The ocean is already a wild, unbridled space for those of us that can see its dangerous beauty. Such intensity would only be exacerbated when removing the sense of sight, but for Australian surfing athlete Matt Formston it’s his reality, and one that he’s more than willing to exist within.
Formston’s impressive athleticism and against-the-odds mentality are at the centre of Daniel Fenech‘s The Blind Sea, an entertaining, emotionally-charged documentary that celebrates his tenacity as both a man navigating life as a husband and father, and as a world-class athlete, overcoming the “obstacles, not barriers” – as his father so describes – life has placed in his way since being diagnosed with macular dystrophy, leaving him with 3% vision.
Formston has been crowned para-surfing world champion four times, has won gold and silver medals at the UCI Paracycling Track World Championships, and represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. To say he is driven is an understatement, but it speaks to the impressiveness of his career that for director Fenech these accomplishments alone weren’t necessarily the driving force behind the film. It was Formston’s decision to take on the big waves at Nazaré in Portugal that truly provided the jolt needed for Fenech, with the filmmaker evidently taking glee in documenting Formston’s continued take-down of the expectations placed upon him as a sight-challenged individual. Societal norms be damned!
The Blind Sea primarily celebrates Formston and his achievements – as it rightfully should – and only when it delves into the technical aspects of his blindness and how it relates to those who can see does it hit an emotional point. There’s a tragic undercurrent to the proceedings, and it goes without saying that the film may be too emotionally devastating had it burrowed further into his psyche, but on the flipside of that, The Blind Sea is so positively inspiring that we can’t take away its impact as a piece of art that truly speaks to what our bodies are capable of if we hone the right mindset.
Whilst those that have braved such waves as a surfer in any capacity will fathom Formston’s ability on a deeper level, and audiences who appreciate sport documentaries of any kind will find an immediate connection, the general storytelling aspect and its poignant throughline have an undeniable universal appeal that should speak to the hearts of anyone with a passion they’ve refused to cast aside because, to others, it’s out of their potentiality.
THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The Blind Sea is now screening in select theatre locations across Australia. To find your local participating venue, visit The Blind Sea’s official site here.
