Swing Kids is a 2018 film directed by Kang Hyeong Cheol(Sunny, Scandal Makers) and stars D.O.(Do Kyung Soo) of Kpop super boyband Exo, Jared Grimes, Park Hye Su, Kim Min Ho, and Oh Jung Se. The screen play is based off a Korean musical called Roh Ki Soo. Swing Kids earned over a million ticket sales in it's first month of release making the film number one at the box office for weeks.
A young North Korean soldier is prisoner at a Prison Camp run by American soldiers during the Korean war. This man soon finds his love for Tap Dance through a Black Soldier who is stationed at the camp as on of the chief in command. Both men form a Tap group but teaching everyone the right moves isn't going to be a walk in the park. Also, the war on the outside might undermine all of their plans……
I dived straight into Swing Kids expecting the film to be somewhat a light hearted affair similar to Kang's other films such as Sunny. Boy, didn't Swing Kids push me down a flight of steps and let me lay there at the bottom. The film has a lot of happy tongue in cheek moments that have to do with Koreans learning about the existence of Tap Dance so they could learn how fun the experience of Tap is. Some of the most interesting scenes in Swing Kids is the dance routines the cast perform. What was happening outside of the classy dancing was secondary to me. Especially because the events in the outside world at that time dealt with war, racism, and inequality. I like the fact that Kang doesn't shy away from the painful history that both Koreans and Back people faced at the hands of racial inequality during that time. In Fact, the plot steps right into the mist of all the bad that was happening in those times. Black soldiers weren't seen as on the same level as White Soldiers no matter if the army said the two races were equal or not. Black People's involvement in the war was also erased when retold by Koreans who praise White people for helping their country during the Korean War(The War Between North and South Korea). Black Soldiers risked their lives to help Korea out too but in my opinion, Koreans still to this day don't give Black American soldiers the same respect that White Soldiers get when it comes to the Korean War's history. It was bad enough that a black man could be hailed a war hero then go back home in America to the same racism he faced before he left. Kang's retelling of history was very truthful in rawness of the racism Koreans faced at the hands of White Soldiers verse racism Blacks also faced. I should have known that considering the situation Swing Kids was set in, that things would not end well. I just didn't think that my heart would have the sensation of weighing a ton by the end of this film. Certain scenes felt more like filler scenes to stall for time so I got a bit bored during some of the film but I was all ears for the tap dancing and how a good thing got torn apart. Swing Kids is nothing like Sunny in regards to a quality friendship. Nothing felt like a connection between the characters to me outside of dance itself: Something this film does right to explore. Dance has one set language that everyone could understand, which Swing Kids uses as a ways of communication. However, I still didn't find it believable that these characters were close friends by the end of the film. I did however feel that special memories were created that lasted one man a life time.
English and Korean are two languages that are heard most in this film. Normally Korean films make foreign actors come across as really stiff when they say their lines in English and it's almost cringe worthy. Swing Kids actually had a smooth flow moving from language to language. I would forget at times that I was watching a Korean Film because of how natural all the foreign actors were. The Korean actors did the same quality of performance and it was interesting to see both parties coexist in the Prison Camp, since you could tell none wanted to be there. It must have been hurtful to get into those roles as a lot of racial slurs are thrown around in this film. Jared Grimes was absolutely amazing at his role. Tap Dance really sang because of how he made his character breath Tap out into the air. D.O. and the other cast pretty much fed off of Jared's Performance until the second to the last scene where D.O.'s character gets his moment in the spotlight. Singer/Actress Park Hye Su(Age of Youth) was charming in everything not involving English. I wish a Korean actress that was better at English would have gotten the role. Her character plays a translator throughout half of the film and she speaks English with a heavy accent that makes the whole situation unbelievable. I'm not saying her English has to be perfect but good enough to not take me out of the movie. Oh Jung Se balanced being comedic relief and having a sad backstory. There's a lot of comedy in Swing Kids that will make you chuckle but not enough to laugh off the dark subject matter at the heart of the film.
Swing Kids could be called a masterpiece containing little problems here and there. Kang Hyeong Cheol continues to ignite audiences around the world with his films. He doesn't seem to be slowing down either. Swing Kids stuck with me hours after I had finished watching it, as did Sunny the first time I watch that film.
***Fun Fact: Loved the cameo from actress Park Jin Joo who also was in Kang Hyeong Cheol's hit film, Sunny.
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