“Life’s nothing without thrills.”
Bumbling smuggler Onota (Boboy Garrovillo, What Isn’t There) fails to thwart airport security, hoping to move contraband into the Philippines to impress his Japanese Yakuza boss. After failed attempts, he slips an opium-laced cassette tape into the pocket of musician Johnny (Christopher De Leon, Across the Crescent Moon), who makes it through security quickly. Soon, the would-be rocker is caught in the melee between Chinese and Japanese syndicates with his three friends Melanie (Charo Santos-Concio, Whether the Weather Is Fine), Nonong (Jay Ilagan, Bad Bananas on the Silver Screen), and Nancy (Sandy Andolong, Batch ‘81). They evade the madcap efforts of the gangs only to become embroiled in the larger schemes to control the government and Filipino citizens through the Catholic Church.
Will Your Heart Beat Faster? is not to be taken seriously. Still, its subversive treatment of colonialism, the Marcos regime, and the power of the Catholic Church is what got director Mike De Leon in hot water, leading him to add a disclaimer to the film indicating that “This is pure fiction. It did not happen”. De Leon centers the film around our four young leads, with their romantic coupling driving the film’s momentum when we’re not witnessing him skewer the power struggle China and Japan have over his country. Personified by Chinese mafia boss Madam Lily (Armida Siguion-Reyna, 9 Mornings), whose subtitle sparring match yields one of the most interesting moments in the film that doesn’t contain Broadway-style choreography.
De Leon’s epic culminates at a mountaintop chapel in which our leads comically impersonate priests and nuns and stumble upon an underground smuggling complex. Here, we meet Pinoy Master, the Japanese syndicate chief played with committed resolve by Johnny Delgado (Balweg). Pinoy breaks into song, leading his audience of followers inside the white disco temple. “Behold this cassette, the expression of our genius,” they sing out before divulging their plans to poison communion wafers in order to control the country. Baking the drug into holy wafers and calling it their “Super Bread.” It's all a rousing disco celebration of their process and genius through song and dance. A final swordfight between Johny and Pinyon ends the celebration with dazzling effects and campy tension. It's like The Apple if Sammo Hung directed it.
De Leon’s revolutionary film was released during a time of political repression and censorship. Evading censorship by disguising his political commentary as a comedy, De Leon could broaden his progressive ideas and easily capture an audience to further his message. The film's satirical portrayal of the Marcos dictatorship, the Catholic Church, and foreign imperialism made it a hit with Filipino audiences.
Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
Will Your Heart Beat Faster? arrives on Bluray thanks to Kani Releasing and OCN DIstribution. Housed in a transparent keepcase, the disc is accompanied by an insert booklet and a reversible artwork sleeve.
Will Your Heart Beat Faster? opens with a disclaimer about its restoration. In 2015, the film was restored by L’Immagine Ritrovata in Italy. Elements were scanned in 4k dry down and then converted to 2k for the digital restoration. Pieced together from moldy elements stowed away decades ago by De Leon, the resulting HD image on this disc is an astounding achievement.
Presented in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio in an AVC encoded 1080p, the HD image looks excellent considering the condition of the original elements recovered for this restoration. Fine film grain is stable and offers a pleasing amount of depth. DNR is applied but isn’t overused, though when combined with soft lenses, the presentation becomes quite messy. Fine detail is limited but appears in some close-up shots of Johnny and his friends. Costuming textures are visible, and facial features retain some detail.
Black levels look solid, but sadly, details within shadows disappear. Primaries are weak and subdued, lacking any dynamic brightness. Reds appear strong throughout the feature. White looks faded, leaning towards beige. Errant hairs and light damage on the image are present, but this never detracts from the overall experience.
Will Your Heart Beat Faster? includes two DTS-HD MA 2.0 Tagalog audio options with the original damaged track and a restored option. Both include optional English subtitles. The restored audio is punchy and vibrant, with dialogue clearly discernible. Upbeat musical selections are fully realized within the audio track. Hiss and pop aren’t evident throughout the feature. The raw audio option presents a good idea of how far the restoration efforts went to clean up this original audio track.
Kani Releasing includes plenty of worthwhile bonus features on this release, including the early LVN Studios film Miss Phillippines making its home video debut. Archival footage accompanies a short film and an interview featurette. Start with the short film Aliwan Paradise, which works as an excellent double feature, then check out the insert booklet for a deep dive into Filippino cinema.
Will Your Heart Beat Faster? aka: Kakabakaba Ka Ba? is a groundbreaking and subversive film that remains relevant today. It’s a hilarious and thought-provoking satire of Philippine society and its history of foreign control. De Leon’s zany musical numbers, madcap comedy direction, and absurdist humor combine to make an unforgettable and entertaining experience. Recommended.
