Theodoros Bafaloukos' 1978 film Rockers, now on VHS, is an ambitious, dog-eared gem of a movie. Its tone is set at the film's very spiritual start: Rastafarian elders are playing hand drums in a ramshackle hut in the Jamaican countryside, smoking ganja and praising their god Jah. A narrator (reggae star Big Youth) preaches a sermon on the Rasta life of justice, peace, and love. From there, we move to the story of devout, hard-working, fun-loving Rasta Horsemouth (Leroy Wallace), reputedly a brilliant reggae drummer, who surmounts a host of obstacles — most centrally the theft of his prized motorbike — to vanquish evil and get to his gigs on time. The production is a rough, low-budget affair and looks it. Still, Rockers achieves much: It offers incredible glimpses into Jamaican life — its poor neighborhoods, the no-frills world of the reggae-music business, its fast-lane downtown nightlife scene, Kingston's underground crime culture, and its rural spiritual communities. It explores the class struggle between dreadlocked Rastas and the more affluent Babylon-embracing, disco-loving "Afros," and does this with humor and drama — and with performances by reggae stars such as Burning Spear, Freddie MacGregor, and the band Inner Circle. Rockers keeps the Rasta justice-peace-and-love message at its center, which makes it more than a mere pleasant travail though another country — it's an important film.

Rockers, 1978
Directed by: Theodoros Bafaloukos
Starring: Leroy Wallace, Winston "Burning Spear" Rodney and Jacob Miller
Genres: Drama and Musical