We get a lot of “documentaries” in these parts about extreme sports, but in reality, most of them fall into the category of ski and snowboard porn – lots of stunning visuals and feats of remarkable physical ability, but rarely do such films do anything but glorify life in the steep and deep.
“The Crash Reel” is different – very different. Director Lucy Walker’s documentary chronicling the near-death of world-class snowboarder Kevin Pearce is a top-down examination of the jaw-dropping highs and terrifying lows of today’s adventure sports culture.
“It’s very exhilarating, but I make sure to include the hard stuff, the troubling stuff,” Walker said from her Venice Beach home.
In 2009, Pearce was on the cusp of international superstardom. He and his childhood friend, Shaun White, were trading gold medals almost weekly at snowboard competitions worldwide, and Pearce was the only real challenge to the “Flying Tomato” as the 2010 Vancouver Olympics neared. The rivalry intensified to the point where their friendship began to dissolve, and it also was what spurred White to famously build his private “superpipe” in the mountains near Silverton that winter.
On the morning of New Year’s Eve 2009, Pearce and his friends were trying out a new pipe in Park City, Utah. Pearce took the opening run and over-rotated a landing on one of his aerials. He landed on his face and wouldn’t regain consciousness for several days. All of it – the crash, the helicopter ride and the horror shared by his friends – was caught on video and is included in “The Crash Reel.”
Pearce would spend the next two years relearning how to walk, talk and interact. And he still wanted to snowboard, despite the misgivings of his family. His mother and father, Pia and Simon, had already successfully endured the challenge of raising Kevin’s brother, David, who has Down syndrome. In many ways, Kevin’s rehab would present even more of a challenge.
“I didn’t know if I could do it again,” Pia Pearce said.
The Pearces gave Walker complete access to the family throughout Kevin’s ordeal. The director had a chance meeting with Kevin shortly after the accident in 2010, and it only took her a minute to realize she had a topic for her next film.
“I was on the lookout for stories, and even in that condition I could tell he was an amazing guy,” Walker said.
But “The Crash Reel” isn’t a story about an amazing comeback – don’t expect to see Kevin Pearce atop the podium at the end of the film. It’s a look at the very real dangers these athletes face every time they drop into the halfpipe.
The film includes the sad stories of C.R. Johnson and Sarah Burke, two skiers who were killed during the months Pearce was rehabbing and hoping to get back on a board himself.
And since the film made its debut in January at Sundance, one of Pearce’s closest friends in the pro snowboarding community, Luke Mitrani, who was there when Pearce was injured, fell during a September training run, was temporarily paralyzed and now is learning to walk again.
“None of these athletes just gets up and walks away,” Walker said. “That’s the amazing thing – the more you heat the lobster pot, the more willing they are to jump in, and they won’t get out.”
Walker’s access to the Pearce family, which includes intimate shots in their home as well as the hospitals, allowed her to be present for some of the most sensitive of discussions between Kevin, David, their older brother Adam and the parents.
During much of the first year of Kevin’s rehab, he spoke of nothing but getting back on the board and back to competition. Perhaps it was caused by the traumatic brain injury, but Kevin appears oblivious to the burden with which his injury saddled his family.
Eventually, there’s a key moment in the film when Pearce realizes that his snowboarding career is over. While he seems to have accepted his fate and even counsels other athletes in similar situations, there’s never any preaching. Pearce now knows his limitations but doesn’t appear to have any interest in dissuading others from following in his footsteps.
“The Crash Reel” is on the 15-title short list for Best Documentary at the 2014 Academy Awards. Although it was shown at Sundance and several other film festivals this year, it officially opens tonight in just four U.S. cities: New York, Hollywood, Missoula, Mont., and Durango.
“I’m really excited to have Durango for one of the opening cities because I feel like people there will really care about it,” Walker said.
Walker’s film combines the cinematography found in some of the best adventure films out today, but it’s the story and the star-studded lineup that sets this film apart from anything in its class.
“Kevin wanted to make the movie to let people know the risks involved. I just wanted to make a really good film,” Walker said. “Adventure films are great for visuals but not as much for the whole story. I wanted to tell the story and do justice to the people involved.”
ted@durangoherald.com
The Crash Reel
Phase 4 Films presents a film directed by Lucy Walker, written by Walker and Pedro Kos, featuring Kevin Pearce, Shaun White, Mason Aguirre, Danny Davis, Scotty Lago, Jack Mitrani and Luke Mitrani. Not rated. Running Time: 108 minutes.
“The Crash Reel” is playing at 4 and 6:30 p.m. today, Saturday (4 p.m. only), Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at the Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive.
