By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Director: Jonathan Sequeira
Year: 2025
Running time: 106
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33298055/reference/
Brett says: “Cringeworthy title aside, once one gets past that, the attempt at irony or paradox in said title makes itself known soon enough in this documentary about a young group of guys who were all children of immigrant families in Australia and formed a friendship during their school years. Despite life experiences that led to their becoming outcasts, when mates who shared a love of music banded together and turned rage and rejection into punk music, the result became an interesting study in cultural ‘gatekeeping.’
“By its nature, punk is a rebellious and rule-breaking lifestyle. However, the documentary explores how the music genre had a sort of look and type that the subjects of the film did not quite satisfy. ‘Satisfy’ according to whom, that’s the real question. The band experienced comments that they were truly the most punk ideal within the punk state-of-being itself, and in the same venues that those comments were made they faced derision by judgments that they were not punk at all.
“At this stage, it would be fair to question why the name of the band has not even been mentioned yet. To notarize the punk attitude even further, the chosen name for the band is a humorous anecdote itself with the documentary. Its propriety is questionable to say the least, so let’s just say it’s best for an audience to get that reveal on a first viewing. After all, one of the themes of the documentary is that this is a band not many outside of Australia has likely ever heard of, so meeting them and their chosen name is part of the experience.
“The film features a satisfying amount of opportunities to hear from the band members themselves, the music itself, and the history of their formation and experience. For fans of discovering new artists that have already had their heyday and somehow escaped one’s circle of familiarity, this is the kind of itch this documentary scratches. As with just about any feature of this type, there are attempts to elevate just how influential the group is, including lofty claims that use the power of ‘if this/then that … ‘ statements toward the end of the film.”