‘Eraserheads: Combo on the Run’ is more than just a nostalgia trip
As the Eraserheads prepared for their 2022 reunion show in Manila, Maria Diane Ventura’s filmmaking instincts kicked in. Ventura, CEO of DVent Productions who was coproducing the concert, is also an award-winning director.
“It felt like something important was happening. With any Eheads reunion, you never know when it’s going to happen. We didn’t document the last ones, not comprehensively. So I was like, maybe we should do it now, because something is happening, I don’t know what it is, I need to ask questions to figure out what it is. And they were all there, present in the room. I was like, I’m going to get a nice camera,” she said.
That’s how her work on the documentary film “Eraserheads: Combo on the Run,” now showing in theaters, began. “It wasn’t like a 10-year process. It was a spontaneous decision … Some things just happen on an intuitive level. There’s a strong force that I can’t really articulate or explain.”
Surprisingly, it was a decision that the band members—Ely Buendia, Raymund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala, and Marcus Adoro—known for usually being elusive and private, didn’t resist.
The Eraserheads famously broke up in 2002 after over a decade of incredible success. The band’s history and eventual split had always been shrouded in mystery. Like the film’s trailer said, “Their real story has remained untold. Until now.”
We were inside the screening room at the Warner Bros. Discovery office in Mandaluyong where we had just previewed the film and Ventura and Buendia were fielding questions.
Reclaiming their narrative
Ventura said, “I felt like the guys were ready to reclaim their narrative, to own their story, and I needed to really honor that … Everyone was at that point na parang, okay, I’m ready to revisit it … I think if I had done this 10 years ago, this wouldn’t have happened… It was really timing. Timing, hard work, luck.”
Buendia agreed. “I think it was the right time. I’m turning 55 and when you reach that age, you kind of think of the legacy and trying to right the wrongs that you did. I know that’s impossible and you have lots of regrets, but you can do a documentary,” he said, making everyone laugh.
“I think one of the wrongs was not claiming my identity early on and not expressing myself.”
As Adoro said in the film, “We realize that we’re old and maybe we will die soon anytime, you know, so cut the s–t, dude.”
Working on a documentary about the band would be a daunting task for any director, but for Ventura, there was an additional challenge: her personal connection to Buendia. Not only is he her ex-husband and the dad of her son, they’ve also been working together for a long time. Would that mar her objectivity?
“Yeah, it definitely presented itself as a challenge, because I’ve been his business partner and manager for more than a decade or two decades already. So my way of being is always to protect his interests, you know,” she said. “I knew that Ely for a long time has felt trapped in the way people perceived him, the mythology, in the things that were said about him, and he did not have the chance to explain himself or give his side of the story. With this film where they really unloaded everything and revealed their story, I felt it would be remiss of me and it would be a great injustice if I didn’t honor that.
“As a filmmaker, the only two things that I made sure of was that I create an environment where it would be comfortable and safe for them to reveal their truth. Second is to honor that truth by not adding to it or subtracting from it, and just kind of weaving all those things in a cohesive way. I hope I was able to do that.”
On the flip side, Ventura’s relationship with the band proved helpful in the process as well. “I think it played a part din na we knew each other. In a way, they’re also forced to be honest and not bulls–t. We know what happened, we’re asking the questions. It was a way for them to be earnest and be honest and it really helped.”
Cut the tension
The first interview was done with the four members together. Ventura said, “It was right after their 10-year hiatus. It was super awkward, you could cut the tension. After that, we decided that it had to be individual [interviews], because it’s so difficult to talk about another person when they’re right next to you.”
And because of this, it was only after they watched the documentary that the Eraserheads found out what the others had said. Buendia, who watched the first cut of the film, said, “I was moved by nostalgia… looking back on our past, but most of all, it was what the other guys had to say about the experience. I never asked them, they never told me, so this was the first time that I actually got to hear what the other person had to say.”
The film has had an impact on him. “I think I became more generous in hearing out other people. Syempre when you’re young and you think you’re the man and you think you’re a rock star, you don’t care about anything. Just me, me, me, me, right? And for years kaming apat, ganun talaga ‘yung attitude, so it didn’t work and it made things worse as our careers went on, and there was that backlash na nga, and we couldn’t cope with that. It’s a small thing to just hear the other person out, but it goes a long way in the healing process.”
Ventura said, “For years, I only got Ely’s side, so for a long time, that was the truth… It wasn’t until I heard everyone else’s perspectives that made me realize that, hey, multiple truths can coexist. That was a big takeaway—na even though they’ve experienced the same exact experience, they could actually look at it from different perspectives and it can still be correct… If we just all listen to each one’s perspective and have that patience to really try to understand the other person, we could see their point.”
