Kevin Pearce was young, handsome, kind and talented. He was a snowboarding champion and an obvious challenger for the 2010 Winter Olympics. That was until he stacked a practice cab double cork in Utah, landing face first into the ice, violently striking his head and left eye.
The Crash Reel follows Kevin’s incredible real life journey from the bright lights of stardom to the inexhaustible recovery of an acquired brain injury. At its core is an intimate family portrait detailing the intricacies and delicacies of the beauty within tragedy. Pearce’s family are modest, hard working, folk that love their boys. Pearce stars as the antagonist of his own documentary as his family struggle to understand his ache to return to the sport that almost destroyed him, especially Dave. Dave Pearce is Kevin’s younger brother and was born with down syndrome and is perhaps the most interesting and loveable character in this documentary. The film is comprised of footage captured over Pearce’s sporting career by journalists and his friends as well as the private footage captured of his family life. Walker weaves Kevin’s story into an emotionally blinding piece of art.
The Crash Reel transcends sport clichés of champion and macho laden heroics and asks some humourless and sobering questions about extreme sports, the worth of that unobtainable thrill and the feeling of chasing it.
