Hangs Upon Nothing (2014) - full transcript

HANGS UPON NOTHING documents the lives of surfers: Chuck Corbett who wandered his way to the remote atolls of Kiribati, brothers Mikala and Daniel Jones whose adventures take them to the far corners of the Indonesian archipelago, alongside a local crew of teenage surfers coming of age amongst the surf mecca of Bali. First-time filmmaker, Jeremy Rumas' HANGS UPON NOTHING, is as much a celebration of surfing as it is a stunningly beautiful exploration of mystical cultures where modern technology and millennia of history intersect. Shot entirely on 16mm film using a mechanical spring-wound Bolex, over the course of seven years, and featuring an ethereal original score by Rumas' band, Velo Sun, HANG UPON NOTHING is a sensory journey of finding freedom in barreling waves.

(buildup of ethereal sound)

(slow buildup of music)

[Voiceover] Yeah,

it depends on...

You have to be comfortable

out there at sea.

Where your boat is your house,

or your...

You have to, you have to work

it so you have a sea life,

and that you're, you're

part of the um...

There's two types of people.

There's the ones who's,

they're frightened

of the dark and

what's around each corner,

and then there's the

other ones who...

Just like surfing, it's they're,

they're, they're dealing

with it as it, as it comes.

(young women singing

in Kiribati)

- [Voiceover]

Yeah, there you go.

Yeah, so uh, which sailing

school did you go to?

[Voiceover] We're self

teaching ourselves right now.

[Voiceover] You did what?

[Voiceover] We don't

know bananas about sailing,

we're learning as

we go right now.

[Voiceover] (laughing)

Does Jeremy know this?

[Voiceover] Yeah, he's

finding that out now.

In fact, he knew a few

little things today, so.

Yeah, I have lots of miles

of going around the ocean,

but I just don't have any miles

where I'm sailing

my own boat, so,

so we're learning as we go.

(women laughing)

Over the years I've

met people back to back

and one person talks

about their passage

being a real horrible passage,

and the next guy arrives

and says it's just

another walk in the park.

So...

(serene atmospheric music)

(islanders singing in Kiribati)

(serene, sparse electric

guitar music)

(tranquil music)

I asked myself a

soul-searching question.

Why was I out there?

And...

And the reason why

I was out there,

was to surf and enjoy life

and not to try to change things

politically or culturally.

And whenever you get

involved with politics,

wherever you live, that's

a whole different arena.

(old man singing in Kiribati)

(dreamlike music)

One writer a hundred years ago

termed it as a transculturalite.

One person who

temporarily or permanently

relocates into another culture

and lives under their,

lives and abides by their

values of that, of that culture.

[Voiceover] Have

you gone troppo?

[Voiceover] Yeah,

I think I've...

reached the point

at times where I've

been absolutely nutty out there.

I think most everybody

gets to that point

and usually when they do,

they get to the point

where they say screw it,

and they...

They, they go back.

I most certainly have

been to that point

where I absolutely hit,

hit this wall where...

(tranquil music with

percussion buildup)

(buildup of bombastic music)

(guitar feedback)

(serene music)

(mid-tempo music)

[Voiceover] I can tell you

where my life began,

when I was, when I

was three years old

we did a trip to Tahiti

and I can remember all

of that clear as yesterday.

And when there's photos

of me being three, and uh,

yeah, ask me anything

about it, I could tell you.

[Voiceover] Well, what

did, who'd you go with

and what did you guys do?

[Voiceover] It

was a family trip,

it was before Daniel was born.

My mom and dad and

my sister Malia,

we had a VW thing,

we did a boat ride to

the end of the road

and uh, caught fish, and

we fed all these fish heads

in a river to all these eels.

I remember topless girls,

I remember canoe rides,

I remember walking

out on a starless,

no, on a moonless night

and there's stars everywhere.

I remember waking

up in the morning

and our seats in our car, 'cause

there's no top on the car,

it was soaking wet.

What else do I remember... I

remember everything.

That's as far back as

I can ever remember.

[Voiceover] Did you

surf at all on that trip?

[Voiceover] Um, probably

on my dad's board, with him,

but not by myself, I was three.

(laughing)

[Voiceover] Did this

trip have any like...

[Voiceover] Significant...

[Voiceover] Yeah,

significant impact

on your direction in life?

[Voiceover] Yeah,

I would say it did.

(serene atmospheric organ music)

(mid-tempo music)

(tranquil music)

(acoustic guitar music)

♪ Someday