Blood is thicker than water
The first officially sanctioned documentary about Maroubra's notorious surf-gang, the Bra Boys. Showing their success in professional big wave surfing, exploring their reputation for hard partying and rough justice, touching on their running battle with authorities and showing their reliance on one another to fit into and survive in a society in which they are displaced. The film also focuses on the evolution of the Sydney beach side suburb of Maroubra and the historical stigma associated with Australia's rebellious surf community, and the way it has contributed to their social displacement.
Genre(s): Documentary
Runtime: 90 minutes
Rating: 5.5/10 (580 votes)
Release Date: 15 March 2007
Country: Australia
Languages: English
Company: Bradahood Productions
MPAA: Rated R for language, some violent content and reckless behavior.
Director(s): Sunny Abberton, Macario De Souza
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Producer(s):
Sunny Abberton - producer
Jason B. Bergh - executive producer
Nicholas Cook - executive producer
Brian Grazer - executive producer
Michael Lawerence - executive producer
Michael Lythcott - executive producer
Sal Masekela - executive producer
John Mossop - executive producer
Writer(s):
Sunny Abberton - (written by)
Stuart Beattie - writer
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
Music: Macario De Souza, Jamie Holt
Sunny Abberton - producer
Jason B. Bergh - executive producer
Nicholas Cook - executive producer
Brian Grazer - executive producer
Michael Lawerence - executive producer
Michael Lythcott - executive producer
Sal Masekela - executive producer
John Mossop - executive producer
Writer(s):
Sunny Abberton - (written by)
Stuart Beattie - writer
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
Music: Macario De Souza, Jamie Holt
Posted on: April 19, 2008
Posted in: Documentary
April 2nd, 2007
"Bra Boys" is set in the Sydney beach side suburb of Maroubra and itfocuses on the culture that Maroubra Beach has created. "Bra Boys" is atribe – they don't like to be thought of as a gang – that have eachothers back in the financial struggle that some of the families have.The story is centered around the Abberton family, as Russ said, withthe film being written and directed by famous surfer brother SunnyAbberton. Their alcoholic mother and her violent boyfriend brought upthe brothers, which resulted in the brothers congregating at theirNan's house. The brothers were brought up not only as brothers but asbest friends who used the beach as an escapism from their less thanprefect life. The film also follows the murder of Anthony Hines and theinvolvement and trail of Jai and Koby Abberton. But Sunny does not onlyconcentrate on just his own family, but how Maroubra and the "Bra Boys"came to be, as well as introducing other people important to him likehis apprentice surfer. Like any surfer needs to Sonny inserts a lot ofamazing surfing footage, some quite dangerous and tense, whichultimately is the most riveting part of the film. Though the film isnot without its fault, you could imagine a man proud to announce hewould never divulge information about his brother, couldn't write,direct and most likely produce a film that wasn't biased. Thebackground behind the murder of Anthony Hines seems to be extremelyselective, they of course never initiated any violence and they appearto almost be a very peaceful and passive surf tribe. This seems highlyunlikely and I think the brother makes a movie that he would want tosee. Often the cinematography, if you could call it that was a bitrough, sometimes only with half faces on camera. But it does set themood for the rough tribe that is the bra boys. The folky surf music andoften interesting interviews provide an entertaining and insightfulwindow into the lives of these bra boys, even if it is a very blurredwindow. I highly recommend it.
November 15th, 2007
Enough people have waxed lyrical about this film so I will lay of theheavy dissection. As young surfer growing up in on the North Shore ofAuckland New Zealand I can fully appreciate the sentiments around "thelocals only" culture but never to the extent as portrayed here.
A good movie for the footage of some heavy duty surfing on some out ofcontrol breaks. The Abberton brothers and crew have large kahunas Iwill give them that.
You can almost taste the biased portrayal of the murder of the Hindscharacter. You would think that he deserved his fate and Jai & Kobywere angels from heaven come to deliver the world from this evilmenace. Unfortunately most kids in the Maroubra community will now cometo think of these brothers as heroes for killing another human being beit an act of self defence or intentional. It is never okay to take aanother persons life even if you came from the worst possible familyenvironment possible.
One last point…where are all the females?? Apart from the grandmothertheir seems to be a heavy underlying gay tone. Even in the group scenestheir is a total distinct lack of female presence. I would have got outof there for that reason alone ha ha
November 17th, 2007
Loved it.
Have read another comment here that says it was extremely one-sided,that a fair bit was left out, particularly some of the details aboutthe court case, and where was Koby during the court case itself? Yep, Ican see the point raised here, however, when *I* watched the movie, Iwatched it for what it was, a doco written by one of the participants,and thus was able to watch it knowing that it was a subjective piece.
As long as we know this, surely we then look at the content throughdifferent eyes and don't expect both sides of any particular story. Ididn't feel at all 'betrayed' or 'suspicious' of trying to be dupedinto believing that these guys are angels. I saw a piece that wasalmost overtly an 'our side of the story' film, and fair enough too.
As long as I'm told that, then that's fine by me.
Well done Sunny.
December 17th, 2007
The film 'Bra Boys' begins by describing the settlement of the Maroubraarea and goes on to detail the often chaotic living situations of someof the areas younger citizens. From then on the story follows thejourney of the Abberton brothers – Sunny, Koby and Jai – as they facecourt cases, gang violence and some massive waves.
While I can appreciate the rags-to-riches story of the Abbertonbrothers, for me the story never really seemed to hit home. This may bebecause of the negative stigma that often goes hand-in-hand with theBra Boys. However, I believe it is much more simple than that: it is apoorly directed and edited film. Too often was I distracted by theuneven sound, sub-par camera work and jumpy interview sequences.
Yet, the film really shines when it is left to people other than theAbberton brothers to describe the various incidents through their ownretelling. This balances the film nicely, rather than have Koby or Jairecount their own court cases and possibly omit certain details.Another element that enhances this film is the surf footage, whichreally is the tie that binds all these 'Bra Boys' together.
But I found that the negatives far outweighed the positives for thisfilm. It provides an interesting insight into one of Australia's mostnotoriously tight-knit surf cultures, yet the Abberton influence raisesquestions of bias regarding the various events which envelop hisbrothers. For me, this film was interesting but far from great.
March 17th, 2010
Nico is the funniest person on the show. This is my favorite show on tv! Thanks for posting this, I enjoyed reading it. I’m adding your rss feed to my Google reader, keep up the good posts!