Review of This Ain't California (2012) by Robo G — 08 Dec 2014

This Ain't California is immediately forthright about its re-enacted archival footage. If you've pursued skateboarding, you'd know that the best pros in the world (much less in East Germany) could not kickflip a roof gap in the mid-80s.

And if you knew anything about filmmaking, it would seem impossible to find endless stacks of clips conveniently woven from multiple angles/takes of home video. But for those who view films critically, the opening montage signals what to expect, after protagonist Denis "Panik" Paracek looks straight into the camera with stage blood oozing from his lips (in an obvious jump-ramp accident horror sequence) and smiles fiendishly before the film transitions to first chapter (entitled "The Legend").

While the story of "Panik" is indeed legend, Marco Sladek was a well-known GDR freestyler whose meeting with American pro Eric Dressen at East Berlin was documented in the December 1988 issue of Thrasher.

Patrick Steffens, the California surfer-type, must be real. No one today could drop in on a bank at full speed and handstand across the entire length of Alexanderplatz, complete with short shorts, period-correct equipment, amongst hundreds of appropriately-dressed onlookers.

In contrast to Stacy Peralta's legend of the elusive Animal Chin, we all know Panik. He is an everyman and is "everywhere, bringing skaters together.".