The Cosmic Children | Dave Brubeck

The Cosmic Children

1971 marked the feature debut of Hal Jepson, who went on to be one of America’s leading surf movie producers. The Cosmic Children featured surfing in California and Hawaii with established stars such as Hakman , Nuuhiwa, Rolf Aurness and Barry Kanaiaupuni. The film claimed a hippy tagline which it didn’t really reflect, ‘the cosmic children are the dynamic space-age surfers who feel the juice of the ocean swells’, it’s Hakmans surfing in classic Hawaiian perfection that are the honest highlight’s of this film.

The film failed to have much impact on Australian audiences as it fell into a basket alongside other American releases panned by the purists Eflick and Witzig who used Tracks editorial to criticize the commercialism of American surf movies. Source : Surfmovies by Albe Thoms

The opening scene showcases some of the worst surfing in the film, but, perfectly captures the relaxed social atmosphere surrounding a careless sunny mid morning surf session. Dave Brubeck’s track Take Five (1961) could be seen as a risk to open a 70’s surf film, debunking a little of the commercial argument leveled at The Cosmic Children.