Music, for so many, is an escape, and as six fathers from Taiwan soon discover, playing music with your friends can be the most joyous of feelings when life seems to be against you. “Rock me to the Moon” tells the story of a group of fathers who all care for their terminally ill children, but eventually seek excitement, fun, and adventure as they live their childhood dream of becoming rock stars, with their new band: Sleepy Dads!
Rock me to the Moon is screening at Asian Pop-Up Cinema
The documentary follows Papa Ouyang, a 56 year old English teacher; Papa li, a 52 year old web designer; Papa Pan, a 62 year old social activist; Papa Cheng, a 50 year old dough artist; Papa Wu, a 54 year old Church Administrator; and Papa Yong, a 51 year old taxi driver. The latter is the only member with pre-existing musical knowledge as a drummer. Their goal is simply, to learn their respective instruments and songs to perform at a festival by the end of the year, and with the help of Quarterback lead singer, Spark Chen, they begin the journey to becoming a band.
Frequently throughout the narrative, we are intercut with moments of reality, as each of the fathers deal with their different home lives. The films paints a picture of the stress and hardships that come with the nature of their children's various challenges, and as it unfolds the magnitude of this small idea of forming a band, which gradually becomes even more important to each of the members.
Director Chia-Chun Huang leaves little authorship here, instead allowing the narrative to flow naturally from the events. He intercuts the home life and band life nicely. The obvious stars here are the families,and their experiences, and the care and passion they have for being parents, friends, and band members.
Overall, the obvious message here is that it is never too late to follow your dream, it is never too late to learn something new, to take time for yourself, to have fun, and to try new things. The documentary is an interesting glimpse into another person's normality, and by the end of it you really care for this group of men, and you become rather invested in their goal. It does not feel like a mid-life crisis, it feels like a deserved brake from the hardest job of all, being a parent.
