All This Mayhem

The #Boardmasters bug is still swimming pretty in my blood stream and so, when 'All This Mayhem' came up on my 'what's on' page at the local picturehouse, I've never run so fast to catch anything straight from work. Director Eddie Martin, did not let my efforts go to waste.


totalfilm.com

I'd heard of the Pappas brothers but with this, I had no idea what I'd let myself in for. It's a film filled with delight, with childish quips, with stunts, with tricks that defy gravity, and with mistakes that end with some truly devastating results. The title of the film is more self-explanatory than you'd think. It's been a long time since my emotions were brought up and down so drastically within a couple of hours.

. @allthismayhem took me by complete surprise - brutal, heartbreaking & unflinchingly honest. It may be the best film I've seen this year. — Paul Vickery (@TheFilthyTab) August 21, 2014

Back from watching @allthismayhem at the Barbican. Hilariously funny, heartbreakingly sad. Truly a story that needed to be told. — spencer murphy (@mrspencermurphy) August 13, 2014

A heart-wrenching tour-de-force of filmmaking on an epic scale. Open/honest/vulnerable and at times funny @DCAdundee @allthismayhem — Aki Nikulainen (@akinikulainen) August 14, 2014

It was so cleverly put together, capturing perfectly the boyish and radical personas of the young Pappas brothers as kids, with the use of a colossal amount of archive footage filmed by the brothers themselves and their friends - 'Lots of tapes were dug out of lots of garages'.

buzzmagazine.co.au

Aside from this awesomely sewn collage, we were given awesome of another level, with tricks that had never been seen on the vertical circuit before. Ben and Tas (who sometimes looks a little like a young Andrew Garfield) amazed us with their originality and they made it look so easy! I'm almost convinced that I could do a 420 too! The parties, the antics, the drugs - it was all a part of the rock and roll scene that they became the kings of and the filmmakers allowed us to be a part of it. Unfortunately for them, and for us, the ramp never stayed dry for long.

We have seen Tas struggle as brother Ben is deported home with drugs charges. It was no longer the Pappas brothers versus the world, it was just Tas, whilst Ben battles his own demons back in Aus. The part of the film that got me most was as Tas was attempting to pull of the 900 and just as he planned to go for it on the comp ramp, Tony Hawks attempts and succeeds. What should have been Tas' moment of glory, turned into disappointment that is almost too much for us as an audience to watch.


Young Ben Pappas - theage.com.au

And then the crash. Tas is now a father to two children. Ben is doing heavy drugs back in Aus. A whole mountain of obstacles finds Tas in prison at the most difficult time. He receives the news that Ben has drowned. At this moment my heart dropped. Ben had murdered his girlfriend and then killed himself. But we almost don't blame him (which really screwed with my idea of morality). We have seen him struggle and saw his road to recovery. Then with his relationship he fell back into the junkie lifestyle. We cry for his desperation, and for Tas, who separated from his children, gets news that his father dies soon after.

Tas Pappas - huhmagazine.co.uk

The edit during this section of the film, is extremely well moulded. The timeline at the beginning was relatively simple to piece together but with the brothers in different countries, it must have taken a lot of production meetings to decide how to tell this section. The interviews mesh together seamlessly and not once did I find myself confused - and that is a merit in itself. And in this, the filmmakers do not forget that ultimately they are not reporting on what happened, but telling it from the perspective of Tas and Ben - something that is easy to lose sight of when you hit a 'good' news story. Tas Pappas' candid and brutal honesty on camera, allows us to travel through the high times and the low times as though we are his best friend.

Thankfully the film does not end there, as if it did I don't think my emotions could have handled it. Tas finds a new partner who he has a third child with, a son, who he firmly believes Ben lives through. He skates down the road with him on his shoulders and still, to our relief. competes in the sport he loves.

Tas & Ben - glamadelaide.com.au

The Pappas brothers story may be a whirlwind but it's what they got famous for. Their tricks changed skating and it's heart-breaking that neither ever really had the recognition they deserved. They truly are skating icons and 'All This Mayhem' captures this perfectly as well as reminding us that we are all human and even the most glorious of stories can have a devastating end. If there's ever an example of great talent and of resilience then the Pappas brothers, despite the tragic outcome, are most definitely it - and the filmmakers aren't half bad either! Barnes it, it's the only way!

Go watch it!
No seriously!
Words can't express enough how much you should.

Here's Tas' reasons for making the film: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-11/all-this-mayhem-pappas-brothers/5591212

And here's the trailer: