Nerds That Geek Documentary Review: ‘Maya and the Wave’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Maya Gabeira in Stephanie Johnes’ MAYA AND THE WAVE.

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the motion picture, ‘Maya and the Wave’.
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For the most part, sports stories/documentaries that focus upon an athlete that has to overcome great odds to succeed or come back from an incredible setback, follow a fairly specific formula. In that, they introduce us to the athlete in question, so we can learn who they are and what drives them to succeed… before showing us their struggle and their strife, briefly, so that the story can focus on their journey to the top. And they follow this formula, because it is super inspiring. Because it is powerful to see someone dig deep and push forward to achieve their goals, or overcome stunning odds to be the best, and we truly associate athletes as people that can achieve such feats, and their story does indeed make us feel as though we can take on the world.

But while that formula works well and truly does send our spirits soaring, there is a problem that accompanies constantly presenting that to the world. In that, it doesn’t show the complete picture. Because coming back from a setback isn’t the smooth process we see in these stories, and sometimes, fighting for our goals requires far more work than we ever knew. Which is why it is so supremely refreshing when we encounter a sports documentary that offers that kind of honesty. That is willing to showcase how hard the battle to be the best can be, and it just so happens that a new documentary, one that features an incredible story that needs to be told, breaks from the normal sports documentary mold, to give us that honest look at what it takes to succeed, and that is why Maya and the Wave, outright needs to be celebrated.  

Which this film accomplishes by introducing us to quite frankly, the best surfer in the world, Maya Gabeira. Who holds the Guinness World Record twice over for surfing the biggest waves on the planet. But… getting those records did not come easy, and that is where this story separates itself from others in this genre. Because Director Stephanie Johnes chronicles every waking moment of Maya’s rise to the top, and that allows for us to see that she had some early career struggles, despite being something of a prodigy on a surfboard, and we are also privy to the horrible sexism that often stood between her and the wave, accolades, and competitions that could have done so much more for her career. But truly, what makes this journey so powerful and so different… is Maya’s darkest hour.

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For a stunning encounter with a brutal wave, badly injured her. To the point where she required incredible medical care for quite some time and well… this is when we really see what she is made of, and where the story truly shocks and surprises you. Because Maya’s fight back from injury is put on full display here. To the point where we are privy to the tears, privy to the pain and that is all hard to watch. In part because we are conditioned to expect otherwise in these stories, but also because… it is as real as it gets. Because this… this is what the road back looks like for an athlete that has suffered through great injury and this, makes for a far more inspiring tale than one might expect. Because you’re not being fed nonsense… you’re bearing witness to the power of the human spirit.
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Which brings forth an incredible second half of the film, where you see Maya fight hard to come back and do her best to cope with pain and do what must be done, medically, to be free of it, and yet… there’s still so many powerful elements to explore in this tale when it comes to her journey back from injury. For there are moments where Maya clearly battles a touch of PTSD, something we NEVER see in these films, and she has to face that, and overcome it if she remotely wants to surf again. Which means we are privy to a story that does more than inspire, it takes the time to explore in shocking detail, how we heal, physically and emotionally from hardships in life, and how we face that which sets us back so we can conquer it and find peace.

Giving rise to a story that inspires the very core of our soul. Because if Maya can overcome fear, and physical pain to be the absolute best in her field, what then… is holding us back from rising to the top? All of which makes, for a stunning and moving documentary. One that truly brings you to tears of worry and tears of joy, courtesy of the most intimate exploration of an athlete’s life to ever be put on film, and that makes this an absolute must-see feature. Simply because, this is that rare story, that not only paves the way for a new type of documentary to come to life, but truly captures the wonder and the glory of the human condition and informs us… that there is nothing we cannot achieve when we apply our minds, our hearts, and our very soul… to the goal we so desire.

To watch ‘Maya and the Wave’ purchase your tickets at the Village East by Angelika website.

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