Review: Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey (2012)

By Rowena Santos Aquino

2012-06-18.ww-1


Cast: , ,
Director: Ramona S. Diaz
Country: USA
Genre: Documentary
Official Trailer: Here


Editor’s Notes: Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey opens in limited release today, March 8th.

For any music documentary, the basic task is to draw the spectator into a musical world, fan or otherwise, and to get the spectator to want to remain in that world and go on the journey of songwriting, touring, performance, and/or egos that the film will present. In the case of Ramona S. Diaz’ latest documentary, the word “journey” is no accident and connotes several things. Don’t Stop Believin’ is about the American rock band Journey, which began in the 1970s with Neal Schon and Ross Valery (among others); experienced several line-up changes before ending the decade by getting a vocalist, Steve Perry; and entered the 1980s to become one of the most treasured acts of arena pop rock bands, nationally and internationally. Don’t Stop Believin’ is also about the current band members’ journey to find a new vocalist in 2007, Philippine singer Arnel Pineda. Above all, Don’t Stop Believin’ is about Pineda’s own rags-to-riches journey, from singing cover songs (including those of Journey) in Philippine hangouts—videos of which popped up on YouTube, which was how Schon discovered Pineda—to fronting one of the most long-running rock bands, recording albums, and going on worldwide tours. And how does Diaz get the spectator to plunge into this world even before an image appears? Insert the pristine keyboard intro of “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart),” followed by the simultaneous rush of guitar, bass, and drums, and before anyone knows it, the spectator is caught in its folds.

The terms “separate ways” and “journey” are all too apt to describe the film’s narrative, covering as it does the basics—the band’s formation, Steve Perry joining, their amazing success, the band’s separate ways from Perry, and the several vocalists who took his place.

The terms “separate ways” and “journey” are all too apt to describe the film’s narrative, covering as it does the basics—the band’s formation, Steve Perry joining, their amazing success, the band’s separate ways from Perry, and the several vocalists who took his place. But Diaz dispenses with the basics rather quickly, since the film is essentially about the search for Pineda, his integration in the band, and his experiences as a newfound journey-man. The film moves between the past and present of Pineda and Journey throughout the film: on the one hand, detailing the separate paths of Journey’s search for a vocalist and Pineda’s life before Journey, and on the other hand, following the collective, exhausting, and yet euphoric present of the band on tour with Pineda, including gigs in the Philippines.

Screen Shot 2013-03-08 at 12.44.57 AMGiven such a whirlwind world to enter, Pineda could have been easily sucked into the cliché rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle and breakdown. But through informal interviews, extensive performance footage, conversations with the other band members, and trips to the Philippines with Pineda sharing how he was living before, he comes across as a strong, grounded being that moves the film beyond rock star clichés and towards still atypical issues of postcolonial migration and transnationalism in relation to the ‘rockumentary.’ With Pineda in the band, as one Philippine American female fan states to the camera at one point, Journey did not simply get a new vocalist with Pineda; they got a whole new nation on board as fans. In fact, there is a split or balance between rock ‘n’ roll ego and self-effacing everyman humility in Pineda that permeates the entire film, transforming the all-American band Journey into a kind of site of cross-cultural exchange and interaction. For obviously, upon discovering Pineda on YouTube singing Journey cover songs, some of the  Journey members expressed some of the potential obstacles of taking on Pineda, such as coming from a developing country and whether or not he could speak English.

 What remains in bold, capital letters is the music, Pineda’s voice, the members’ devotion to the band, and their love of performance, all of which are presented in a way that even the uninitiated will not be able to resist.

It is stating the obvious, but Asians/Asian Americans, let alone Philippine/Americans, are not necessarily immediately or typically linked to the rock when it comes to musical genres. Philippine guitarists Joey Santiago of The Pixies and Kirk Hammett of Metallica are probably the biggest one can get when it comes to linking Philippine/Americans and rock. In this context, Pineda’s situation as a frontman for Journey becomes all the more striking and moving. Diaz draws out rather well the myriad of emotions and pressures (internal and external) that flooded Pineda and company by approaching her film subjects and story in the kind of immersive way characteristic of observational and participatory documentary films, privileging behaviour and performance. Of course, Diaz does not put in bold letters issues or elements such as postcoloniality; she merely nods her head towards them so that maybe the spectator can do the same if s/he likes, leaving to him/her to form an opinion of it all.

What remains in bold, capital letters is the music, Pineda’s voice, the members’ devotion to the band, and their love of performance, all of which are presented in a way that even the uninitiated will not be able to resist. Diaz balances the amount of footage of interviews, conversations, and performance, but because ultimately it boils down to the music, she gradually leans toward performance more so that the music could speak for the band.

In this regard, Don’t Stop Believin’ looks like every other music documentary since the time the subgenre emerged in the 1960s, especially through D.A. Pennebaker’s Don’t Look Back (1966)—a title that would fit just as well for Diaz’ film, with Pineda joining and a renewed Journey focusing on the present and future. While not formally arresting, the multiple journeys of Journey, with Pineda at the forefront, and the power of their music make Don’t Stop Believin’ a thoroughly engaging work.

78/100 ~ GOOD. While not formally arresting, the multiple journeys of Journey, with Pineda at the forefront, and the power of their music make Don’t Stop Believin’ a thoroughly engaging work.
Senior Film Critic. Recently obtained my doctoral degree in Cinema and Media studies at UCLA. Linguaphile and cinephile, and therefore multingual in my cinephilia. Asian cinemas, Spanish language filmmaking, Middle Eastern cinemas, and documentary film.
  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-D-Misch/28134555 Chris D. Misch

    That’s one mouthful of a title.

  • Rowena Santos Aquino

    Indeed, although I hadn’t looked at it that way. But the film more than lives up to its title.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-D-Misch/28134555 Chris D. Misch

    Definitely a good thing. Thanks for bringing this title little film to my attention.

  • Rowena Santos Aquino

    When I saw it, it was all the more difficult to resist even though it’s not my generation because 1) the people next to me were rockin’ out & nodding their heads to the music and 2) at the film’s conclusion, the whole theatre burst into applause, as if we had been at an actual gig. Tremendous! So the film captures nicely that epic ‘arena rock’ feel.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-D-Misch/28134555 Chris D. Misch

    I can certainly imagine how hard it would be not to be rocking out to the music. Just reading the review I’ve been humming the title track in my mind.