Tandem Canoeing In Life

Tandem Canoeing In Life

Bruce Von Stiers

There is a documentary that is about dealing with a lost loved one, an interesting but not well known sport and how community can help heal and move someone forward. The title of the documentary is Life In Tandem.

The film starts out with different people in different settings, getting comfortable and waiting to be interviewed.

Then we see people getting ready to put their canoes in the water. A voiceover welcomes people to the 21 st Annual Midwest Canoe Interpretive Exhibition.

One of the people interviewed says that Freestyle Canoeing is something that not everyone understands. Some think it's weird. There is a clip of Stephen Colbert on his show, making light of the sport.

Well, the exhibition is more of an interpretive dance competition, using canoe paddling, movements of a canoe and the actions and movements of the people in the canoe. A little tongue-in-cheek, the exhibition's announcer mentions just how extreme the sport can get.

Bob Mravetz is interviewed. Bob lives in Ohio and is 80 years old. He talks about how people practice for months for the competition but in the end they all have lots of fun.

A couple talk about how they saw a magazine about freestyle canoeing and sought out others who were interested and involved with it.

Then Bob talks about how they lost one of their people, his wife Elaine Mravetz, in a horrible traffic accident. Elaine and Bob apparently were together in the accident. Bob gets choked up when talking about what happened and the loss of his wife. He tells of how they signed notes to each other as “tandem partners” because just as the sport allows for participants working in tandem, Bob and Elaine were tandem partners in life. Bob would like to canoe again and his friends and family in the canoeing community might help get him there.

The remainder of the film is about how Bob tries to get to the point where he can canoe again. He continually works on both his emotional and physical wellbeing. During one interview segment, Bod details how severe his own injuries were due to the accident. And interviews with his friends and fellow canoers help set the positive tone for the film.

The film was beautifully shot, with great exterior footage of the canoeing and various locations.

Joseph Litzinger was the executive producer and co-director. His credits include producing the Life Below Zero and Port Protection documentary series. Mia Grimes was the other director. She worked with Litzinger on the Life Below Zero series.

Life In Tandem is a very touching and inspiring film. It shows how someone, especially an older person, can come back from an immense tragedy and begin to live life again. And that a strong support network of friends can make all of the difference.

Life In Tandem is a finalist in this year's Santa Clarita International Film Festival.

Back to the BVS Reviews Main Menu

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _