Rocker revolves around main character Joe Santani (Winky Wiryawan), a successful rocker who has been building his career in the music industry for more than 15 years. Losing his muse and passion in the hustle and bustle of the urban jungle, Joe decides to return to his Sundanese village in West Java.

Returning to Sinar Asih village, Joe, later called by his village name Juhana, is supposed to take the leadership role he inherited from his late father. However, remembering a bitter experience of being banned from the village for his music, Juhana hesitates and tries to turn down the responsibility.

As a successful lead singer of his rock band Artrock, Juhana’s character is almost too good to be true — he is humble and down to earth. It is uncanny for an already-famous rock star like him to go back to his conservative village and become a humble successor to his father. There’s a scene where he tries to play kecapi (traditional West Java instrument) with his old music teacher, Ki Sastra (Egy Fedly). He also agrees to teach Gani (Bisma Karisma), a curious teenage boy who is passionate about music, how to make rock music with a guitar and traditional instruments.

Openness and forgiveness are at the core of the movie Rocker Balik Kampung. Juhana expects forgiveness from the villagers for his behavior years ago, but he is challenged by Koswara (Budi Dalton), a local man who has ambitions to become the village head. Koswara blames Juhana for various problems arising in the village, which is conventional enough to ban rock music.

As a part of his efforts to restore the villagers’ faith in him, Juhana tries to fix the crisis shrouding his hometown by using his knowledge in engineering.

A splash of romance is an ingredient not to be missed in any drama comedy movie, as seen in the love-hate relationship between Juhana and a village girl, Andini (Maryam Supraba).

The movie offers funny and refreshing scenes that portray the trouble behind what seemingly is a serene and harmonious village. The authenticity of the traditional and cultural heritage shown is consistent throughout the movie, from the background and dialogue to the wardrobe.

Most of the time, the dialogue is in Sundanese — Indonesian subtitles are provided in this movie. This is what differentiates Rocker Balik Kampung from other Indonesian drama comedies that more often portray typical modern society.

Maryam Supraba and Winky Wiryawan’s exquisite performance stand out. Both certainly elevate this drama comedy.

At a glance, Rocker reveals a rather mainstream and ordinary moral that is slightly outdated. However, the movie also shows that opening ourselves to the outside world is not always bad for society. In reality, it can be translated to “globalization” and how it affects Indonesian society in general.

Since many will have different opinions of globalization, this movie has a clear stance that there should be a wise amount of openness so people can still stay true to their roots, culture and norms.

Rocker serves as light entertainment suitable for family. One thing that rocks in this movie is the music.

***

The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post

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Rocker Balik Kampung (MSH Films, 90 minutes)

Director: Uli Rahman

Writer: Getar Jagatraya

Producer: Nayaka Untara

Cast: Winky Wiryawan, Maryam Supraba, Bisma Karisma, Ian Darmawan

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