This full-length adventure documentary follows kayaker Dane Jackson and a small team down Chile’s remote and wild Rio Cuervo.
With an entire river to descend, the film wastes no time getting right into it. Dane Jackson launches into the complicated business of trip logistics, trying to find a way to get the team and their equipment to the beginning of the river. Besides him, the team consists of the trip’s mastermind, Kilian Astorga, and kayakers Tom Dolle, Eirik Hansen, Adrian Mattern, and David Sodomka.
Forty years ago, there was a road up to Lake Mayuin, the volcanic pool from with Rio Cuervo flows. It’s gone now, so they turn to helicopter transport. With their gear dangling below on a rope, the chopper carries them up into the mountain, depositing kayaks and kayakers alike on the lakeshore. They set up camp and settle in to begin the first descent of the Rio Cuervo.
The team scouts the head of the river, swelled with recent rainfall. Photo: Screenshot
Source to sea
The dense forest and sometimes steep banks add another layer of difficulty as they begin to make their way downstream. They have to plan ahead, as there are stretches where it is impossible to bail if the rapids become too much. This means more portaging, which is painfully slow due to the thick vegetation.
When they do hit the rapids, on-board cameras capture the frenetic energy of whitewater kayaking. But the film makes no attempt to conceal the reality of a first descent. Much of their time is spent scouting ahead by drone, poring over satellite images, portaging, and standing about debating logistics.
Sunset arrives before the end of their portage. Camping in the jungle makes for an uncomfortable night. Photo: Screenshot
Jackson and the rest of the crew soldier on, though, cracking nerdy jokes (the jungle is compared to both Dagobah and Fangorn Forest) and making the best of bad weather and rough camping. In the final few days, conditions improve, and they can spend more time on the water.
The contrast between their slow, grueling push forward and the wild speed on the river brings refreshing energy to the kayaking sections. When the river finally widens as they glide into the sea, it feels like a hard-won victory.
Running a 3.5km gorge. Photo: Screenshot
Early in the production of a certain musical, Broadway director Harold Prince attempted to ask Andrew Lloyd Weber what the deeper political allegory or social commentary was behind the composer’s feline opus. Weber famously took a long pause and replied: “Hal, this is just about cats.”
This movie is about kayaking. Many outdoor adventure films use the genre, and the adventure story, to explore grand themes, and some do so successfully. But when they fall flat, is it more annoying than I can begin to express. For that reason, I deeply respect the clarity of purpose evinced by Dan Jackson and First Descent Rio Cuervo.