Takeaway
The biggest takeaway, Ventura said, is the importance of expression and communication. “That’s something that we can all learn from… I’m a proponent of therapy. We need to talk. The act of expressing is in and of itself therapeutic and that has helped me in my own life.
“Ely is the type of person who keeps things in and that hasn’t really worked so well for him or for me and so I really felt that he’s a much lighter person [now]. I’m not saying it’s because of the movie, but it’s his willingness to work at it and to really confront it. Healing is not easy.”
Buendia said, “I think I’m more willing to listen and have a conversation no matter how difficult it is. As a matter of fact, I just had one a few weeks ago with another member of the band. We had a huge issue with something, and there was a danger of things happening again, like almost breaking up the band again. But the good thing is that we had this experience with the documentary and we were more open… It was the first time the four of us sat together in a room just to discuss things, and iron out our differences.”
Ventura said, “What I got out of it is that healing is not a destination or a finality. It’s a work in progress… That same situation 10, 20 years ago could have become another implosion and another breakup, but because they have the tools right now to be able to communicate and articulate their feelings, they’re able to resolve conflict.”
Even while filming the interviews, she noticed a shift. “I don’t know, I could be just imagining things, but every time they expressed anger or joy or whatever emotion they’ve had or any story about the past, the next time that they would be together, parang something was changing… I felt like it helped, sort of, heal. It was cathartic for me, so I can just imagine how it must have been for them.”
Political
Ventura spent over two years working on the documentary, her cameras following the band after the 2022 show, as they embarked on their recent world tours. At one point, there were plans to release it in two parts. How did she decide this version was the final one, the one she wanted the world to see?
She said, “I will blame Rico [Gonzales, Warner Bros. Philippines distribution director]. He gave me a tough deadline, which is something that I need. I think if I was given an extension, it would still be evolving, this would be a five-year project in the making kasi they’re such fascinating characters. So yeah, two years after, 68 versions after, 35 reshoots after, here you are with the final cut.”
It begins with this premise: “In 2022, during a time of uncertainty and political upheaval, this disbanded group of punks reunites to provide solace to a nation, unknowingly needing healing themselves.”
Ventura said, “I figured out that most of the important events in the history of the band serendipitously also mark a pivotal political event in the country. I didn’t say, ‘I’m going to make a political film.’ It just happened. I got a lot of pushback from editors. ‘No, no, no, let’s stick to the Eraserheads, we do not make this political’ and I understand where they’re coming from. But if you are doing something for two years, if you’re giving your life to something, you’d have to maintain that love for it. You have to keep falling in love with your project. And so I really needed to pursue all the things that really resonated with me, and this was it. I think it made their story all the more powerful. They were rebels, revolutionaries.”
Ventura said “Combo on the Run” will be her last documentary. “I’m going back to narrative features. This one has traumatized me,” she said, laughing.
But, should there be a need for another Eraserheads documentary in the future, she will make an exception, she said. “I’ve been very solipsistic recently, ‘Oh my god, are the fans gonna like it?’ But when I hear that they’re looking forward to it, I become excited for them and it takes me out of my anxious thoughts. I’m really excited for the fans to see the Eraserheads in a different light, to see them as human beings and to have the takeaway that I had.”
Archival footage
“Eraserheads: Combo on the Run” lets fans relive the journey of a band they’ve loved for so long—but this time, from the inside. It’s more than just a nostalgia trip, although the documentary serves plenty of that, with archival footage and stories from the band and those around them. It’s a chance to see and appreciate the people behind the rock star persona.
Ventura and the band didn’t shy away from tackling potentially difficult subjects: Tito Sotto’s issue with the song “Alapaap,” the band’s appearance on Sharon Cuneta’s TV show, the other side of fame, the breakup, Buendia’s heart attack, even Adoro’s abuse allegations.
It was refreshing to hear things straight from them and also surprising to realize that our preconceived notions about the band and things we’ve always believed about their past may not actually be the case.
“Eraserheads: Combo on the Run” made us chuckle and cry and also think about what it means to be fans of the band.
The film ends on a hopeful note—hope buoyed by the surprises that come after the credits rolled: the announcement that there will be an Eraserheads Electric Fun Music Festival happening on May 31 at the SMDC Festival Grounds (early-bird tickets will be available starting March 24), plus a short clip showing the band in a studio… making new music?
“Eraserheads: Combo On The Run” is presented by Dvent Pictures and WEU and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It’s showing in over 150 theaters nationwide.
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