Go and understand, without life having a long journey strewn with pitfalls in store for you, that nothing is possible without a sometimes tight balance of madness and reason; of rebellion and acceptance; yes and no; to choose to leave or to stay. The dosage is precise. The thoughtful mix. The recipe is not clear, but one thing is certain: it is complex.
Complex like surfing, this trompe-l’oeil sport, where success hides the course, simplicity makes you forget the difficulty, sliding hides the balance. Facing the beach, in the magnificent waves of the south coast of Australia, they are five young teenagers to accomplish with their board what will become essential here: knowing how to live together to be able to surf better.
Summer, Ari, Bodhi, Poppy and Marlon are friends and passionate. In Surviving Summer on Netflix, they surf the tubes as they surf the themes of life. Friends, family, love, trust, passions, communication, health, ego, competition, loyalty. One thing is certain: the swell sweeps over the small town of Shorehaven.
The encounters that trouble us
I started surfing 3 months ago. Thanks to an opportunity, a friend, and choices that led me to live in Portugal. I landed in this world like Summer in Surviving Summer settled down in Australia. From the airport to the first wave, Netflix has made the ocean the central element, where you get on the boards to surf as if to reconnect with the theater.
The series has 10 episodes of less than 30 minutes. Directed by Josh Mapleston and Joanna Werner. Much of the cast is amateur. Understand by this that the production has only selected young enthusiasts, for some with already well advanced careers in surfing (Lilliana Bowrey), and who have lent themselves to all the shots on their board, throughout from the Serie.
Behind the vibe a bit Camping Paradisewe look Surviving Summer carefully. The acting may stay on the surface most of the time (but they never sink, they are surfers after all), the story hides a particularly deep reef, with its complex ecosystem on adolescence, choices, disobedience essential as considered.
© Netflix
Summer is the embodiment of the disruptive element. The heroine is above all the one who separates, who spoils everything that is not built on sound foundations. It is this encounter that troubles us, far too honest (I see a bit of JD Salinger there in The Heart Catcher), far too angry with the rules, too rebellious, which takes us out of our comfort zone and casts on us the reflection that we do not want to see. The one that the other four protagonists will have to rub shoulders with to “survive”.
Survive Summer? No. Survive with Summer. The Netflix series tweaked the character’s writing to make it that life-changing encounter. More difficult to represent than a friendly or romantic encounter, she is this individual that we run away from because he bothers us, and who ends up making us cry when he has to leave. It is the way of reason for minds that are too passionate, the way of passion for minds that are too reasoned.
Summer is also this shooting star who seems to do as she pleases, but who reminds us that between leading a life for yourself or for others, the answer is often to lead a life for yourself with others. She also has a job: “I think we both have to work on ourselves”, his mother told him in the last episode of the series. But without it, it is very likely that no one would face a surge sufficient to choose to change, to communicate and to decide.
© Netflix
Surfing, this disturbing reflection of life
Behind a more complex mesh of characters than expected, a splendid setting is revealed. The scenes of Surviving Summer were filmed along the southern coast of Australia, in the state of Victoria. A magnificent postcard that would make us prefer to go to Melbourne rather than Sydney. The paradise of vans, waking up to the light of the sun, and the ideal swell for surfing.
The Netflix series rolls out dozens and dozens of takes in waves, with shortboards which would almost make you forget the importance of equipping yourself with a soft board 8 feet when you start surfing. But above all, it shows the disturbing reflection of life that there is in surfing. This most beautiful sport that looks so easy when you admire the seasoned surfers. So poetic and relaxed while it only requires concentration, precision and support.
I was looking on Netflix for a program that could give me this image of surfing. One that provides joy and fun from the first minute, but will take us years of repetition. The one that makes us learn to be careful while daring to seize opportunities. Surfing which is lived by its philosophy, and by its hold down that drag us to the bottom, obliging us to one thing only: to keep our calm.
If the winter is long, if you miss skiing, if you are wondering about your choices, you will find in Surviving Summer a colorful, simple, passionate series that will raise all these themes. In my opinion, do not hesitate. And if at the end of the program you don’t feel overwhelmed, at least you will have taken the time to learn how to breathe to tame the arrival of the next wave.
Surviving Summer: season 2 confirmed. In November, Surviving Summer’s production company confirmed that Netflix had given the green light for a season 2. In a statement, Werner Film Productions and ZDF Studios noted: “the hit Australian drama that became a global hit for Netflix, returns for another season, Season 2 will see the cast return to the iconic beaches of the Great Ocean Road in Victoria (Wadawurrung Country), Australia for 8 more episodes”. See you in 2023 most certainly.
