“Against The Tides” — An Inspiring Example Of Athletic Endeavour
Stefan Stuckert’s feature documentary Against the Tides is both a compelling example of human perseverance and courage in the face of an unprecedented sporting challenge and, in addition to its depiction of fearless athletic endeavour, a story of family, relationships and the bonds that help us overcome adversity.
The film, which had its world premiere at the prestigious Sheffield International Documentary Festival in 2018, follows open water endurance swimmer Beth French as she attempts to conquer the Oceans Seven challenge in a single year. Known as the equivalent of climbing the seven summits in mountaineering, it is the ultimate test, and one which had never before been completed in a single year.
Nominated for Best Documentary at both the 2019 Austin and Marbella Film Festivals and winning the Filmic Prize at the Nordic Adventure Film Festival in Copenhagen, Against the Tides joins French on her daring worldwide journey, beginning in the USA where she takes on the Catalina Channel.
It’s the start of challenge that will take her all around the globe, swimming in some of the world’s most unforgiving waters. As well as enduring the cold, she also has to overcome the strong tidal flows of the Cook Strait in New Zealand, the shark-infested Molokai Channel in Hawaii, and the dangerous shipping lanes of the Strait of Gibraltar. And she has to do this while acknowledging her responsibilities as a single parent, her young autistic son travelling with her on every leg.
As a sports documentary, Against the Tides works rather well. Stuckert captures the drama of French’s swims largely from the support boats that follow her. Joining the audacious athlete as part of her back-up crew, we see project manager Ella Hewton feel every stroke as she tracks French’s progress while ensuring she’s replenished by energy drinks handed to her from the side of the support vessel.
The formalities of Hewton’s meticulous analysis of the swimmer’s pace are offset by outbursts of anguish (when, for example, a shark begins circling), defiance (as she shouts words of encouragement to French in moments of uncertainty), and nervous excitement (as the athlete nears the finishing shorelines). Stuckert combines this with some wonderful drone and underwater photography that, while being artistically pleasing on the eye, accentuates the true magnitude of French’s undertaking.
The film then follows her between swims; at home helping with homework, at her mother’s chatting about childhood and ongoing battle with M.E. (a.k.a. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) which temporarily put her in a wheelchair, and at her father’s as he watches online news stories about her progress. This portion of the film works less successfully. While it provides context to the fortitude of a single parent in her attempt to complete the Oceans Seven challenge in one year, the understandable difficulties filming moments of maternal tenderness between mother and son means the necessary emotional connection is lacking.
Yet, it provides another dimension to this otherwise compelling story of one woman’s determination to conquer a seemingly impossible feat. That French has gone from a wheelchair-bound teenager to a record-breaking swimmer is one thing, but to take on one of the sport’s toughest and most dangerous endurance challenges as a single mother raising a son with learning difficulties, is not only admirable, it’s inspiring.
