Film delves into inner world of famed Chinese rock band

A documentary on Chinese rock band Miserable Faith opens with reggae legend Bob Marley's words: "Love the life you live, live the life you love."

The film, Because It's There, which was released in Beijing on Jan 6, is based on the band's tour of a dozen Chinese cities in the past summer. It is as much about live performances and music fans as it is about conflicts among band members and other general problems with the country's rock scene.

"This documentary is candid. We don't want to present our lives as 'too good to be true'," says Gao Hu, band founder and the lead vocalist. "Everything is real, on the stage, behind the scenes, with the fans and being lonely."

The band kicked off the tour on a black bus that came with their logo and images of members painted on it. Departing from tradition, this time the band performed at bigger theaters rather than live-house venues or outdoor music festivals.

For domestic rock bands, including Miserable Faith, whose popularity has endured since their inception nearly two decades ago, China has been a tough place for their brand of music - rock has yet to appeal to mainstream audiences. Such challenges have been recorded in the documentary as well.

One scene, for example, highlights how theater regulations in the country disallow audience members from gathering close to the stage while a show is ongoing. Standing close to the stage and singing along with bands or imitating their animated performances is a standard practice at rock gigs in many other parts of the world.

The film also shows that at one of their concerts, Miserable Faith had to leave the stage, abruptly ending a song as the time was up according to the venue's rules. It was at a theater.

"If we could have performed two more songs, the night would have been perfect," Gao is heard saying in the documentary, with fans shouting "encore" in the background.

The documentary is also a retrospective of the band's biggest hits - from the noisy sounds in their early years to softer works such as the 2008 album Don't Stop My Music, which was inspired by Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road, to songs from their latest album, May Love Be Without Worries that combines world music and Marley-inspired reggae.

"We grew up together. It's not just about the music. It's about our lives," says bassist Zhang Jing, who met Gao while both studied at Midi Music School, a contemporary music-training institution from the early 1990s. Today, the band's other members are drummer Da Wei and guitarists Tian Ran and Song Jie.

Film director Wang Weijie and his team toured with the band to have enough footage to make the documentary. A die-hard fan of the band, Wang, who first watched Miserable Faith's live show in 2010, says that the experience enabled him to get closer to the band and their music. He hopes that the audiences who watch the film feel a connection, too.

Wang says that the band members like ordinary people come under different pressures, but are "sincere to their faith - rock music".

The documentary comes on the heels of Miserable Faith's humiliation on the popular reality TV show, China Star, which has been aired by Dragon TV each Saturday since November.

The show features influential singers as contestants and high-profile judges, including veteran Hong Kong singer Sandy Lam, singer-songwriter Liu Huan and rock star Cui Jian. It will pick a winner to participate in Grammy Salute to China, an event to be held in Los Angeles on the sidelines of the Grammy Awards in February.

On an episode of China Star, Cui had recommended Miserable Faith for the Grammy event and described the band as "the main force of China's rock music", but Gao and his men were eliminated from the TV show after only two rounds of competition.

Later, the band tried to assuage fan anger through a message on Chinese micro blog Sina Weibo.

"It's an intuition. I might do jazz or go back to noisy music next. But it doesn't matter what kind of music I do as long as I have a heart for rock," Gao says at the end of the documentary.

chennan@chinadaily.com.cn