Surf Punks

Excellent documentary about the very early LA hardcore punk scene that almost seems accidental. Upon visiting LA in the summer of '81 the film maker notices that strangely enough Punk doesn't seem to be dead in L.A., but on the contrary, there seems to be a massive teenage movement going on. He decides to make a short documentary about it. As he says (not without irony); "Since everything happens a few years earlier in the US, I can show the parents back home what's in store for them". He was ofcourse witness to the baby steps of the hardcore scene. This is the only documentary of the era that is not sensationalizing or mythologizing. It doesn't talk to any of the scene "stars" but rather follows a few disenfranchised suburban kids and runaways (in Venice beach I think). A rare look into a self destructive and nihilistic scene, where the main motives seem to be restlessness and soul crushing boredom. Perhaps one of the very few documentaries that give this era a human face.

Directed by Frans Bromet, Surf Punks leans on a strong ensemble — Mike Muir — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about documentary titles of 1981.