Scope: Creating a wave: surfer-inspired movie Bondi Tsunami prepares to storm Japan

Asian Economic News, April 4, 2005

LONDON, March 31 Kyodo

(EDS: TWO PHOTOS AVAILABLE VIA E-MAIL. THE PHOTO ADVISORY TO MOVE SOON, FOLLOWING THIS STORY)

A big wave has hit Australia, but it has not been aquatic - it has been in the form of an influx of young Japanese in search of the surf and themselves.

Bondi Tsunami, a unique, self-styled ''music video motion picture'' captures this rite-of-passage adventure undertaken by thousands of international tourists every year through the eyes of the most recent wave of travelers to have colonized Australia -- the Japanese surfer.

The film's title has taken on somewhat unfortunate connotations in view of the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami proceeding Bondi Tsunami's inception five years ago.

But it was originally meant as a reference to the metaphorical ''tidal wave'' of Japanese surfers who were hitting Bondi Beach on the east coast of Australia in a suburb of Sydney.

Despite the makers being adamant that the film is a distinctive ''road movie,'' not a run-of-the-mill surf movie, its origins stem from the beach and the waves.

The idea first took shape in 2000, born from the annual beach festivals organized by then Bondi FM radio DJ Anthony Lucas-Smith, the film's producer.

''I began by interviewing Japanese surfers on Bondi Beach, asking them why they're here, why they like Australia, what's the difference between Australia and Japan,'' he said of how he developed his relationship with Japanese in Australia.

Lucas-Smith had previously spent five years living in Japan and is fluent in the language. His fascination is with the younger Japanese generation who appear torn between their own country and the more relaxed ''beach culture'' of Australia and the West.

''The phenomenon of Japanese surfing subculture is intriguing for Aussies... I started an Australian-Japanese beach festival with surfing competitions so that Aussies could meet these interesting characters and mix with the Japanese community,'' he explained.

Four Japanese on their own trips to Australia got to go one step further than merely mingling with Australians; they got to become the stars of a movie that has already attracted a deal of attention in Australia.

Brothers Taki and Keito Abe, Miki Sasaki and Nobuhisa Ikeda had never acted in their lives before, but that did not stop Lucas-Smith and sister-in-law and director Rachael Lucas from building a film around them.

''These actors are real in the sense that their lives tell pretty similar stories to the characters in the film... they're just natural actors,'' Lucas-Smith said of the four Japanese they commandeered into starring in the film.

The acting is clearly not Oscar-standard but there is something fun and ultimately intriguing about the four clueless road-trippers with funky hair -- Shark, Yuto, Kimiko and Gunja Man -- as they venture up Australia's east coast in search of the perfect wave.

Likewise, whilst the film itself is not about to go down in story-telling history, it is very watchable due to its bizarre, existentialist stance - aimed at stimulating the eyes and ears of the younger generation brought up on music television and multimedia advertisements.

Filmed entirely ''guerilla-style'' on a digital camera, and with music and graphics at the centre of the film, Bondi Tsunami has been described as ''Kabuki meets MTV, meets the Wizard of Oz, meets Monkey Magic.''

The description fits with the surreal humor of Bondi Tsunami. Japanese cultural references are in abundance; most notably with the film being interspersed with flashes of Manga-style still cartoon frames.

However, the film's aim is not to stereotype. In fact, Bondi Tsunami has received backing from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade due to its positive portrayal of Japanese in Australia.

Commissioner-General for Australia, Andrew Todd, praises Lucas' direction. ''In contrast to many international filmmakers who show little understanding of Japanese attitudes or culture - resulting in stereotype images of Japanese in Western films - Rachael is typical of a generation of young Australians who have grown up with a natural connection to Japan.''

Producer Lucas-Smith is equally upbeat about their achievements of creating characters that steer clear of the stereotypical Japanese businessman or tourist that have become features of many other Western films.

''We'd brought along this cool, global citizen in the shape of a Japanese character called Shark... it was great for me to have created a character and an image of the Japanese that people love so much,'' Lucas-Smith said, referring to the positive reception the film received on its six-month, 50-stop tour of east-coast Australia.

It is just as well that the film crew (made up of various family members) created Bondi Tsunami for the love of the diversity of culture between Australia and Japan, because if they had done it for the money, they would be disappointed by now.

After being refused funding from government sources, Lucas-Smith took matters into his own hands to fund the A$150,000-production (nearly 12.5 million yen) and is now the owner of 12 ''maxed-out'' credit cards. But he is not complaining.