Bondi Tsunami (2004) User Reviews

Uninspiring - there is a reason this wasn't funded by the FFC, AFC & FTO!!!

[IntoTheDarkness24 · 1/10 · 9 May 2005]

"Bondi Tsunami" is perhaps one of the most uninspiring pieces of "cinema" that I have seen. I highlight "cinema" because it should be read in a sarcastic and/or dull tone.

The film is more like an extended music video, who's cinematography engages you in the first five minutes, during the opening credits, but then gets old, fast. And because there is no narrative (in ANY form) to engage you, you find your eyes wandering over to watch the grass grow. Grass is pretty cool! And yes, it may have sold to a few countries, but so have our cattle. It is by no means a measure of artistic integrity, but merely a current marketable item- manufactured to fit a niche- perfect the the Japanese market! Oh, that is sooooooo "original" (sarcastic/dull again).

Anyone could have "directed" this! No character development, no plot development, no 'real' story... It would have been more interesting to see an opposite of "Lost in Translation" perhaps, where these Japanese surfers are discovering Australia and its beaches through their perspective and discovering different things about themselves in the process... evolving perhaps? Even one element of change or difference would have been interesting, but noooooooo! All that was served up was 2-dimensional mash. Developing these characters would have taken too much effort and thought, and because it is essentially a music video, I guess it was not required.

If I wanted to watch music videos for 2 hours, I'd tune into ABC's "RAGE" on Saturday morning!

The only persons I'd recommend this film to, are those who are not interested in watching a "film"; or those who cannot get good reception on their TV for the ABC!

Rating: 0.5/10.

Sublime

[pokerfool · 9/10 · 30 October 2005]

Well it would seem that with Bondi Tsunami you either love it or hate it. There's no in between. I loved it. It is definitely something that needs to be watched and taken into your mind in a different way. The very way the music and imagery are presented to you is also a story telling tool, not just aesthetic. Each character has their own music, camera and editing style to go with them and convey their character without actions or words. This was very purposeful in it's style. The editing and colour grading in this movie were awesome. This was DV and look at the quality. Watch it again and notice how these elements of movie making affect how you think about the character's personalities.

Hypnotic, beautiful and ahead of it's time.

not your usual road trip

[nobbytatoes · 7/10 · 31 July 2005]

This has to be the most interesting road trip movie i have ever seen. If you think you have seen every type of road movie, you haven't seen this then. For the four actors, they do a alright job of acting, even though they were randomly picked from the street and had no previous acting.

Bondi Tsunami is so visually stunning, that you are mesmerized the whole time. Though it is visually wonderful, it does distract from the story; but there isn't much of a story in the first place. This is the major flaw of the movie, with a limited story line and not a lot of character development, the movie seems to drag on and on. Most of the time there are songs playing and this is where all the visual directing comes into its own; but you cant really rely on great visuals. It kind of is one long music video.

Though this isn't a very deep movie and very thin on a story, this is still a great view; as there isn't anything else like Bondi Tsunami out there.

Perhaps the worst Australian film of all time

[dangitman · 1/10 · 11 February 2005]

Bondi Tsunami: Now contains 40% new footage!

I went to see the premiere of this film, which featured the director getting up before the film, and explaining how her "new" style of DV film-making is a revolution, how they are on the cutting edge by making this film. After seeing the film, I almost feel sorry for how embarrassing her comments really were.

There is nothing innovative here, just a movie-length music-video clip, that isn't even good. Technically, it is a nightmare - not only is the DV footage grainy, it is frequently blurry and lacking in focus. The tonal/colour range is extremely garish, and hurts the eyes.

It isn't even good as a script. It has basically no plot, and no decent acting or visuals to make up for this. Not only this, but it seems half the footage is recycled. Constantly, the film returns to exactly the same shots of surfing. And the surfing photography isn't even any good! It's supposed to be exciting, but the surf footage is much lamer than than the 15- year-old surf videos I used to watch as a teen.

Additionally, the film manages to patronise and tokenize both Japanese and Australian culture at the same time. What are supposed to be humorous cultural references, come off as plain ignorance and fetishism. Even the notion of Australian geography is severely messed up, as their "road trip" doesn't make any sense if you look at a map of Australia.

The film itself is patronising enough on its own, but to have the director lecture us about how they were doing innovative, new things that no-one else had done before, was truly insulting. Does she not know how long people have been making DIY movies with DV cameras? Does she not know how long music videos, or Japanese-Australian fetishes have been around?

The characters are two-dimensional parodies of themselves. Ganja-Man is hilarious for being such a pathetic wooden stereotype. He has become one of the greatest in-jokes among my circle of friends. "Hey, look it's Ganja-Man!" has become a catch cry whenever we go surfing.

This film would be worth buying if you can get a cheap copy, just to have on reference for how bad a movie can actually be. It almost fits into the "so bad it's good" category, but not quite, because the enjoyment of crappiness is outweighed by the painfulness of watching.

Still, it is an essential torture for any aspiring filmmaker to watch Bondi Tsunami. An incredible lesson in what NOT to do when you make your first film.

Perhaps the best Australian Film of All Time

[burlesque-1 · 10/10 · 30 April 2005]

Bondi Tsunami: the coolest Australian road movie of all time!!!!!!!

If you think this was the worst Australian movie of all time you obviously haven't watched many Australian movies!!

Finally an Australian film maker has taken a risk! Just when you thought Australia was sentenced to an eternity of Macleods daughters style dramas and dried up comedian comedies, someone has actually made something conceptually different here. In fact its very hard to criticise this film at all because it in not trying to be anything else or resemble another style of film making.The whole movie operates like a visual music CD -it is the sort of film that you can watch again and again and get something new out of it every time. The cinematography was stunning, the music is awesome and the cast are intriguing to watch.

This film is truly unique-Just like the director said, it is a satirical send up on advertising, fashion, pop culture and even film its self. The characters are all like real life cartoons and fully aware of their hyper real two dimensional disposition-I think thats what makes it interesting. The director makes reference to the Wizard of Oz and I can see how the movie is basically a stoner incarnation of the Wizard of Oz plot and Australia is presented as a hyper real comic book world. And if you've ever been to Japan, then you will adore this film and appreciate its celebration of all that is artificial.

I can see how regressive politically correct people who have a blanket hate for pop culture and music videos,won't be able to handle anything new like this. The film will go right over their head. The simple minded will probably be better off watching something that spells everything out for them.

The fact it was shot on a digital camera, edited on a PC and the fact that it has warranted a commercial following will open the doors up for other people to make guerrilla films this way- in the same way music software has enabled people to create their own music at home. Bondi Tsunami has proved that you don't need the conventional trappings of government funding or studio backing to make a film these days. It puts the power of film making back into the hands of the artist.It is such a feel good, chill out experience I can't wait to see it again. I'll be buying the DVD when it comes out and playing it on high rotation.

Very Enjoyable

[stonkered · 7/10 · 29 December 2005]

This movie was an extremely different experience to the traditional style of movie making. I enjoyed it immensely. The visual style and music was great. However I did find one or two scenes extremely erratic and repetitive (I know that this was a conscious choice though). Unfortunately one of them is the opening scene with all the fast editing to a techno beat. Some people probably get turned off it at the start, but if you stay with it it get's much better. The editing and colours in the movie were the standout elements I thought. I do agree with some of the other comments though about the Director's/Producer's commentary being a bit much to swallow. They sound like they're the only people in history to have done an indie film. Overall though, I rate this movie pretty high and would recommend it to anyone wanting a different style of entertainment.

Apart from being a bit of inane eye candy this film has nothing going for it at all.

[dub-doctor · 1/10 · 7 December 2005]

So it isn't the worst Australian film of all time, but it is still pretty awful. It looks and sounds OK, for about 5 minutes, until you realise that the whole film is just going to be more of the same - vacuous shots of (admittedly pretty) Japanese dudes acting inanely and occasionally surfing to a groovy but ultimately boring soundtrack.

I almost gave this film more than 1/10 just because of the unintentionally hilarious commentary extra feature on the DVD. Not only do the director and producer sound like pretentious twats with overblown egos, the detail of subtext they read into their own film making is laughable. This is an empty film with no plot, no character development, no narrative whatsoever apart from a banal and simple story of a stupid road trip. Apart from being a bit of inane eye candy this film has nothing going for it at all.

The first Japanese surfing road movie in Australia

[johnfos · 9/10 · 7 August 2005]

This movie is very different and difficult to describe...

It is a music video movie, where there is little dialogue, and some fairly tasteful music choices and nifty camera-work help to move the movie along.

It is a comical movie, which doesn't take itself too seriously. Some scenes are downright funny, especially those with Gunja-man! And there are short comic strip interludes which add a surreal and humorous quality.

It is a road movie, which documents a crazy and meandering trip in an old Holden around some of our "Sunburnt Country". Many notable tourist spots are included, as well as some outback desert scenery.

It is a spiritual movie, which has many Buddhist references. Nirvana, Enlightenment, Void, Illusion and several lines from the Heart Sutra are all mentioned. The movie is portrayed as being somewhere between reality and a dream and is quite atmospheric.

It's a psychedelic and counter-cultural movie. Nimbin is mentioned several times and several scenes seem "other-worldly".

It is a surfing movie, with many allusions to the classic Australian surfing film from the 70s, "Morning of the Earth". Two of Brian Cadd's original songs from "Morning of the Earth" are included in "Bondi Tsunami"... deja vu...

This movie successfully integrates all these genres and may be destined to become a cult classic...

Soundtrack and the website

[screamapiller · 7/10 · 19 June 2006]

I watched the movie and in the credits it said the soundtrack would be available from the website www.bonditsunami.com, but the website seems to be poorly coded and gives errors after the first page. Anyone know where I can find the soundtrack?

I thought the movie was pretty cool, a good take on the emptiness of the Australian landscape especially as viewed from the perspective of a Japanese. It did get boring at times when it focused too long on a particular image that I didn't see the interest in, but a lot of it was spot on. Japanese Story deals with the same ideas in a more standard narrative format if you can't stomach this movie.

Very atrocious and disappointing film of all time.

[conradz58 · 1/10 · 22 January 2008]

This movie seems to be perhaps one of the worst Australian/Japanese film ever made in the entire universe. The film is very atrocious, disappointing, uninspiring and very uninteresting to the filming market especially for the Australian and Japanese market of all time.

The movie seems to be like a long-length music video like the opening credit, Movie has no story line at ALL, Hardly any scripts, and no excitement.

The only good thing with the movie is that the movie itself is colorful like the grass. But the rest is very atrocious.

You will be disappointed when you'll watch this film, but for some of you's it may not be disappointing, but let me tell you .. It's very disappointing to watch.

Disgraceful. 0.5/10

When naive middle class fantasy turns insulting!

[morrison75 · 1/10 · 16 October 2007]

I have to agree with many of the other reviewers here: this film easily qualifies as one of the worst movies in Australian film history.

Perhaps the fact that Rachel Lucas (and from what I've read on this page, friends and family!) makes so many wild claims about the film make it more difficult to swallow.

There were so many things to dislike about this film I don't know where to start!

My wife is (an ass-kicking Harley riding surfing, intelligent) Japanese and we were constantly looking at each other throughout the film, cringing or rolling our eyes in disbelief. (The portrayal of the fawning, tottering Japanese girl was incredibly stupid and over the top.)

The mickey mouse "zen" philosophizing was too much and to often.

The tiny amount of "natural dialogue" was stiff and unrealistic.

The Ganja man character was bloody terrible. Motre like an autistic acid casualty than a shaman-like guru.

I can only imagine that the young Japanese actors agreed to go along with the ideas in the (so-called) script, because they are young and desperate in need of some quick holiday money or film exposure.

Whatever the case, Rachel Lucas's middle class Sydney girl take on Japanese gender relations is an insulting joke.

It seems unbelievable to me that someone could put so much time energy and money into a project like this and have no one with a little experience (and taste) pull them up and give them some advice.

Rachel should have invested mum and dad's money in a trip around the world, and got some life experience before foisting this upon us all.

I want my two hours back!

I will say one thing, it serves as an inspiration.. it makes me want go out and to do better!!

Strange film - some good trippy viewing

[pawsaa · 8/10 · 1 August 2008]

Reading some of the other reviews for this film it seems that opinion is extremely divided. I enjoyed the film purely for the editing and visuals. I thought the editing was fantastic and was the only thing that gave the film any kind of pace, even though it was a stoner flick of sorts it still needed something to move it along. I enjoyed the soundtrack too. Some of the shots were beautifully composed but I agree that generally the camera-work was shoddy.

I've read some interviews by the director and she does seem to have her head up her arse as far as her claims to be revolutionising DV film making and guerilla techniques - does she honestly believe she was the first to shoot a film on DV with a small crew??? Um - reality check. It's been going on since the cameras were invented over 10 years ago.

But - I think the filmmakers can be commended for stretching the boundaries of audience expectations and structure. The Australian film industry isn't known for being adventurous and at least this film is different. I disagree with those that say there's no plot - the film is a journey, both literally and of self discovery. It is like one long trippy music video that looks fantastic. I think audiences need to forget about traditional structure and just go with it.

Unwatchable

[dr_john_pollard · 1/10 · 7 November 2021]

Just finished skipping through this. No story, just random video shot on what was apparently supposed to be a road trip.

Some surfing shots, but nothing whatsoever in terms of acting, story, visual interest, or anything resembling what a movie is supposed to be.

Thought there might be something there as an Australian, and nope!

Bondi Tsunami fast forward ten years

[budad2007 · 1/10 · 13 January 2015]

Now the only reason I feel attached to this film is because I met the parents of the friends of the filmmaker on my first trip to Japan from Australia, and I happen to be living in Bondi at the time.

All of the negative reviews although harsh are accurate, this is a bad film, and Im not going to sugarcoat it in any way but I will go into the hype around it at the time, 2004, DV cams were getting really good by that time and $10k cameras where impressive as well as edit suits by then, costs really came down by this time in the digital frontier, by 2005 after doing a TV course in TAFE AKA community college, the next year it all went digital as the academic method, (woohoo! I got to learn how to log video and hit the tape return button).

So upon reflection the changes marched ahead for cheap high quality film production in Australia and the taste palates were shallow at best, people were more exited by the fact it could be done independently for so little without the need for funding that they overlooked the content and supported most films coming out anyway, this in itself was a good thing, but short lived.

Fast forward 2015 and Youtube, an iphone 6 and some free editing apps/software, you could make a higher quality film for allot cheaper and just concentrate on the content because you will not get the potential millions of views otherwise, now the world is your audience through the web. Let Bondi Tsunami be a lesson for a time when technology out weighed the actual content, indie films did not always suck but let this film be a lesson on what should not take place. I don't care if you have great technology , if you cant fill up a few paper napkins with a good idea or two, don't move ahead with your project. and unfortunately this film is a lesson on bad film making, that took a free ride on a technology craze.