Bra Boys Review

Genre Documentary Run time 85 minutes Rated M Country Australia Director Sunny Abberton Rating

Bra Boys is a documentary about a gang of middle aged men, who live to surf and stick together in a brotherhood to defend themselves and their beach in an urban community called Maroubra in East Sydney, Australia.

These men formed a little gang from a very young age to help each other get through the harsh reality of all their issues at home and also society in general. Three brothers in particular who were the original kids along with a couple of their mates, who stuck together when going to the beach and out in the street, just to survive and not get beaten up. As the boys got older, the gang became bigger. Life at home was terrible for most of these guys from a very young age, so they would hang out at the three Abberton brothers' grandma's house. This would now become home for them, they would meet at "Ma's" house when they skipped school and then would go down to the beach together and surf.

The gang eventually grew and as the boys got older, in many ways they didn't get more mature. Drinking, partying and surfing became the regular routine for the now well known 'Bra Boys' and when the surf was too small to catch waves, you can guarantee that they could find something outrages to entertain themselves with. For example there is one particular piece of video footage of one bra boy jumping off a small cliff face into the water while lit on fire. I think this is part of who they are and what they are all about, and it is good because it is different and unique as well as absolutely stupid.

This movie is mainly based around the Abberton brothers who also direct it, which does bring up the point of bias. The Bra Boys only show their side of the story which begs the question – Are they telling the full story of what their life and gang are all about, or are they hiding something and trying to better their reputation? I'm sure that the police would have quite a different view of some of the events in which the Bra Boys have been involved in. The movie shows how two of the Abberton brothers have to go to court and deal with a murder that has been put on them and the process in which they deal with it, along with the passing of their Ma whom they had great respect for.

By the end of the movie the Abberton brothers show us how strong the connection is of the Bra Boy brotherhood, how they are always there for each other, and how big a part of their lives the beach is. They make something out of their lives instead of doing drugs and sitting in the background. I think that it is astonishing where a couple of the Bra Boys have got themselves to in life. The Bra Boys are very well known for being able to handle anything painful. To take off on some of those giant waves knowing that there is a coral reef right below, knowing that you are putting your own life at risk and if worst comes to worst – you could die, I think that you have to have a pretty strong mindset to be able to step outside that barrier. These men display that mindset with a very positive and aggressive attitude. They will do anything, and I mean ANYTHING, to catch that perfect, giant wave. The Bra Boys are a strong cult and a big part of the Australian culture, a brotherhood that never backs down and lets other people push them around.

They live to surf and surf to live!

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and think that it is a great insight into what the Bra Boys have achieved to have come out of the slumps and make something out of life.

David GYC

"Bra Boys" is set in the Sydney beach side suburb of Maroubra and it focuses on the culture that Maroubra Beach has created. "Bra Boys" is a tribe – they don't like to be thought of as a gang – that have each others back in the financial struggle that some of the families have. The story is centered around the Abberton family, as Russ said, with the film being written and directed by famous surfer brother Sunny Abberton. Their alcoholic mother and her violent boyfriend brought up the brothers, which resulted in the brothers congregating at their Nan's house. The brothers were brought up not only as brothers but as best friends who used the beach as an escapism from their less than prefect life. The film also follows the murder of Anthony Hines and the involvement and trail of Jai and Koby Abberton. But Sunny does not only concentrate on just his own family, but how Maroubra and the "Bra Boys" came to be, as well as introducing other people important to him like his apprentice surfer. Like any surfer needs to Sonny inserts a lot of amazing surfing footage, some quite dangerous and tense, which ultimately is the most riveting part of the film. Though the film is not without its fault, you could imagine a man proud to announce he would never divulge information about his brother, couldn't write, direct and most likely produce a film that wasn't biased. The background behind the murder of Anthony Hines seems to be extremely selective, they of course never initiated any violence and they appear to almost be a very peaceful and passive surf tribe. This seems highly unlikely and I think the brother makes a movie that he would want to see. Often the cinematography, if you could call it that was a bit rough, sometimes only with half faces on camera. But it does set the mood for the rough tribe that is the bra boys. The folky surf music and often interesting interviews provide an entertaining and insightful window into the lives of these bra boys, even if it is a very blurred window. I highly recommend it.

Bra Boys is a fascinating exploration of the Maroubra surf scene, or more correctly the boys of the Maroubra surf scene (there is no room for the female in this landscape) particularly focusing on the Abberton brothers.

Coming from hardened backgrounds and neglectful parents, the brothers rose up to form a clan of fraternal solidarity with the Maroubra local boys as well as strong reputations as world class surfers of big waves.

While the subject matter is fascinating and there's almost enough material here for 3 documentaries, the fact that the film is written, directed and produced by Sunny Abberton causes a problem. A documentary like this needs a certain objectivity which never happens.

This becomes a real problem for the film when it explores the incidents surrounding the murder of Anthony Hines and the involvement of Jai and Koby Abberton. The film avoids some very important facts here that end up frustrating its audience and also lessening its impact. It's hard to engage with a story when you can feel that you're given a highly manipulated version of the events whether that be the melodramatic horror music that accompanies any photo of Hines or the glossing over of Kai's actions and Koby's statement to the police. While the boys make reference to a certain street code of silence, this doesn't fly so well in a documentary. An objective eye could have helped ask the questions and provide the information that the film really needed to at this moment. The real story of this documentary seems to be lurking at the edges, hidden under the forced attempts to prove their reckless invincibility and unbreakable commitment to their comrades.

While it's true that the boys are often misrepresented by the media's one sided view, they're not doing themselves any favors by taking a one sided view themselves. After watching this documentary, you would almost walk away believing that the Abbertons should be praised for their actions involving Hines and single-handedly soothed the Cronulla riots.

They're keen to play up their tough home life and upbringing. Not so willing to disclose that Koby now pulls in $250,000 a year sponsorships.

Besides the Abberton grandmother who opens her home to the local boys, women are almost completely missing from this film.

And despite the tattoo that claims he is his "brother's keeper", Koby is visibly absent from his brother's trial verdict where he will discover whether he faces a 30 year imprisonment.

Although it isn't connected to the Abbertons, the drug ties to the Bra Boys probably deserved a bit more screen time rather than the disjointed opening 30 minutes of weird historical narration and bad animation. It also could have served to make more sense of the events surrounding Anthony Hines.

The Abbertons have led an amazing life and the hope they offer the local boys through the Bra Boys and their surfing achievements IS commendable and worthy of praise. But they should trust their audiences enough to let them be the judge of that rather than trying to manipulate their opinions.