'Rakenrol' is a time machine

MANILA, Philippines - To say that Rakenrol, Quark Henares’ latest film (his fifth), is a labor of love may be a bit of an understatement. It’s a project that can trace its roots back to five years ago when it was just a twinkle in the mind’s eye of its screenwriters, Henares and Diego Castillo, better known as guitarist of pop rock band Sandwich.

Inspired by the scene and music that they grew up with and loved fiercely, the close friends crafted the tale of indie rock hopefuls Hapipaks, a motley assembly brought together by circumstance, but who take a stab at being a band out of friendship and the shared love of music. The core of the group is best friend duo Odie (Jason Abalos) and Irene (Glaiza De Castro), who rope in the remaining members Mo (Ketchup Eusebio) and Junfour (Alwyn Uytingco). While the film tackles the story of the band, it also delves into the individual personal situations or crises of the members, and how they help each other survive (or not). In this, the film can sprawl a bit sometimes, as there are different threads to keep track of, that intersect with other threads and characters. Beyond the band itself there are also tertiary characters who orbit the group, including, but not limited to their manager, played by Matet De Leon; Jacci Rocha, an egomaniacal rock star played by Diether Ocampo; Flame Tigerbluden, premiere avant-garde videographer of the country (Ramon Bautista); and Jun Sabayton, art star, who steals every scene he’s in and damn near runs away with the film entirely.

Theatrical poster by EverywhereWeShoot! X Inksurge.

Production on the film was longer than most, due to the difficulty of handling the schedules of so many actors tied to networks. It got sketchier when the profiles of said stars started to rise and they were given more shows to juggle. This explains why the film credits three different cinematographers.

It captures the world of the band scene admirably; the sense of community, the travails and triumphs, the giddy highs and gloomy lows. Set in actual locations, the film now serves as a kind of time capsule to an era now past: several establishments in the film are no longer with us, at least, not in forms we recognize. Even NU107 and Burn magazine, seen/discussed in the film, are gone.

That said, you don’t have to be firmly ensconced in the OPM rock scene to appreciate the film; the strongest throughline, besides Jason’s affection for Irene, is actually comedy. If you’re familiar with Henares or Castillo, either through the former’s previous films or the duo’s radio shows, you’ll be comfortable with the quirky sense of humor, from dissections of urban slang to parodies of overly serious “artistes.” It’s this accessibility through humor that makes it ripe for audiences hungry for something other than broad, lowest common denominator hijinks that are decades old but still being traipsed on local television shows like they're cutting edge.

Alwyn Uytingco, Ketchup Eusebio, Glaiza De Castro, and Jason Abalos are indie rock hopefuls Hapipaks in Rakenrol.

The film has already played in two countries before its own: it had its world premiere at the 13^th Udine Far East Festival in Italy in May, and was part of the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival, where it bagged the Audience Award for Fiction Favorite. A community-organized screening was held in San Francisco at the Ninth Street Independent Film Center, after which it had the honor of being the closing film at this year’s Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, where it was warmly received. Recently it was shown as part of the Asian American International Film Festival in New York, and will finally enjoy a theatrical run in metropolitan malls next month. If you want to see what the band scene was like just a few years ago (though it feels much longer), check it out. This is what we were like then.

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Fans who were hoping to catch Rakenrol during its regular theater run will have to be patient a little longer since the playdate has been moved from Sept. 7 to Sept. 21.

Glaiza De Castro displays her uncanny ability to be super-cute even when snarling in righteous rock rage.