Sosueme (1987)

Possibly inspired by Bruce Weber's photography and, if so, perhaps anticipating Weber's beautiful black-and-white films, Rock Ross created this luxuriantly monochromatic ode to surfing and surfers. SOSUEME is an unabashed homage to the athletes' graceful, curved movements and the seamless interaction of body and board. Set to a Giacomo Puccini opera enhanced with a spoken-word track by Malcolm McLaren, the film provides unceasing pleasure as a hypnotic escape or an aesthetic tour de force. The joke in the title is explained at the outset by an onscreen confession: "The filmmaker acknowledges the completely unauthorized and illegal use of sound and image in this film." - Michael Fox