I must say I was intrigued going into director Justin Mitchell’s most recent documentary Rio Breaks. The reason is not because I’m a fan of surfing films but due to the documentary film taking place in the crime-infested Rio de Janeiro. Knowing this, the film had potential to break from the stereotypic mold of previous surfer films. In turn, it accomplished this feat and more.

For those who don’t know, what makes Rio such an interesting place to shoot this film is that it is full of turmoil. If you’ve seen City of God you know this as there is a lot of gang warfare, drug trafficking and crimes. taking place in the area. What’s more intriguing to me is that it also will shockingly be holding the 2016 Olympics. This film needless to say doesn’t persuade me any more that Rio is ready to take on this task. In fact, it’s still mind boggling that it has been chosen.

The film focuses on a number of citizens of Rio, from parents, surfing teachers, professional surfers and most importantly the children who are learning the sport and struggling to survive in the crime-ridden era. While there are probably more than 10 or so kids that are featured in the film, it is primarily focused on two young boys – Fabio and Naama. Naama is younger than Fabio. His father is very strict on him and forces him to do well in school and to participate in other sports before tending to his surfing desires. Naama is the more vulnerable of the two as you can tell he is extremely careful in the areas he crosses. He also has a more playful personality. We also learn that his elder brother was killed years ago in a gang war, which according to his family members put a big world of hurt on his shoulders, which could explain his shyness at times.

Fabio on the other hand is a different case. He is being raised by his grandparents and is shown as a bully-type kid. He pushes others, has an attitude and is feared to go down the same road as his father who was in the gangs years ago, which resulted in him being shot dead. His mother on the other hand has been in and out of jail for years and doesn’t want anything to do with Fabio. Despite having his grandparents to help with his upbringing though, Fabio unlike Naama has no warmth in his life and in turn has turned into a fighter and a bully. He rarely even attends school. The only thing Fabio tends to care about in life is his surfing.

The showcase of Breaking Rio is the character study of both Naama and Fabio. Both boys, while reserved when interviewed throughout the film make for very interesting subjects. What helps this is the difference between both in their personalities. One is extroverted, while the other is an introvert and afraid of the other. They also have a very bizarre relationship with one another. They constantly hang out with each other and surf with each other, but at the same time it doesn’t come off as a friendship per say. When Fabio is missing, Naama doesn’t seem to care about his whereabouts or even if he’s alive. Instead, he states how it’s preferable to surf alone. Fabio on the other hand is a completely self-centered kid. Throughout the film it seems as if his only real motivation to hanging out with Naama is to pick on him. Despite these character flaws though, both are extremely likable and you really learn to feel sympathetic in terms of their situation and hoping they stay away from the drug world.

On top of the character study, it is interesting to learn the ways of the drug gangs in Rio. For instance, there are two gangs and if one impedes on the other’s territory there will be a shoot out, but if the police show up in their territory, they will choose to shoot the police instead of each other. It also is mentioned that this gang warfare takes place in the hillside part of the area, which so happens to be the place where Naama, Fabio and the rest of the surfers live. What’s mind boggling though is the statistic featured in the film that the drug trade “employs” approximately 100,000 people and in turn is the largest industry in Rio. Needless to say, Rio is a very dangerous place, but the idea of the surfing teachers trying to get kids involved in surfing to save them from the drug trade is profound and engaging.

Unfortunately, the film isn’t perfect. While there is a great focus on the main two boys and the drug trade, it does a pretty poor job in developing the other locals in the film. They briefly touch on the teachers who mostly serve shop for boards for those who participate in surfing. You know they want to help the kids; however, at the same time you don’t really know their background and why they want to help. They briefly touch on a couple of female surfers and Picachu, who serves as the third friend with Naama and Fabio, but you can’t fully get a good read on any of these kids’ character. They also briefly mention Simao Rimau, who supposedly is a professional surfer who is from the area, but they barely even talk about him. You’d think that they’d focus more on Rimau considering he is a surfer from the area who has made it and to juxtapose it to these kids, but thye don’t. The last person mentioned of any importance is Rogerio who eventually challenges Fabio to a surfing competition. This I felt could’ve been the climax to the film. It should’ve been built up but they only focus on it for about 10 minutes or less.

At the end of the day, it’s almost as if Mitchell chose to feature these other mini sections of the film just in order for it to be considered a feature, and in turn it just feels a bit sloppy. It would even be one thing if the film was getting on the long end of things, but it only is about 80 minutes. Generally I feel films are too long for what they are, but in this case he could’ve focused on other important aspects for about 20 minutes or so. Either that or just not included these extra elements at all and feature more scenes with Naama and Fabio.

The cinematography on the other hand is phenomenal. Some of the landscape shots are breathtaking, and the b-roll of the surfers doing their thing is even more incredible if you consider the risk it is filming near and under water, not to mention the risk of getting hit. It is truly phenomenal stuff even for a so-called “surfing” film.

Overall, if you want to see a great documentary film, I suggest giving Rio Breaks a chance. You do not have to be a surfing fan to enjoy it as it is more a character study on the children of Rio de Janeiro and the drug trafficking more than it is about surfing. The only fault to the film is that there are numerous directions Mitchell takes us that are completely unnecessary and undeveloped, which in the end just comes off sloppy. However, 80 percent or more of the film is featured on Naama and Fabio, which ultimately is the selling point of intrigue for the film.