Photo courtesy of IMDb Actors Scott Eastwood and Rachel Hendrix star in the 2014 film, ‘The Perfect Wave.’

They say the best surfer in the world is having the most fun; it’s not about competition. It’s simply about the moment for Ian McCormack, a rebellious young surfer, who impulsively decides to leave home and travel the world’s most exotic surf spots.

McCormack contends when you feel it, you’ve come the closest you can get to touching eternity. The carefree mid-20s Kiwi tells his mother, “If I don’t do this now, I never will.”

Watching her son leave home, his mother, a devout Christian, tries to dissuade him after one of her frequent premonitions indicates the trip might put McCormack in danger. His father, well, he just wanted his son to get ahead in life.

And, McCormack, he just wanted to get out and discover freedom, or find “The Perfect Wave.”

Join the Reedsville United Methodist Church, 82 E. Logan St. in Reedsville, on Sunday, Sept. 14, at 6:30 p.m. for free movie night, featuring “The Perfect Wave.” Admission is free and the community is invited. Refreshments will be served.

“The Perfect Wave” is a 2014 biographical drama film about the life of McCormack, a surfer who became a minister after his near death experience. The film marked the directorial debut of Bruce Macdonald.

In a place like the island of Mauritius, located off the coast of Africa, it’s easy to get lost in the moment. Based on true events. Scott Eastwood – son of screen legend Clint Eastwood – delivers a breakthrough performance as a young McCormack who impulsively decides to travel the world’s most exotic surf spots.

But living in the moment can have its thrills; including a romance with beautiful kindred soul Annabel (Rachel Hendrix), as well as its sacrifices. And following a horrific accident and near-death experience on Mauritius, McCormack receives a glimpse into eternity that will change his life forever.

Patrick Lyster and Cheryl Ladd co-star as McCormack’s parents in this inspirational true story about the power of faith, the love of family and one man’s search for the perfect wave.

Since he abandoned his religious upbringing and belief in God long ago, McCormack isn’t persuaded by his mother’s concerns — “I never felt the presence of God,” he said. “To me, he just didn’t exist.” Ian heads out to Australia with his buddy Greg (Jack Halloran), catching waves from Sydney to Darwin, then hopping over to “Indo” and surfing the beaches of Bali, where he meets the enchanting Anabel, a free spirit who decides that dating the Kiwi surfer is priority one.

She asks McCormack to tell her about this perfect wave. “It’s almost as if time stands still,” he said. The beautiful surroundings and culture are new and exotic, weakening his senses and his whole body. Especially after McCormack meets Annabel. “I think I’m falling in love with her,” he tells a friend.

Soon after their arrival, McCormack and Anabel fall out over her close relationship with her brother-in-law Lachlan (Scott Mortensen). After she disappears in the middle of the night, Lachlan suggests she may be heading for Mauritius, where her family maintains a home.

Arriving on the coastal African island, McCormack discovers a community of hardcore expat surfers, but no sign of Anabel. One night while free-diving for lobsters along the coast, McCormack gets repeatedly stung by highly toxic box jellyfish and rushed to a nearby hospital. Although initially declared deceased, that’s not quite the end of the story, as divine intervention offers him a chance at redemption.

He cries out to the God he barely remembers from childhood and meets him face to face, saying “You can’t love me, I’ve cursed you, slept around, taken drugs and more.”

At home, his mom senses something terrible has happened, dropping a stack of plates and realizing, “Ian’s in trouble” as she pushes past her husband.

What happens after that is riveting and provides a beacon of hope, not just for McCormack, but for everyone who has ever lived.

Rating: PG

Runtime: 94 minutes

Grade: B

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Greg Williams is a reporter and Weekend Editor for The Sentinel. A Mifflin County native, he has been writing for The Sentinel since 1991.