The Mindless Ferocity of Sharks (Production 2008) : Synopsis

In a desert-bound coastal town, Eleven-year-old Floaty Boy lives for one thing, to surf, to surf under the wave – alone, in the watery world of his imagination. His father, The Old Man, a local surfing legend, doesn’t get it and the town surfing crew don’t see it.

The Old Man gets by through scavenging junk, while his wife Adelaide, holds the family together. Adelaide and her brother Jules were born and bred of this land and took up surfing to. Decades later their father Homicide Harry, a local farmer, still won’t forgive them. Holocaust knows what lives in the ocean and has spent his life killing them – Great White sharks, but in his old age not much is left for him, even killing sharks is outlawed. To make things worse he’s selling off his land, the land in font of the families house, threatening their cherished view of The Bay – a fabled surf break.

One day when Floaty Boy is wagging school he pulls his brother Eddie and his girlfriend Kay from the surf. There’s a shark out there, and its sounds and the chaos it causes fills Floaty Boy’s head. But nobody believes him and it gets around. At school he’s teased and when Adelaide hears of it he’s grounded for wagging – to make things worse a big swell is on the rise.

When the swell hits all the town surfer’s head for The Bay, accept of course, Floaty Boy. As the day wears on Floaty Boy’s despair turns to concern as his head fills again with that shark noise. He makes a dash for The Bay arriving to learn somebody has been taken by a shark. But who? The Old Man? Jules? Their mate Gav? Floaty Boy searches through the grim faces. He finds The Old Man, then Gav … it was Jules. Floaty Boy’s heart sinks – if only he’d been there, his uncle would still been alive.

On learning of his son’s death Homicide Harry and some of his old fishing mates take matters into their own hands – they massacre as many sharks as they can – bringing condemnation from outside the town and retribution from the authorities. Only Floaty Boy knows that none of sharks killed were that shark, the one he heard, the one that killed Jules. The town slowly recovers but Floaty Boy is still not allowed to surf and the town and its surfers have turned away from the ocean. In desperation Floaty Boy travels out to The Bay at night – and starts surfing it alone, under the light of the moon.

Things at home though aren’t going well. Eddie and The Old Man have a fight and Eddie leaves home with Kay. The Old Man is in an escalating war with the builder threatening his view and Homicide Harry is losing the farm to pay fines. Adelaide carries the burden of it all.

One night the surf is large and foreboding at The Bay and Floaty Boy is driven into the depths by a wave only to be confronted by that shark noise again – its back. Trying to get home he comes to grief on the dark desert road. Waking at sunrise he spies a dishevelled Kay coming over the sand hills – there is no sign of Eddie, he disappeared while surfing with Kay at a remote camp site down the coast.

The family moves quickly and travel by motor bikes across the sand hills and boat in search of Eddie. But they only find the broken remains of his surfboard. When it seems all is lost Floaty Boy takes matters into his hands. Once again he enters the ocean at night – this time in search of that shark, the shark which will take him to Eddie. As the night wears one Floaty Boy follows the shark noise out into the open ocean and the treacherous outer reefs where he at last catches up with it. Using all his skills he confronts the shark in a heroic stand off. The shark has met its match and goes on its own way. On surfacing Floaty Boy finds Eddie clinging to a wave swept rocky outcrop. He’s bruised and battered but alive – Floaty Boy takes his home.

Floaty Boy has come of age. He’s brought his family back together, and once again the towns surfers can go surfing – as long as Floaty Boy is there that is.

MINDLESS FEROCITY OF SHARKS: A young boy’s coming of age through the lore of sharks.