A big Wednesday
There are some films that a person must see at least once in their life, and "BIG WEDNESDAY" is one of them.
It is films like this that change the perception of oneself and the world and deform time and space for generations to come, John Milius, director of the film and great surfing enthusiast, describing this compelling story will change the collective idea for this sport .
Furthermore, after the release of the film in which the "Bear" brand was specially created, the aforementioned brand will come to life in reality, first of all creating a technical sports brand and then leading to total wear.
The plot focuses on the friendship of three young Californian boys, Matt, Jack and Leroy, of the generation that first had to fight (or fight to not go to fight) in Vietnam.
The film begins by describing the young life of the three boys divided between work, sport, first loves and good times spent in company.
The film continues with the call to arms to Vietnam but like most of the young population of the time they are opposed to what is happening, thanks to the playful and entertaining efforts made by Matt and Leroy to avoid eligibility for recruitment, they avoid war while Jack will spend three years of horrible vicissitudes there. Paraphrasing we can understand that the figure of Vietnam can be read as growth, evolution, individual transformation in relations with the rest of the world.
Once they return to their homeland, they will be different people, and that ardor they possessed in their soul will be attenuated by the horrors of a war not theirs, in which they will also lose a dear friend.
The fundamental aspect of the film and what PETRI has in common with it is that the director wanted to underline the true sense of friendship that our three protagonists possess: that is, that friendship is not the routine of shared moments, which always does confuse with frequenting, but being there in general, perhaps even after years, understanding and enjoying those moments in which we share innate passions within us with other individuals.
The last quarter of an hour of the film scenographically describes the concept described above, an ending that makes the skin crawl.
Our surfers find themselves casually on the usual beach where the perfect storm is unleashed that everyone has been waiting for for years, the 1974 storm.
They honor the best waves of their lives, together, for one last time; without having regrets about what has been and looking at the future with different eyes than those of twelve years before aware of their positive change.
The transcendentality of the waves, with their uncertain and majestic gait, and the man who hopelessly tries to ride them is the perfect metaphor in which the young people of the time found themselves and it is also comparable to our historical period obviously with different variables and problems.
The audacity with which Matt, Jack and Leroy face the waves and their misfortunes, PETRI finds it in his soul trying to face a bigger challenge than reality itself; and even if the future is uncertain and clouded by apparent difficulties we will always surf the wave trying to understand the moment and exploit it to our advantage.