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Lead Critic for the site, as well as serving as an editor when needed.
The Scars of Ali Boulala premiered today, June 14th, at Tribeca Film Festival. The film is written by Max Eriksson & Mikel Cee Karlsson, while Eriksson also serves as director of the documentary.
Plot Summary
The plot synopsis is as follows:
In Max Eriksson’s audacious debut, Swedish skateboarding prodigy Ali Boulala—alongside other pros like Rune Glifberg and Arto Saari—looks back on the DIY videos and fast-paced lifestyle of his coming-of-age in the ’90s skating scene.
The documentary features appearances by several other professional skateboarders and videographers, along with Boulala’s wife, Amanda, and mother, Raija, and deceased pro-skater Shane Cross.
Discussion
Firstly, I had no idea who Ali Boulala was, and it was refreshing to learn about another great skater. The film covers most of Boulala’s early life and ascent into skating-stardom. Most of what is presented on-screen is archival footage given to Eriksson through various people in Boulala and Shane Cross’ lives. The film opens with a scene of Ali and his mom going through a collection of boards from Ali’s sponsors during his skating career. He cannot remember where a single board came from (more on that to follow). Boulala turned pro in 1995 at age 16 and rose to fame quickly, although he remained insanely humble. As he states, “[I have] never seen myself as someone who would become a pro skater.” However, that would change later.
In Melbourne, Australia, on March 7th, 2007, early in the morning, after a night of hard drinking, Boulala was the driver of a motorcycle while Cross rode passenger. They proceeded to ride up and down a street and unfortunately suffered a crash. The crash took Shane’s life and Ali was in a coma for four months while taking an additional three to four attempting to rehabilitate from the coma. The crash made Ali’s memory horrible and he unfortunately cannot remember most of anything prior to the crash. He states this several times throughout the documentary.
Aspects of the Film
The other few cinematic elements that are present are swift and clean. The editing, in particular, is really great. The opening features a voiceover by Boulala. He says, “[T]he scars on the inside are the worst. The outside, a few broken bones or whatever, it doesn’t really matter. Cracks in the skull don’t really matter.” I think it is a great note on the documentary’s subject. The documentary is a poignant and moving piece on the acceptance of grief and the broken bones inside (metaphorically broken) that can affect one after something horrible. Eriksson’s first-time direction is noteworthy, and I hope to see more films from him in the future.
Otherwise, the documentary also presents the current life of Ali. It also includes several interactions he has with people from his skateboarding career after he has settled from the accident. While it touches on his criminal life, it is never mentioned that he was banned from the United States and Australia. He currently resides in Sweden but wishes he could return to both the U.S. and Australia someday, as he states a few times in the film.
Final Thoughts
I thoroughly enjoyed this documentary and hope to come back to it sometime in the future. Boulala was a legend among skate culture and, as one of the interviewees says, Boulala was “hesh”. This means that he helped to bring something new to the sport. It also seems that he cared more about the culture than most people of his time thought and that he loved the sport of skateboarding and wanted to go to the top. The Scars of Ali Boulala presents Boulala at his most vulnerable and shines an exciting light on one of skateboarding’s most gracious subjects.
4.5/5 stars.
The Scars of Ali Boulala is available to watch at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.
If you’ve seen this film, what’re your thoughts on Boulala and his impact on skate culture? For more from Tribeca The Cinema Spot on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
Lead Critic for the site, as well as serving as an editor when needed.
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