collaboratewell Maroubra is now gentrifying suburb, the NSW state government (Liberal = conservative)has sold off the Long Bay jail site mentioned in this documentary; to developers for apartments. And those multi million dollar apartments won't be for housing commission 'boys' as many of this film's participants were . . . in the day.The doco was re-shown recently on free to air television. It reinforced that sport -- surfing and ruby league in this case -- provides a way out of poverty for some who otherwise wouldn't have a path, in contrast to the drug financed, homicidal chaos that is today's (2016) American gang culture. Although it was interesting to see members of the Comanchero motor bike gang referenced as interlocutors in the context of the Cronulla 'race' riots -- which didn't spread to Maroubra on the scale expected. Another vignette highlighted an interviewee's observation that group recognition was ethnic and colour blind.An interviewee opines in a further vignette that; the culture of the area and the group, benefited some group members because it increased their tolerance for high risk endeavours e.g. big wave surfing. Early on, in a telling interview, a university professor explains the predicament of local kids caused by the policing practice of fining juveniles for loitering and other misdemeanours -- as seen in Ferguson USA (2015). The fines mount up to a couple of thousand dollars by the time kids are 16 (legal driving age) which means they can't get a license and consequently that avenue (driving for local delivers)of social and economic participation is foreclosed.Is the individualism of the atomic family socially useful? The doco highlighted the support a multi-generational family can provide, with in this case, the grandmother offering a long term physically safe environment with food set against the boys mother's dysfunctional and unsafe predicament.A cult classic for anthropologists, sociologists and voyeurs.

toyslavefactory5 A lot of stuff about how they have bloodthirsty fights, Some news article about Cocaine, Heroin, not a good influence for kids. Kids may copycat and end up in prison for rehabs. Search for: bra boys heroin in google.com, and bra boys cocaine in google.com, you'd get some news article results. If kids copy them, we'll get a whole generation of homicidal psychos running around all over the world. So, it's not good. If you want your kids to grow up, keeping away from drugs, homicide, prison, don't let them watch this one. It'll turn them into psychos. PLEASE for humanity. Don't copy them.Keep out of trouble, kids.

lil_dancer_chik 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

okky-1 Enough people have waxed lyrical about this film so I will lay of the heavy dissection. As young surfer growing up in on the North Shore of Auckland New Zealand I can fully appreciate the sentiments around "the locals only" culture but never to the extent as portrayed here.A good movie for the footage of some heavy duty surfing on some out of control breaks. The Abberton brothers and crew have large kahunas I will give them that.You can almost taste the biased portrayal of the murder of the Hinds character. You would think that he deserved his fate and Jai & Koby were angels from heaven come to deliver the world from this evil menace. Unfortunately most kids in the Maroubra community will now come to think of these brothers as heroes for killing another human being be it an act of self defence or intentional. It is never okay to take a another persons life even if you came from the worst possible family environment possible.One last point...where are all the females?? Apart from the grandmother their seems to be a heavy underlying gay tone. Even in the group scenes their is a total distinct lack of female presence. I would have got out of there for that reason alone ha ha