cwbellor Before Russell Crowe became a big old charming softy, he was a maniacal ticking time bomb ready to fight any defenseless kid who got in his way. And if you're an adolescent Vietnamese boy in Romper Stomper, you are most at risk. Crowe plays Hando, the head of a handful of Hedonistic Hellions in this Indie Aussie Flick. If you can ignore the deep irony of neo-Nazis in a country like Australia, you will probably find the plight of these white boys quite endearing. You see, after white settlers gently brushed Aboriginals aside to make room for a new colony, white Australians could rest assured that they found a nice dry arid place to set their bums. But watch out! Here come the Vietnamese and suddenly, young angry delinquents like Cackles, Bubs and Champ start to feel a little insecure about their majority status. Initially, things are going peachy for Hando and his hounds. They can bully immigrants, smash and grab, get sloshed and admire Nazi memorabilia. But then the perpetual targets of their hate decide that they are fed up with being sadistically victimized. They decide to attack Hando's heathens on their own turf and re-enact Australian history. Only this time, the Asians are playing the white settlers. After the skinnies get pwned by a friggin flash mob of angry Vietnamese, they are little more than refugees in their own depressing urban wasteland. All they can do to achieve a bit of levity after such a demoralizing defeat is force two men to kiss for a bit of impromptu entertainment. But gay-bashing just doesn't have the redemptive impact it used to have for these goons, and they are forced to sit and reflect on the error of their ways. But unfortunately, there's no mirrors in their souls. After squatting for a while in a garage, they decide it's time to get some revenge! But before they can launch their counter attack, they have to make a supply run. They burglarize the home of a pedophile prick all for the purpose of spreading the gospel. Witness Sonny say, "God sent us." It would appear, however, that the house master is a staunch atheist and doesn't appreciate the noble efforts of sinless Sonny, charitable Champ and benevolent Bubs. Hark the Hando angel sings! This film is a light-hearted romb & stomp from down under. It's a cautionary tale about the perils of neo-nazi love triangles.

Parker Lewis I'm sorry, but this was an incredibly hateful movie where the persecuted Melbourne skinheads go all out against the Australian- Vietnamese community (and by extension anyone who looks Asian). What a nuanced script I guess. I can only wonder how the Australian-Vietnamese actors were sold the script. Was there full disclosure by the casting director? I know the actors are professionals, but did they experience a sinking feeling seeing the actors playing skinheads on set? Did the Australian-Vietnamese actors get an invite to the movie's premiere? Or were they collateral to the script?I also wonder how Hando and Co felt towards the LGBTI community. Did they express anger and bigotry to gays, lesbians, etc? Maybe a sequel, say Romper Again, can examine how the next generation of Hando's ilk feel towards gay marriage and so on. Hopefully the LGBTI community(ies) don't feel threatened by people like Hando, et al.

