If you have ever taken a helicopter to the top of une grande montagne, as the French would say, strapped on a snowboard or skis, jumped out of a chopper and then propelled yourself into fresh powder, avoiding the odd jagged rock face and avalanching snow, then you just might hold your own when compared to the guys and girls in the new extreme sports documentary Soul Purpose. Judging that most of us probably haven’t-if you have you can have my vote for ‘legend of the year’-you need to see this film.
Granted this type of thing has been done before-films of huge tricks, massive stunts and outrageous slams are about as frequent as Tim Horton’s on the highway-but Soul Purpose seemed to, at least to me, have a bit of a different edge. For a start, they went to some pretty crazy venues to shoot the stuff. They travelled from Russia to Italy, made a brief stop in Bulgaria, and then went all over North America.
The camera work was incredible, as the riders were filmed picking their individual paths down sheer faces with limited room to manoeuvre. The film also explored the lives and ambitions of some fairly loopy individuals, whose ‘soul purpose’ was to find the biggest rush, the deepest powder, and to scare the crap out of themselves.
There was also a section where skiers and snowboarders were riding off the edge of cliffs, somersaulting in the air and then pulling parachute cords-enough to put your heart in your mouth for a wee while. In one case a guy’s parachute opened wrong and diverted him towards the cliff face. Just in time he managed to pull an about turn and save himself. Back on the ground this individual seemed undaunted by his experience. Beaming from ear to ear he announced it was the greatest rush of his life.
If you like crazy stunts, incredible scenery, huge air and deep powder, this is for you. It makes you want to strap that board on and hit the kickers, or whack on your boots and carve it up. Personally I will probably stick to the chair lift, lack of ability and funds being the major obstacle to higher peaks, but no doubt Soul Purpose gets you in the mood for a winter of massive proportions.
