Can a bunch of scrappy underdogs form a band and win a singing competition – even if they’re a bunch of non-descript losers who can’t carry a tune, can’t compose lyrics but have a lot of heart and determination? Such is the premise of Suckseed, a Thai take on a very well-trodden genre whose best offering this year is Beck from Japan. In this film, a quartet of high school kids from Chiang Mai reach for the sky as they learn how to play instruments, form a band, compose songs, and experience love and heartache in their quest for respect and recognition from their peers and heroes in the industry.

Now “Koong & Friends” may be a band that can’t sing or write. It may be a band whose antics and general music direction might have been inspired by This is Spinal Tap. It most definitely will not win the national music competition. At best, we might say it’s a metal band in a film about rock bands. But thankfully for the audience, their journey from zero to hero (or not) is orchestrated to rock anthems delivered in person by Thailand’s Grammy records band roster. Their cameo appearance in the film is quite entertaining and nothing short of hilarious and innovative – and at times a satire on music videos.

Suckseed may play like a typical Japanese band film but the film itself is executed in the bold and demented visual style of the Thai New Wave, delivering plenty of quirky humour, visual gags, and clever cinematography. The easy chemistry between its likeable, even cheerfully average cast of first time actors gives Suckseed an earnest and honest feel that is missing from many films in this genre.