Felicia Feaster Charleston City Paper Jan 28, 2020

[A] wonderful, captivating documentary.

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Mike D'Angelo Esquire Magazine Oct 17, 2018

You can't stop watching, but every fiber of your being is still shouting, "Put the goddamn camera down!"

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Drew Toal Time Out Nov 18, 2011 4/5

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Hank Sartin Time Out Nov 17, 2011 4/5

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Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly Sep 7, 2011 A-

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Marty Mapes Movie Habit Apr 21, 2009 3.5/4

New Bohemian lifestyle: good, bad, or neutral?

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Robert Roten Laramie Movie Scope Feb 11, 2009 B

This documentary about a famous family of nomadic surfers is fascinating not only because of the certifiable oddball patriarch, but also because of his endlessly creative offspring.

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Andrea Gronvall Chicago Reader Dec 17, 2008

The fallout decades later provides the drama in this documentary by Doug Pray, who lets his eccentric octogenarian subject off a little too easy.

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Nora Lee Mandel Film-Forward.com Dec 7, 2008 6/10

Intriguing family story of the sunny and dark sides of extreme home-schooling by surfing, through a trove of photos, home movies, and reminiscences, but little insight.

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Christian Toto What Would Toto Watch? Dec 4, 2008 3/4

Surfwise will make you hug your parents a little harder the next time you see them.

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Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Nov 30, 2008 B

Provocative but even-handed subculture lifestyle film.

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Austin Kennedy Sin Magazine Oct 17, 2008 3/4

Doug Pray, has made a fascinating look at a man who not only was a great revolutionary, but a pure human being.

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Sean P. Means Salt Lake Tribune Aug 1, 2008 3/4

Pray's fast-paced editing matches the Paskowitzes' rootless existence, though at times it's difficult to keep track of who's who.

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Jeff Vice Deseret News (Salt Lake City) Jul 31, 2008 3/4

The most fascinating parts of the movie explore how the Paskowitz children -- who are now in their 30s and 40s -- continue to adjust to a more 'normal' lifestyle.

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Joe Leydon Houston Chronicle Jul 18, 2008 3/4

A provocative documentary about a man who dropped out to follow a dream that gradually evolved into something not unlike a nightmare.

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Steven Rea Philadelphia Inquirer Jun 26, 2008 3.5/4

Not just the story of one man's obsessive quest to find harmony on a plank of wood, Surfwise offers a cautionary tale about parenting, homeschooling (camper-schooling, actually), sibling rivalries and family sacrifice.

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Chris Hewitt St. Paul Pioneer Press Jun 20, 2008 4/4

Surfwise is a graceful, searching film that seems to have missed no opportunity to reveal truths about parents and children and how they come to understand each other.

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Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Jun 20, 2008 3/4

The film's director, Doug Pray, has been able to track down each and every Paskowitz child, and he weaves their memories together with old home movies, still photos and news clippings to create an evocative portrait of their lives.

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Noel Murray AV Club Jun 19, 2008 A-

Some documentarians think like essayists, propagandists, abstract painters, or magazine reporters. Doug Pray approaches his documentaries as though he's writing books.

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Sid Smith Chicago Tribune Jun 19, 2008 3/4

The unorthodox upbringing of the Paskowitz clan is the subject of Surfwise, the story of a family who lived on the road, camped at the beachfront and fashioned its own vanguard version of 1960s-'70s alternative lifestyles.

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