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< March April 2002
	Book and video Reviews

Life of the River–the Futaleufu

by Liz McGregor, BoonDocs/Equilibrio Productions, 54 min., $29.95,www.boondocs.com, videos@boondocs.com, (212) 966-3030, ext. 228

Life of the River–the Futaleufu is an eco-sensitive documentary that goes south to Chile with travel writer Rick Montgomery to call attention to the Futaleufu valley. After getting up close and personal with some of the greatest Class V rapids on the planet, Montgomery meets the community of Futaleufu and discovers that a dam threatens to turn that whitewater into a lake.

The film bridges the gap between entertainment and crusade by combining a fun whitewater travelogue centered around Montgomery with the facts of a river in peril. Focusing on appreciation and awareness, the documentary's goal is to increase interest in a place whose beauty is compared to Aspen, Colo., and Whistler, B.C., some 50 years ago. Beautiful cinematography mixes with the real concerns of water rights and the threat of a dam to extend an understanding of the crisis gripping this small Patagonian town. It calls for preservation of the river and creates an awareness of the dam threat which energy giant Endesa is working on, yet denying.

Conservationists liken damming the Futaleufu to flooding the Sistine Chapel. After losing the Bio Bio to a dam, locals and conservationists are working to step up tourism and the whitewater industry to fight Endesa. Large dams were once considered cheap, clean ways to make power; but now locals are realizing they create environmental damage and wreak havoc on local communities. This hour-long documentary is an excellent effort toward protecting the pristine waterway—the only thing better is visiting it yourself.

—Nicolle Bratkovics

Liquid Skills

by Ken Whiting and Chris Emerick, Heliconia Press, (613) 256-7300, www.playboat.com, 73 minutes, $29.95.

If you’re looking for a wild, freestyle exhibition to pump up your party, this is not your video. If you’re a beginner or intermediate whitewater kayaker looking for top-notch, clear and concise instruction, then pop this baby in. Watching Liquid Skills you get a sense that whitewater paddling is nothing if not an entirely wholesome pastime (a strange notion). This wholesomeness can be attributed entirely to the video’s star and producer, Ken Whiting, the former World Freestyle champ from Canada, who exudes the patience and thoughtfulness of an experienced teacher. That Whiting has been teaching ever since his 1997 victory at the Worlds is apparent not only in each lesson, but in the progression of the video.

It begins with a tour of the fundamentals, from boat choice to pre-paddling warm–ups to the forward stroke. The second chapter outlines basic and intermediate playing techniques, including flat spins and cartwheels. Each skill is thoroughly explained and then followed with a drill to practice. This one-two progression is the heart of the video, and encourages practice, which is the point.

While Whiting expressly says that Liquid Skills is not meant to be watched straight through, but rather in segments depending on the skill you want to improve, you almost can. Videographer Chris Emerick is smart about gathering a variety of shot angles (overhead, side, front) that not only illustrate the skill, but break up the visual landscape. Furthermore, the video is filmed entirely in Chile, where the scenery illuminates each sequence. What makes this video worth buying is not only the thorough instruction in the fundamentals (which every paddler needs from rookie to pro), but its superb attention to detail (the funky background music subtly increases in tempo as the skills get more flashy). You won’t outgrow this one.

—Frederick Reimers