky. DanO uses only film, and puts together some good water shots on the smaller days, sticking to the beach when it gets big. And it does get big! After a lot of smallish stuff at right and left-hand point breaks, the movie winds up a third act with several days' worth of solidly overhead to double-overhead Puerto. Snapped boards galore on the biggest and thickest days, and a lot of mind-blowing barrels, especially by Joel, who makes a good case in this film for being one of the worlds best surfers on any board in any conditions. The film climaxes with some truly harrowing shots of Tom and Marc charging out-of-control cloudbreaks at Petacalco. After 90 minutes of mellow times, lobster, and cervezas, the final 10 minutes will pump you back up again. Legitimately 15'-20' Hawaiian-style mackers shoaling and reeling and pounding their victims all the way to the beach. DanO has a hard time getting many good shots, lacking a boat or cliff vantage point like Peahi, Mavericks, or Waimea, so I didn't see as much as I would have liked. What I saw was epic surf with only two guys out, somewhere in the heart of Mexico at the tail end of a long journey away from home.

See this one!

This movie is a road trip through mexico with Tom Wegener, Josh Farberow, Marc Kavanagh, and Joel Tudor. These guys go from the Baja Peninsula to semi famous Puerto Escondido. Spending most of their time driving in their old Chevy Suburban, camping and surfing. Some of their adventures include a boat ride through the jungle, making hand pressed tortillas, and cooking lobsters on a wood burning adobe stove. I think that it is a fun movie and a great time for the whole family.

This is my favorite surf movie. If you like longboards or The Endless Summer get it.

Siestas & Olas is a surf movie everyone can enjoy, surfers and nonsurfers alike. Surfers will appreciate the mindblowing surfing talent of Tom Wegener, Josh Farberow, and of course world longboard champ Joel Tudor. This movie will make every surfer wish they could drop everything and travel with filmmaker Dan Wozniak. Who wouldn't die to have the chance to surf perfect uncrowded waves and meet such hospitable locals along the way? People who don't surf will eat up this film as well. It gives a taste of the surfing lifestyle and makes you feel a part of a spiritual journey. This movie really does make you feel good. Very few people have a chance to experience the things these surfers live on their journey - great waves, great friends, friendly locals, and foreign culture at its finest. Not to mention the narration is funny and witty, the music is mellow and refreshing, and the "Love Machine" surfboard is hysterical. So unless you only like watching 360 aerial antics set to 3000 rpm music, Siestas & Olas is definitely a good investment.

My 12 year old son bought this video for me because he thought it would be good for the longboarding ol'man of the house. Well it turns out that he and his punk friends watch this thing more than any other surf vid we have. I find it a goodlooking surf-travel movie with a pleasant,mellow sound track that really adds to the nice scenery!

If you like Endless summer and those types of vintage Surfing movies this is the one for you. Siestas and Olas is a wonderful nostalgic roadtrip/surfing movie with entertaining narration and of course some great waves.I felt like I had lived the trip myself by the end. Good fun and relaxing.

This is an enjoyable Surf movie about a few guys driving down to Puerto Escondido and surfing all along the way. Mostly LongBoard Surfing.

This is an enjoyable Surf movie about a few guys driving down to Puerto Escondido and surfing all along the way. Mostly LongBoard Surfing.