Bra Boys (2007)

Directors:

Sunny Abberton
Macario De Souza (co-director)

Writers:

Sunny Abberton (written by) and
Stuart Beattie (writer)

Release Date:

15 March 2007 (Australia)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

Blood is thicker than water

Plot:

A film about the cultural evolution of the Sydney beach side suburb of Maroubra and the social struggle faced by it's youth - the notorious surf gang known as the Bra Boys.

Plot Keywords:

Surfing | Male Nudity | Sydney Australia | Gang Culture | Gang Violence

Cast

Russell Crowe	...	Himself - Narrator (voice)
Kelly Slater	...	Himself
Cheyne Horan	...	Himself
Jack Kingsley	...	Himself
Sean Doherty	...	Himself
Koby Abberton	...	Himself
Sunny Abberton	...	Himself
Jai Abberton	...	Himself
Wayne Cleveland	...	Himself
Maurice Cole	...	Himself
John Gannon	...	Himself
Mark Matthews	...	Himself
Wayne Bartholomew	...	Himself (as Wayne 'Rabbit' Bartholomew)
Nick Carroll	...	Himself
Derek Hynd	...	Himself

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some violent content and reckless behavior.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Maroubra, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Bradahood Productions

Goofs:

Factual errors: Narrator Russell Crowe says "In 1780 after passing through the Pacific Islands, Captain James Cook sailed into Botany Bay" This should of course be 1770, as Captain James Cook died in 1779 in Hawaii.

Soundtrack:

My Brother's Keeper

Bray boys- an interesting documentary

When the word documentary is mentioned the words boring and horrible pop into my head. I imagine wild life images with extremely boring narrators' voices that will put any normal person to sleep. The Bra Boys is anything but this sleep filled image. Filled with action and adventure it tells the story of notorious Abberton brothers, Jai, Koby and Sunny. The narration is by the manly Russell Crowe.

In summary this movie is the Bra Boys response to everything in the media about the notorious beach gang in Maroubra. The world finally gets to hear the Bra Boys version about Crunalla riot, Mark Matthew's 21st, and the murder of Anthony Hines. Maybe even more importantly it show's how these events affected a gang of boys, who in the media is portrayed to have no feeling at all. Yes it's highly bias, but wasn't the media's side of the story as well? It is shot in a very amateur way and in parts goes on too much. A lot like the boys are bragging about the things the get up to. There's a lack of women, and in some cases a lack of clothes. If you can get past these minor factors it's a good watch.

What is interesting and not deliberately put in is how well these boys have actually done to become at least half decent. Yes their idea of fun is jumping of a cliff a light, or bashing someone to a pulp, but at least they try to get the most out the life they have been given. They do the most they can to use surfing to get them out of the rut of their lives and then become good role models to the younger boys in the group, or at least compared to their home life. It's rather touching to watch considering what a lot of them cop at home. It's touching to see how much the Bra Boys support these boys and how much the gang is truly their family. It's very confronting because the viewer starts to realize they can't dismiss these kids as trouble makers, there's just so much more to their story.

They add to the story by showing a lot of Australian culture and the history behind it. There's some humour included when talking about the laws put in place that included men wearing skirts and other such ridiculous things the Maroubra authorities put in place.

This is why the film a worthwhile watch. It helps people see why these boys do such things. It shows a bigger picture of what the gang mentality is all about. It stirs empathy inside of the viewer.

What does get old in the movie is the amount of fighting that is put into the film. For a 'defence film' it was a wrong choice because it makes them look horrible. It's like they can't make up their mind if they want to be strong and tough, or terribly misunderstood. I guess there giving us the whole of themselves not just the filtered through good bits, and then it's the viewer job to decide how exactly they should stereotype these guys.

Nicole GYC