It’s a documentary about a surf club that helps selected kids to find a way out of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Through the eyes of Naama and Fabio, two kids from Favela do Pavao or “Vietnam” as it is called by the people who live there, the movie provides an unique insight of the true life in the Brazilian favelas. In this by heavily armed drug gangs controlled habitat Naama and Fabio have the luck to be picked by the Cantaglo Surf Club. Cantaglo surf club is on the one hand trying to support the kids by taking the hard way in terms of going to school instead of becoming a paid drug soldier on the other hand trying to train the kids to become a future surf star. Rio Breaks follows the kids for over a year through their ups and downs. Although good friends, the two boys are very different. Naama, the younger one appears to be the understanding, good kid that has a family at home that loves and supports him. Fabio is the more complex kid with a good heart but a difficult family situation that has its impact on his further development.
You surely shouldn't expect a Hollywood movie 'Happy Ending". Rio Breaks does a great job in portraying the struggle for favela kids to stay on the right track - no matter how hard they try. Keeping your distance from the gangs and drugs seems to be everyone's goal for life. But reality hits when they find out that the "wrong" way apparently is the easiest way to go - especially if you want to survive and make a living for yourself and the ones you love. Like a guardian angel, surfing brings positive energy to the kid's lives and also gives them something to believe in and to fight for.
