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Such Is Life is one of those ski films where everything is right. There’s a smooth, lustrous opening leading to a beautifully shot film with terrific use of motion graphics to cover the seams between segments. The soundtrack, dominated by electro-pop (both classic from Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark and contemporary from Crystal Castles), hip hop and indie rock records, glides by without a bum track in the bunch. All ski disciplines are covered from Alaskan big mountain to urban rails and sled-accessed back-country vistas. Little touches like Dan Norkunas’ and Sky Pinnick’s color correction techniques that give Rage’s films their signature look are the icing on the cake in this inventive, compelling movie. What kicks it over the top is the editing – Rage’s Norkunas, Pinnick and AJ de Saint Phalle have the shots locked down tighter than a frozen penitentiary. Every segment teases your eye, marries with the soundtrack and carries the energy into the next until an hour later when you say “Whoa, hit play again!”. All the Rage regulars are front and center with Derek Spong, Kyler Cooley and Dyan Natale delivering a great show. X Games dominator Bobby Brown makes a brief cameo (early in his career here) in the Mark Dvorak sequence – don’t blink or you’ll miss it. What’s also cool, but not that it really matters because skiers are skiers, are appearances by not one or two but five women – worth mentioning because this is a genre normally coated in testosterone and the women add a bit of a dimension. “Such Is Life” is Rage’s best work and will stand up to repeated viewings now and for years to come. By Mark “The Attorney General” Quail

Awards

Best Female – Jamie Burge – Winner – International Freeride Festival – Montreal, Canada – 2008.
Best Female – Jessica Sobolowski – Nominee – International Freeride Festival – Montreal, Canada – 2008.
Best Female – Jamie Burge – Nominee – Powder Video Awards – Aspen, CO – 2009.
Best Powder – Kyler Cooley – Nominee – Powder Video Awards – Aspen, CO – 2009.
Best Cinematography – Winner – Festvial Freeride – St. Lary, France – 2009.
Official Selection – X-Dance – Salt Lake City, UT – 2009.
Official Selection – Krasnogorski Film Festival – Moscow, Russia – 2009.

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