Director Lucy Walker‘s The Crash Reel gives audiences a front row seat to some of the most death-defying snowboarding tricks from the world’s top snowboarders, but does so along with an unflinching look at what can happen when the smallest thing goes wrong. Professional snowboarder Kevin Pearce was at the top of his game back in 2009, consistently beating out fellow snowboarder Shaun White at competitions, and was poised to become the newest member of the U.S. Olympic team. After hearing that White had created a private course to train on, Pearce decides to do the same, but unlike White, he invites all his friends and join in on the fun. What starts out as a carefree trip quickly turns tragic when a trick gone wrong has Pearce landing face first off a half-pipe, and his friends scrambling to get him help. After falling into a coma, friends and family worry that the Pearce who wakes up will not be the same person they know and love. But Pearce is still full of the same fire and determination that made him such a great athlete. (Just now with shorter hair.) However it quickly becomes clear (and concerning) that Pearce’s goal post-Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is not to simply get better, it is to get back on his board. Walker showcases an impressive ability to create real intimacy between the camera and those it is capturing by clearly having become a part of Pearce’s inner circle. Pearce comes from an incredibly closeknit family and Walker’s direct access makes you feel