supermaggie As noted by others: no gay film in the actual sense, rather a mixture of surf film, teen movie, growing up story, with a little family drama, a little working-class drama, some gay issues, but especially a film about two (or three) brothers. Therein lies the weakness of the film: it wants too much and gets lost. If it focused only on the brothers and the gay issue, it would surely have been more successful. I don't think the film is a great achievement, but mainly due to the two outstanding characters of Fergus (Xavier Samuel) and the / his grandfather (Barry Otto) it is pleasant and entertaining enough and at the end -with the talk of the twins on the beach about the third brother- it comes full circle. But still: more focus on Fergus and his relationships with family and friends instead of Jesse and his surfing and the beach parties etc. would have certainly worked better and would have been better received by the audience targeted by marketing.

sandover I can't really say - not what went wrong, but - what didn't go right with this little film. The acting is not actually bad, though the script is easily yelling at times; nice surf shots, but prudish, as another reviewer mentioned, use of half-naked shots, that mar any feeling of contest, or sport, in the film, and the comic effect (I'm talking here about the scene of the two brothers running naked in town) is not delivered. Not quite clumsy; rather half-baked, and somewhat hurriedly edited. Pity, the opening shots were really nice. Why not stick to what they retroactively conveyed, that is a sense of enclosure from the city's industrial whereabouts, and from the huge ships that look like whalers and close off the sea imparting a sense of oppression and the quest for freedom? Newcastle? Looks more like an old hut full of adolescent ware.

adriennecarpentier Apart from some pretty looking guys and nice surfing shots this movie hasn't ANY body or new content, neither a touching moment nor a reason to watch it until the end. It's the n'th example of Aussie-American prudishness: a naked butt or any other part of a body seems to be less offensive than what's positioned between our legs (I won't call those things by name because even that is not allowed in that hypocritical thinking). Finally I can not find any reason why the description "gay interest" is mentioned under Plot Keywords on this website: apart from some adolescent worn-out phrases and a remark about a possible mutual jerk-off (straight guys don't do that?), there is not even a faint assignment towards homosexuality. But if you like using the F-word in every sentence, if you fancy foolish shouting, stupid macho behaviour, empty-headed chicks and guys who suffer from their adrenaline outbursts, than this floor-cloth movie is a must....

Marc Munasque I saw this at its second screening at the 2008 Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival in Honolulu.For me, a lot of movies only manage to engage me as a passive, casual observer--the proverbial fly on the wall. This film's extreme close-ups, tight shots and screen-filling POVs, both in and out of the water, drew me in and then ultimately carried me away--not unlike some riptide--into the world of surfers and surfing, a way of life that I only know on a very superficial level. (This is partly because I am terrified of the water, and the glaring irony of my moving to Hawaii from the US mainland so as to be completely surrounded by it isn't lost on me!) Just like how Scott Bakula's character must have felt in the sci-fi series "Quantum Leap" every time he time-traveled and ended up in someone else's body, I not only witnessed the unfolding of a story about a bunch of surfer kids...I actually became one of them. From the moment one of the surfer boys first opens his eyes in the morning. To his hearing waves breaking in the distance. To his paddling out into the salty, churning swell. To his jockeying for position--both literal and figurative ones--amongst his peers. For just a brief couple of hours of absolute clarity and certainty, I finally could understand the passions that drive my surfer friends, which at times can be dangerously all-consuming and, at other times, linger just below the surface--a gnawing, constant craving--quite similar to an itch you can't quite reach and/or satisfy.Excellent cinematography and soundtrack, especially for the surfing segments. Decent pacing and competent acting from a handsome ensemble cast. Combining those with generous helpings of humor, pathos and youthful indiscretions round out this coming of age narrative.