Rakenrol by Quark Henares
Have you ever started a band with someone you had a crush on who had a super crush on an ego-maniac while your band’s drummer joined a pyramid scheme founded by a karate master?
Yes? What a coincidence, Rakenrol is your life story!
For those of who have never done such a thing can live such a life vicariously by watching this movie. And despite the fact that Rakenrol is about a group of young folks starting a band in an underground rock scene in the Philippines, it connects to that inner rock star who desires to let it all out in front of a dozen strangers (or just 1 or 2 depending on the turnout).
There is love, hate, and humor, as we follow two friends Odie and Irene, educating us on the Philippine underground rock scene. They teach us about the underground slang, Philippine child stars, and last but not least how NOT to make a music video with Filipino comedian Ramon Bautista. And in the midst of all this they form a rock band with two other folks they find without the help of Craigslist, calling themselves the “Hapipaks”.
One of my favorite parts -SEMI-SPOILER ALERT. CLOSE EYES- is when the band performs for the first time. Let’s just put it like this, their first gig has a show title with the word “satan” in it. And they’re called “The Hapipaks!” First fail! Ok that wasn’t much of a spoiler.
Despite initial setbacks, they slowly fall into place within the rock scene, while Odie himself, slowly falls in love with Irene. In comes a new setback. Drama! At which point ego-maniac Jacci Rocha, a rock star played by Diether Ocampo, mixes things up as Irene’s super crush. Non-Filipino speakers will love Jacci because, well, for some reason he only wants to speak in english. All this, plus the non-Filipino love for english-speaking Jacci eventually pushes Odie into the emo realm.
In the end, all goes well. Or does it? Does the band ever get signed to a big record label? Does Jacci Rocha ever go back to his roots, speaking in Filipino while having sex with a hot actress? Will Odie snap out of his emo-ness and finally confess his love for Irene? Was it obvious that I would end this review with such a typical question-answer type conclusion?
RAKENROL!
Directed by Quark Henares
Starring Jason Abalos (Odie), Glaiza de Castro (Irene), Diether Ocampo (Jacci Rocha)
Cast: Jun Sabayton, Alwyn Uytingco, Ramon Bautista, Matet De Leon, Ketchup Eusebio.