Rio Breaks

2009

1 hr. 25 min.

Documentary

List

100%

11 Reviews

Tomatometer

86%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Best friends Fabio and Naama navigate their way through life in a slum and surfing on their favorite beach.

Read More

Read Less

Audience Member

Beautiful and poignant.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Best docu/movie I've ever seen! U don't even need to be a surfing fan!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

In Favela do Pavao, one of Rio De Janeiro's toughest slums, life is regulated by the local, heavily armed drug gang Commando Vermelho. The favelo is enormous, and of the various areas making it up, Vietnam is the poorest - and most violent. If the gang doesn't get you, the police may well, as it is often their first port of call when looking for traffickers, and they have a tendency to shoot first ask questions later. So growing up in Vietnam is tough, to say the least. For best friends Naama and Fabio, twelve and thirteen, there is only one way out: head to nearby Arpoador Beach, and surf. They hope to become professional surfers, to beat the odds dealt to them at birth. To say that Rio Breaks offer a different perspective to Rio's favelas, surfing and life doesn't do it justice. The kids will challenge your view of the slums, and give it a serious sun tan. Forget California, Hawaii and the affluent, white beach bum image of the sport: Rio Breaks gives surfing a soul.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A great insight into the favela culture & surf culture in Rio. The kids in the movie have a lot of talent and are very likable - but are stuck in a tough situation. A Must Watch if you're planning on going to Brazil for any length of time!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A really decent and touching documentary about kids trapped in a place full of violence and killing, with surfing being their only way out of getting sucked into the drug trafficking world themselves. The two children they focus on are so articulate and smart (particularly Naama), and their views on their situation (they both know many people killed by gangs or by cops) and their love of surfing. Since it's a documentary, nothing overly eventful happens of course, but it's the interviews themselves and the educational potential of this film that works. I came out feeling far better educated on the more dangerous parts of the world, and on surfing itself for that matter. It's a shame to see so much goodness surrounded and often destroyed by so much evil, and it's a shame that Fabio takes the evil route at the end, as is implied anyway. I'd watch this again. Very good stuff.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Justin Mitchell

Director

Bodie Olmos

Narrator

Justin Mitchell

Writer

John Maier

Writer

Vince Medeiros

Writer

Francesco Civita

Executive Producer

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

89%

57%

The Manor

83%

%

Player Hating: A Love Story

85%

78%

Bully

TRAILER

for Bully

100%

100%

Heart of Stone

60%

75%

Otter 501

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Derek Adams

Time Out

Rated: 3/5

Nov 16, 2011

Full Review

Philip French

Guardian

The film offers a valuable insight into the underside of a country that's about to host the World Cup and the Olympic Games.

Jun 5, 2011

Full Review

Anthony Quinn

Independent (UK)

Rated: 3/5

Jun 3, 2011

Full Review

David Edwards

Daily Mirror (UK)

Charts the trials of two boys hoping to win a surfing contest to escape the grinding poverty of Rio's Favela.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 3, 2011

Full Review

David Parkinson

Radio Times

The sun-kissed footage of the kids seizing the opportunity to escape from the hardships of their home lives may not be particularly spectacular, but their stories are laced with poignancy.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 2, 2011

Full Review

Jonathan Crocker

Total Film

Gentle, touching and beautifully captured, this is the best surfing documentary since Riding Giants and a personal, genuinely painful true-life drama set on the brink of childhood's end. Discover it.

May 25, 2011

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Best friends Fabio and Naama navigate their way through life in a slum and surfing on their favorite beach.

Director: Justin Mitchell
Executive Producer: Francesco Civita, Sheri Levine, Michael Thornton
Screenwriter: Justin Mitchell, John Maier, Vince Medeiros
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: Portuguese (Brazil)