david-sarkies I remember when this movie came out in the cinema, it was both praised and attacked for its violence. Then when it came out on video, my group of friends watched it and loved it so much that they got themselves a copy of it to watch it constantly. The video then went missing after somebody lent it to their boss.When I first watched Romper Stomper, I watched it through the eyes of a lout, and thought that it was cool. This time I watched it as a piece of literature and suddenly saw that it is a superbly crafted film with very deep characters. The film revolves around a gang of skinheads who live in Footscray, an industrial suburb in Melbourne. The leader of the gang is Hando (Russel Crowe), a neo-Nazi, and his side kick is Davey, a more quiet and passive skinhead. One day in the pub they meet Gaye, a young girl who just left her boyfriend and is looking for excitement, so she hooks up with Hando.It is the characters that really make this movie. The first thing to look at is Hando, because his personality makes up the personality of the whole gang. He is the leader and what he says, goes. Hando is a nativist, meaning that the only native race in Australia is the WASP, the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. His neighbourhood is being bought out by Vietnamese and this he resents. He believes that Australia is a white nation and the Asians are corrupting it, so they make a habit of beating them up. Hando is fighting a war that he cannot win, because the more he attacks the Vietnamese, the angrier he makes them, and in the end he brings the whole community onto his gang. This riot signals the beginning of the end of his gang because up until that moment they have not been defeated.Hando suffers from a fatal flaw, and that is his obsession with his hatred of anything Asian. At the opening of the film, he encounters a couple of Asian girls at the railway station, so he and his gang beat them up. This is not a noble thing to do, but rather the result of an obsession. The furthest extent of his flaw is during a break-in he sees a Japanese car, so he turns his mind from the job at hand to totally decimate the car. This leads to the owner of the house getting to them with a gun forcing them to flee and leaving all of the stuff behind.Hando is the ultimate in self-centeredness, yet he refuses to acknowledge his flaw. When Gaye exposes his flaw to him, instead of listening to her, he throws her out. In fact, his obsession leads him to severely disrespect the woman that is supposed to be his girlfriend. When she cooks dinner, instead of eating it, he attacks it for being Italian and throws it away. Yet without his gang, Hando is nothing. As we watch his gang diminish, we see the once proud and menacing figure that is Hando also diminish. His clothes become more ragged and his appearance more desperate. The scene when he arrives in Davey's bedroom after his gang are all gone depicts a man who has lost everything. And his final death, by the standard issue Hitler Youth knife, is fitting for one who followed the world view of Adolf Hitler. Even then the knife was made in 1944, at a time when all was lost for Germany.Davey is Hando's best friend, yet rather than equals, he is the one that follows Hando everywhere. Hando treats Davey as a child, and in a way he is. Davey does not have the burning passion that Hando has, instead he quiet and very submissive. Yet Hando realises that he needs Davey's friendship. He lets him go easily, yet when his gang is all gone, he comes crawling back to him. Davey claims to be Hando's best friend, yet there seems to be little interaction between them until right at the end. Hando does father Davey, as seen when he makes Davey comfortable after finding him passed out on the stairs. Yet it is the scene of the beach when we really see the finest interaction between Hando and Davey.Hando is the one who has all the words, and his words work to sink deep into Davey's minds. Hando believes that Davey needs him and tries to convince him to dump Gaye, for she is only a burden too them. It is not Davey that needs Hando but rather Hando that needs Davey. As mentioned earlier, without his gang, Hando is nothing, and it is when his gang is gone, Hando comes crawling to Davey to plead with him to join him. Even then, Hando kills a service station attendant to force Davey to stay with him. Davey is easily manipulated and persuaded, and it is because of this that Hando wants him around because he knows that Davey won't speak back to him.Romper Stomper is seriously a superb movie. The script is finely crafted and a lot of thought has been put into the characters, their relationships, their traits and their flaws. Some have claimed that there is a lot of Hollywood sensationalism in the movie, but after watching it recently I am very much inclined to disagree. This is not a Hollywood movie, nor is it a movie exploring the world of Skinheads and squatters, but it is the tragic story of Hando who, through his obsession, brings destruction not only onto himself but onto all of his followers.

Bene Cumb It is a strong warning film about violence and its fatal consequences - no matter what the reason is, who much this need is justified etc. Youth violence has its roots often in the childhood, which is clearly visible in this film as well. And if we add problems with relatives, unemployment, shabby lifestyle/opportunities, gangs formed on the basis of ethnicity - it is all like a sparkle lit. Romper Stromper runs rather smoothly has includes very intense scenes well captured by cameramen: the big scuffle between skinheads and Vietnamese youngsters is presumably the highlight of this film. And the cast is evenly strong, leading with Russell Crowe as Hando, but Daniel Pollock as Davey and Jacqueline McKenzie as Gabrielle provide great performances as well. The soundtrack has also a big role in the film's success - raw songs with anti-immigrant slogans give additional tense and vigor.Not a family film, but worth watching. Even for Russell Crowe's sake.