BOSTON — If you'd like to travel to Tahiti but don't have the cash, the New England Aquarium has a cheap alternative.
The Aquarium is showing filmmaker Stephen Low's new three-dimensional movie, "The Ultimate Wave Tahiti," in its IMAX theater through March 4.
The movie is centered around nine-time world champion surfer Kelly Slater's mission to score good swell at the "ultimate wave" — a reef break named Teahupoo (pronounced cho-po). When the weather conditions come together, Teahupoo's flawless cylindrical waves crash with ferocity that makes other famous surf spots look like Salisbury Beach.
Slater, a 38-year-old with the physique of swimmer Michael Phelps and the board riding prowess of skateboarder Tony Hawk, teamed up with Tahitian surfer Raimana Van Bastolaer, the so-called "mayor" of Teahupoo. Van Bastolaer donned a winter wet suit and surfed in Hampton, N.H. to coincide with the opening of the movie last Friday.
While the 45-minute flick is centered around surfing, it's made for a general audience. The movie goes through a series of science and geography lessons and shows breathtaking three-dimensional footage of marine life, plants and Tahitians performing traditional dances.
"This is as close as we're going to get," a woman in the theater said to her family earlier this week when the opening shot showed mountains sloping majestically into the Pacific.
Surf videos are notorious for spectacular cinematography. Filmmakers with waterproof camera equipment tirelessly tread water on the shoulders of waves to shoot surfers riding inside barreling waves. But "The Ultimate Wave Tahiti" takes things to another level with three-dimensional shots, and the fact that the movie on the big screen may cause some to instinctively duck as water sprays off Slater's board.
With references to demons, "evil gods" and people who died riding Teahupoo, the movie doesn't make taming the behemoth look like a day at the beach. But Low doesn't waste time with cliches about why people risk their lives there. The footage speaks for itself — it looks fun.
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Tickets cost $9.95 for adults and $7.95 for children and seniors. Log onto neaq.org to check daily show times.
