The saviour

At his peak, Jose Luciano Casillas was one of Europe’s most talented surfers. That was before a dreadful run of substance abuse, psychotic episodes and trouble with the law all but ended his career, and almost his life, all of which is captured poignantly in this short film. The story is a familiar one to surfers, and timely given the circumstances surrounding the death of one of the sport’s all time greats recently. For Jose, salvation comes after he encounters a mysterious bearded figure one day at the beach. Shrouded in light, the man appears to walk, even dance and jive across the water and Jose, baring the mortally wounded soul as he is, feels compelled to approach him. He speaks softly, so much so Jose has to lean in to hear him, and with humility. He tells Jose in no uncertain terms what his path to redemption is: read the bible and surf. So who was that mysterious stubble-faced man on the beach that day? No, idiot. Curren, it was Tom Curren. By all reports the film played out to a rapturous reception at the recent San Sebastian film festival.