Ocean Tribe

I saw Ocean Tribe at the 1998 Bangkok Int'l Film Festival in Thailand. The reason it caught my eye in the listings was that I had a friend who was an avid surfer and another friend who was from Mexico, so I thought a movie about friendship, surfing and Mexico would be tailor-made for us. :)

The movie had a tremendous impact on me. Especially the cinematography and the well thought-out message impressed me. Considering the low budget and unknown cast, this really was an ace of a film. I would classify it as a road movie and a buddy movie.

Some people might consider some scenes a bit too melodramatic, and things like the dolphin parallel (a group of dolphins always tries to keep a dying member afloat as long as possible) might not be for everyone's tastes, but I personally thought they were dealt with delicately. The characters were somewhat stereotypical, but not too much to ruin my enjoyment.

This was one of those films that leave everyone in the movie theater sitting silently in their seats as the credits roll on the screen. Just for the feeling I had at that moment, I've got to give Ocean Tribe a 10 out of 10.