National Premiere
After premiering at the Midnight Screenings section of the last Cannes Film Festival, "The Surfer" closes not only MOTELX 2024, but also the horror triptych that brought Nicholas Cage back to Portuguese cinemas throughout 2024, first with "Dream Scenario", and then with "Longlegs". In this film, directed and written by Irishmen Lorcan Finnegan and Thomas Martin, Cage is a man who, upon returning to the idyllic beach of his childhood in Australia to surf with his son, finds himself drawn into a conflict with a group of powerful locals. Under the unbearable heat, the surfer will have to face his outsideness both in his life and in the place where he grew up, as the escalating violence pushes him right to his breaking point. Inspired by surf noir novels and John Cheever's short story "The Swimmer", "The Surfer" feels like a strange dream that explores materialism, identity and belonging, repressed memory, masculinity, and rebirth.
Credits
Director Lorcan Finnegan Script Thomas Martin Producer Brunella Cocchiglia, Robert Connolly, Leonora Darby et al. Cast Nicolas Cage, Julian McMahon, Justin Rosniak Language English Subtitles Portuguese Sales North Five Six Distribution NOS