I’ve already watched lots of Do Kyung Soo‘s (EXO’s D.O.) acting gigs and this guy never fails to surprise me and amaze me with his acting ability. He’s so good for someone young and even a lot from the entertainment industry acknowledges that.

That’s why I told myself I can’t miss ‘Swing Kids’–a movie Kyung Soo is also starring in–and watched it as soon as a subbed one came out. Good thing is that I have not been disappointed. I even think this is one of the best and most meaningful musical films out there and I guess this is the first Korean movie on this genre that I really liked.

You may be wondering how the movie went that’s why you’re here. So, I’ll try to review the movie as fairly as I can. Anyway, I’m not a very technical reviewer. As long as I am happy with the movie overall then I will recommend it.

The Characters

Do Kyung Soo as Roh Ki Soo

Park Hye Su as Yang Pal Lae

Jared Grimes as Jackson

Oh Jung Se as Kang Byung Sam

Kim Min Ho as Xiao Pang

The Story

Set during the Korean War in 1951, North Korean and Chinese prisoners of war are sent to a camp in Geoje Island in South Korea. They are held within the confines of the prison camp under the leadership of American troops who tries to keep peace in the camp as much as they can, yet tension between the pros and anti communists can’t be avoided.

Roh Ki Soo (Do Kyung Soo) is a young North Korean soldier also held in the prison camp. He is a rebellious guy, who eventually falls in love with tap dancing after meeting Jackson (Jared Grimes), an officer who was aspiring to be on Broadway back home but struggled to find himself a job because of his race.

But being a North Korean who’s actually secretly part of the pro communist group in the camp kept him from accepting his calling, that it took him a lot of persuasion and courage to finally join Jackson and his formed group who will be performing during Christmas eve.

Together with Kang Byung Sam (Oh Jung Se), who dances with the wind in hopes of finding his wife, Xiao Pang (Kim Min Ho), a Chinese soldier who is born with a talent for dancing but easily tires out, and Yang Pal Lae (Park Hyes Su), who’s a skilled translator and makes money through dancing, they become a group of tap dancers and learn that there’s more to life than what society labeled them to be,

Review:

For me, the reason why I really wanted to watch this movie is Do Kyung Soo. I’m an EXO fan, but most of all respect D.O’s acting ability. He’s a superhuman underneath that cute boyish image as an idol, that’s all I can say.

But anyway, of course, the movie itself did not disappoint so besides Kyungsoo, I know that the overall production is so good that it makes one’s heart race!

The duration is pretty long that it makes you wonder when it will ever finish, but the musical theme, tap dancing, and also war genre brings us back to the old times while also entertaining us with moments of when Ki Soo and the others get carried away by the music playing in the background – ‘Modern Love’, ‘Sing Sing Sing’, ‘Joy’, & ‘Free as a Bird’.

It starts off as light and whimsical, introducing to us each unique character from different walks of life that eventually comes together for a single mission: learn how to tap dance for the Christmas Party. They have different reason why they decided to join Jackson, but these people who used to be strangers to each other slowly found friendship in each other through dancing. Their bond grew despite road blocks and personal conflicts on the way.

Ki Soo, however, is the most complicated character out of them all, mainly leading the story. He’s a commie who sneers just at the mention of anything Yankee, but then finds himself falling in love with tap dancing that we also see his cold exterior and iron resolve gradually get thawed as the movie progresses, which is really quite an exciting journey, because who wouldn’t want to see Kyung Soo tap dancing? He looked like a pro doing his thing, but sometimes he’s also frustrating that he can’t just break away from the ‘ideology war’ going on in the camp that he can’t show who he really is. Yes, there were times at the latter part of the movie when we saw snippets of Ki Soo the tap dancer, but there’s also Ki Soo who would try to cover it up as much as he can.

But there’s also Jackson who showed Ki Soo his potential and became a catalyst of ‘change’. Many commies think that Jackson is like the other Yankees in the camp, but what they don’t know is how even Jackson is treated lower by white Americans because of his race. Maybe that’s the same reason why Jackson doesn’t stick to one ideology. He sees tap dancing as tap dancing and not the dance of the Yankees. And I think that’s something he was able to teach his gang, though the results only come out at the latter part of the film.

When it comes to the climax or the highlight of this film, I think all of it is actually crammed towards the ending. Now, this is actually my most favorite part as it puts great emphasis to the most crucial parts of the film that will both make you wish the story will just remain a fairy take and also break your heart knowing the fact something will go wrong.

The uprising of the commies come into plan and they decided that if Ki Soo is as loyal as he portrays to be, they want him to kill the top American official who’s in control of the camp. Ki Soo is unsure whether he could make it, but he has agreed to be the most vital part of the plan. Amidst his thinking, his resolve shatters as he lets go of everything that’s stopping him from dancing – the commies, the antis, the Americans. He must have thought why should anyone stop him when he breathes and lives for tap dancing?

Their performance dramatically begins with a very playful introduction with a band playing songs in the background and so many flashing lights around them, their name ‘Swing Kids’ displayed for everyone to see. The curtain opens on cue and Jackson introduces their performance with an iconic line, saying,

“The title of this performance is ‘Fuck Ideology’.”

The line itself signifies a revolution, a defiance from the norm. It’s like them saying, ‘we’re a force that’s going to break free from all forms of injustice’ such as ideology in itself. And their persistence and bravery showed through their beautiful performance. It’s such a rare occurrence for five misfits who came from the west and east–two different cultures, race, color from each side of the globe–to come together and be something that nobody thought of. At this point, they are not commies or Yankees, but just people who dreams of being free from slavery that ideology caused.

Yet, these pure-hearted people still fall victims to two opposing sides. If only they met each other at the right time then their friendship could have lasted forever, but in any Korean movies I’ve learned that tragedy, sadness, grief comes after every happy moments, you can expected something you won’t expect coming. I really want to spoil it right now, but I guess it’s better that you watch the movie and feel genuinely touched by the scenes, especially the ending.

The movies is really good. It’s surprisingly engaging and fun to watch. Ki Soo’s road to tap dancing will excite you and make your heart race to the point that his every victory feels like your own and all of their sorrows become yours as well. It’s good mixed with such good songs from the past and also fun, comedic scenes, as well, as sad tragic ones.

The only con of this movie is that it may feel long during three-fourths of the movie and that sometimes the narrative gets a little vague, but at least it falls back into one direction and eventually progress to something more touching and meaningful. I honestly didn’t expect much from this film, but it truly moved me and taught me so many things.

Rating:

‘Swing Kids’ is a one of a kind movie that mixes a musical, a comedy, a drama and tragedy into one fine work of art as it also let’s us time travel back to one of Korea’s most important moments in history.

Rating this movie, I’ll give it a 4.5 out 5 for the outstanding visuals, musical score, great actors, roller coaster narrative and it’s overall charm. It’s a must try for everyone who wants to discover the wonders of tap dancing. Become converted into Do Kyung Soo fans! Fall in love with ‘Swing Kids’!

Other snaps I took from the trailer:

Trailer:

(c) the following snapshots above are all captured by THE KOREAN LASS (2019)