*Swing Kids* is a 2018 South Korean musical drama film that was based on the Korean musical *Roh Ki-soo*. The film takes place in the Geoje prison camp during the 1951 Korean War, where North Korean soldier Ro Kisoo (played by Do Kyungsoo) falls in love with tap dancing when he witnesses Sergeant Jackson (played by Jared Grimes) holding auditions for a dance company at the prison camp.
The plot was done well! As someone with little to no knowledge or understanding of the Korean War, I still enjoyed the film (although I do think viewers would better understand it more if they knew the history). At times, I did think the pacing and flow of the plot was a little unsteady, especially at the portions with the US Army officers stationed at the camp and the captured North Korean soldiers. The political scenes of the film felt slow, taking away from some of the upbeat and/or tense moments from the dancing scenes.
The choreography obviously stood out to me the most. I wasn’t expecting to be so good! The music and the cinematography really amplified every percussive strike the tap shoes make on the floor.
I felt that the film’s purpose was to entertain, yet also bring to attention the overlooked side of war, which is the people caught in the middle, trying to live and love life in the new conditions that war brings. This made the film much more thought-provoking and more nuanced than an atypical war movie.
The film gradually built up to the climax. There’s tension between the Americans and the North Koreans, as depicted in their respective scenes, as well as the internal struggle Roh faces with his identity as a pro-communist and a lover of American tap dancing. The culmination of the plotting and dancing happens the day of the Christmas performance, and how everything went down did not disappoint!
Watching this film made me read up on the Korean War for my context; maybe I’ll rewatch the film afterwards!
The plot was done well! As someone with little to no knowledge or understanding of the Korean War, I still enjoyed the film (although I do think viewers would better understand it more if they knew the history). At times, I did think the pacing and flow of the plot was a little unsteady, especially at the portions with the US Army officers stationed at the camp and the captured North Korean soldiers. The political scenes of the film felt slow, taking away from some of the upbeat and/or tense moments from the dancing scenes.
The choreography obviously stood out to me the most. I wasn’t expecting to be so good! The music and the cinematography really amplified every percussive strike the tap shoes make on the floor.
I felt that the film’s purpose was to entertain, yet also bring to attention the overlooked side of war, which is the people caught in the middle, trying to live and love life in the new conditions that war brings. This made the film much more thought-provoking and more nuanced than an atypical war movie.
The film gradually built up to the climax. There’s tension between the Americans and the North Koreans, as depicted in their respective scenes, as well as the internal struggle Roh faces with his identity as a pro-communist and a lover of American tap dancing. The culmination of the plotting and dancing happens the day of the Christmas performance, and how everything went down did not disappoint!
Watching this film made me read up on the Korean War for my context; maybe I’ll rewatch the film afterwards!
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