A burly, Tarzan-like surfer and Stanford-trained medical doctor drops out of society to live as a vagabond, driving his 24-foot camper from destination to destination with no itinerary or goal other than to be happy.

He lives by a self-styled code called the "5 Pillars of Health," in which he eats only the healthiest food, surfs every day and makes passionate love every night with his wife.

Oh, yeah. One more thing. The wandering couple have nine kids - eight sons and one daughter - but continue living in the cramped camper and don't allow their children to attend school.

This motley clan of iconoclasts is the Paskowitz family, whose life and times as the first family of surf culture are documented in the film "Surfwise."

Family patriarch Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz, now 86, is portrayed as a supreme individualist who rejects the trappings of money and success to forge his own unique lifestyle. He is alternately a prophet and a bully, a savant and a savage.

"Doc loves the mission that he's on," says director Doug Pray. "The essence of his message is that you are renewed and rejuvenated by being in the ocean and surfing."

"Surfwise" deceptively begins like an homage to the family Paskowitz, which at first blush seems like the Brady Bunch on surfboards.

But Pray deftly drills down into the family's bedrock and exposes a number of fault lines.

Through incredible candor and honesty, the Paskowitz siblings allow Pray to reveal the entire arc of their family history, including a decade-long period when they were estranged from each other.

"For a filmmaker, this was a blessing," Pray says. "They literally let it all hang out."

Let's face it. Family dynamics are complicated. And large families have more layers than the Earth's crust. And with eight brothers competing for alpha male status, plus their parents' favor, egoes are certain to rub together like razor blades. And they do.

"We were like crabs in a bucket," one brother recalls.

The family's story alternates between outlandish and disturbing, but ultimately finishes on an uplifting note.

"I didn't want to make a super-dark and miserable film," Pray says. "Surfwise" has plenty of grainy, archival surfing footage, but it's not really a surfing film.

At the center of this family saga is Doc Paskowitz, pioneer California wave rider and beloved tribal elder of surf culture.

Is he a benevolent prophet of clean living who wants to save us from ourselves and our slovenly ways? Or is he an eccentric who dragged his family along on a bizarre odyssey that left them emotionally scarred and dumped them into the world without the tools to be successful?

Quite frankly, Doc doesn't give a damn what any of us thinks about him.

This is a provocative film that compels you to take sides and forces a discussion of what we will do in the name of love.

"Surfwise." Running time: 1 hour, 33 minutes. Rated: R. 3 stars.

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