Why you should also pay attention to the ‘Bakwit Boys’ soundtrack

MANILA, Philippines – Bakwit Boys is a story about “family, underdogs, and dreamers.” An entry to the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP), the romantic musical directed by Jason Paul Laxamana hopes to have viewers singing and crying tears of joy until the credits roll.

“I’m really confident that the songs, if given a chance, viewers will get hooked on the songs,” said Jason in a mix of English and Filipino during the press conference for the movie last August 7.

“The songs are placed strategically throughout the movie. The songs can really stand independently. Puwede mo siyang i-stream (You can stream it), you can download it.”

Bakwit Boys features 6 original music by composer Jhaye Cura, “Ligtas Ka Na,” “Fiona,” “High On You,” “Patibong,” “Tayong Dalawa,” and “Kung ‘Di Ikaw.” The pop version of “Patibong,” sung by Jay-R and “Fiona,” sung by Mark Oblea are now available on Spotify and other digital music stores.

The 100 Tula Para Kay Stella director is excited for moviegoers to experience a musical the “indie way.” While he had to be more laidback, mostly due to budget constraints, Jason remains confident that the viewers will still get their money’s worth.

“Very realistic ang treatment ng gantong klaseng musical. Banda sila, so pineperform talaga nila‘yung song. Hindi siya song and dance. Walang choreography.

(It’s very realistic. They are a band, so they really performed the song. It’s not a song and dance number. There’s no choreography.)

“Hindi sila ‘yung kumakanta tapos surreal ‘yung background. Hindi pa namin afford ‘yung ganun. Pero, later on in life, I want to create a full blown musical talaga. Song and dance talaga,” he shared.

(They’re not singing with a surreal background. We cannot afford that yet. But later in life, I want to create a full blown musical. A musical with song and dance.)

Bakwit Boys tell the story of Datul brothers, Elias (Vance Larena), Sonny (Mackie Empuerto), Joey (Ryle Santiago), and Philip (Nikko Natividad) – who writes songs together as a family.

Afrer a super typhoon ravages their hometown, the 4 brothers find themselves moving from Isabela to Pampanga to stay with their grandfather. Not wanting to be a burden to her, they perform their original song in a town fiesta. It’s there where they meet Rose (Devon Seron), a rich city girl with a passion for music, who promises to help the brothers get their big break.

“I took inspiration from two major highlights of my life: my pagiging bakwit (my being bakwit), which is a Filipinized term for evacuate, sa Pinatubo eruption, tapos another thing is mga 10 years ago, I used to collaborate a lot sa Pampanga sa mga independent bands getting their songs recorded professionally, getting them played on the radio. Pinagdi-direk ko sila ng (I would direct their) music video since filmmaker ako,” he shared.

“Nakita ko ‘yung struggles nila to reach their dreams. ‘Yung dalawang bagay na yun ang nag-inspire sa’kin para sa material.”

(I saw the struggles to reach their dreams. Those two things inspired me for the material.)

Going against entries headlined by big celebrities backed with even bigger studios, Jason admitted that they were nervous about their chances at the PPP. Just like other independent films, the director is banking on the power of social media and positive word of mouth to get a full house.  

“Very indie film talaga itong Bakwit Boys. No pretentions, indie film talaga siya so umaasa na lang talaga ako sa positive word of mouth. ‘Yung pagiging inspirational talaga, ‘yun lang ang hawak ko. Kapag pinanood mo, there’s a fuzzy feeling.”

(Bakwit Boys is really an indie film. No pretentions. So we’re really hoping for a positive word of mouth – about how inspirational it is and how you get a fuzzy feeling when you watch it.)

Bakwit Boys is graded A by Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB) and will run from August 15-21 in cinemas nationwide. – Rappler.com