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Simply put, Unparalleled.03 "Soul Slide" is by
far the greatest telemark ski film ever made. It is to freeheel
skiing what Bruce Brown's "Endless Summer" was to surfing,
or Greg Stump's "Blizzard of Ahs" was to extreme skiing;
this movie really is that good.
Neither a monument to the new generation of tele skiers
nor a tribute to the mountaineering or Nordic roots of freeheel,
"Soul Slide" is exactly that, a glimpse into the soul
of the sport. No, it's more than a glimpse, it's more like a
laser beam, illuminating all that we have come to love about
tele skiing in a way that has never been seen before.
The film opens with a tribute to Aaron Martin, a friend
to many in the world of freeheel, who fell to his death last
spring while skiing on Mt. St. Elias. After a skiing sequence
and voice-over by another good friend, the camera zooms in for
a close up of a ski with a photo of Martin glued to its topsheet.
As the camera pans back the contemplative, sad face of Scott
Schield, a close friend of Aaron's, is revealed. It's a moving
dedication of the film, "to friends who have departed and
never returned."
It's a stunningly soulful moment and somehow producer/
director Josh "Bones" Murphy is able to carry that
momentum throughout the entire film. Through all the awesome
ski footage, the humor, and the incredible natural beauty, the
essence of the movie never wavers.
Don't get me wrong, unlike many other films in the genre,
the theme never gets in the way of the almost non-stop epic action.
The quality of the skiing, and the way it is captured on 16mm
film, is first rate in every way. Ullr smiled down hard on Bones
during the making of Up.03. The crew scored big-time on a major
trip to Bella Coola, British Columbia, bringing home incredible
powder skiing footage. Similar good luck followed the team during
segments filmed in California, Utah, Colorado, France and Norway.
They even had beautiful blue skies and sunny weather every day
during the early summer skiing and hucking sessions shot at Mt.
Hood.
The crew was indeed fortunate because, when all is said
and done, it's the skiing, the snow and the terrain that make
or break a ski film, and "Soul Slide" delivers on all
counts. All of the athletes shine, a list that includes BJ Brewer,
Frode Gronvold, Charlie Cannon and Lorenzo Worster, Sarah Clemensen,
Max Mancini, Scott Schield, Pete Gallup, and Scott Murray. All
of them represent nearly every aspect of the sport in the best
possible way.
Tele freeskier Sarah Clemenson's segments are especially
fun to watch as she tears it up in the steep and deep. Not surprisingly,
the boys all go off, launching...and landing...big and stylie
airs, as well as pulling off a lot of impressive tricks. Oh and
did I mention the powder skiing? As great as all the new school
stuff is, it's the beautiful shots of this soul sliding crew
in the powder that puts the movie over the top. Whether straightlining,
rhythmically knocking off short pow turns, or executing every
turn style in between, these teleskiers make full use of their
considerable talent to deliver the most inspiring freeheel footage
ever captured on film. |
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