Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Kayden This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

dansview I'll sum it up: A bunch of white trash Australian guys, drink, fight, swear, and surf. They come from unsupervised backgrounds with no God, no dad, and no guidance. End of story.That same story is playing out as we speak all over the world in various cultures. It's not the slightest bit interesting or intriguing.When young men have no soul, they resort to brutal, pagan tribalism.Boooring.Why not tell us about their schooling, their ladies, their other hobbies, their religion, and how they make a living?Gangs need a source of income.Do the schools and police let these guys just do their thing? Doesn't anyone flag their behavior along the way as they are growing up, or is it just too common, and therefore hopeless?Well, their ancestors were criminals, so I guess the apple does not fall too far from the tree.

dglass-7 Bra Boys ReviewGenre 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

wombi900 The film 'Bra Boys' begins by describing the settlement of the Maroubra area and goes on to detail the often chaotic living situations of some of the areas younger citizens. From then on the story follows the journey of the Abberton brothers - Sunny, Koby and Jai - as they face court cases, gang violence and some massive waves.While I can appreciate the rags-to-riches story of the Abberton brothers, for me the story never really seemed to hit home. This may be because of the negative stigma that often goes hand-in-hand with the Bra Boys. However, I believe it is much more simple than that: it is a poorly directed and edited film. Too often was I distracted by the uneven sound, sub-par camera work and jumpy interview sequences.Yet, the film really shines when it is left to people other than the Abberton brothers to describe the various incidents through their own retelling. This balances the film nicely, rather than have Koby or Jai recount their own court cases and possibly omit certain details. Another element that enhances this film is the surf footage, which really is the tie that binds all these 'Bra Boys' together.But I found that the negatives far outweighed the positives for this film. It provides an interesting insight into one of Australia's most notoriously tight-knit surf cultures, yet the Abberton influence raises questions of bias regarding the various events which envelop his brothers. For me, this film was interesting but far from great.

ptb-8 As raw social documentaries go, this one is surprisingly emotional. I grew up in the Sydney suburb Mascot in the 60s, behind the Sydney surf beach suburb of Maroubra; I went to school in Maroubra, surfed at Maroubra, lived at 433 Maroubra road, became a school teacher back at Maroubra in the 70s and taught some of the real characters seen in this film. So seeing BRA BOYS today is rather enlightening that such a generation has reveled in actual Bad Boy behavior, living out grubby 90s gang fantasies projected from distressing poor and illogical family schisms. Thank God they all have a Jackass sense of humor about themselves. The dangerous foolishness is genuinely hilarious, and as the documentary unravels it becomes more endearing as the viewer really gets to know the emotional side of a solid muscle mass of generational machismo. I knew three guys called Tony Hines, Tony Hinze and Tony Hinds. They all looked like the guy murdered in reel 5. One was gay. Often gang rapists are guys who actually want to have sex with a pal but mask that by abducting a female to cover their real intent. This is hinted at here. A lot of the bonding and reasons for, as depicted or explained here are also very same-sex oriented. That way they can be in a sexually exciting physical situation with another male. In fact the whole film is a celebration of very physical male bonding, young and older, mighty and mad, stupendous and stupid... reckless and devoted: the same conformities that bond the gay male community, something that has been explained in psychiatry about surfers and their male orientation gang behavior into male beauty and wildness and how it appeals. The only female of any profile here is Grandma; the one female to whom they are devoted and genuinely show their deep love. She pivots the film and it is her initial understanding of the basic needs of teen boys to bond which initiates the surfing gangs of Maroubra as seen in this generation. This is not to detract from BRA BOYS (that title might be a bit misleading for non English audiences though) because this documentary is ultimately a very rewarding and emotional display of astonishing family unity, care and unruly behavior. There are groan-worthy disappointments when the teens annoyingly bail up the local bus and terrorize the driver which is a rotten and stupid thing to do... but in a warts and all doco, makes a complete picture: idiots and arseholes last night but are taking a black dwarf surfing today. The three Abberton brothers of whom this is basically about, and their multicultural tribe of BRA BOYS now to be more Jackass than ever given the huge success of this film, will come out of this well, and I hope for the sake of everyone in Maroubra past and future take a more mature role and become tribal elders to a very influenced generation of young males. To bring this epic to the screen is a marvel in itself as this documentary is cobbled together from an enormous amount of out-of-focus footage, news clips, and wobble-cam images. The fact that it is absolutely compelling and ultimately emotional and well worth applause is a testament to the salvage expertise production crew and to the pursuit of this project by the Sydney film distributor, Troy Lum at Hopscotch Films. This house has been the source of some of the most interesting documentaries in recent years to hit local screens. His name is all over the film as it should be. BRA BOYS is a disgrace, but what a fantastic one. The final scenes of the multicultural make up of the gang is genuinely one of the proudest moments I have ever had in a cinema as an Australian and as a man one Maroubra generation ahead of this lot. Is Mark Whalberg is needed in a remake? We like our BRA BOYS exactly as they are. We saw DOGTOWN AND Z BOYS then the dumb LORDS OF DOGTOWN movie too. Beware.