“Swing Kids”: A Tap Tap Revolution Formed in the Midst of the Korean War

         

                      courtesy of Annapurna Pictures

       Set in the 1950's, in the middle of the Korean War, this story takes place in a POW (prisoner-of-war) camp in Geoje Island. Five misfits, mainly Roh Kisoo (Doh Kyungsoo), Yang Pan-rae (Park Hye Soo), Jackson (Jared Grimes), Kang Byungsam (Oh Jung-se), and Xiao Pang (Kim Min-ho), share their love and direct their attention towards tap dance to escape the difficulties and struggles of war. "Swing Kids" is an outstanding musical film that expresses the passion of individuals and shares their bond between one another despite constant hardships and ideological differences.

            It's a film that gets you on your feet-- makes you dance to the jazz sound of trumpets, clashing cymbals, and the click clack of tap shoes. With tracks such as David Bowie's "Modern Love" and Benny Goodman's "Sing Sing Sing", Writer-director Kang Hyeong-cheol did not fail to deliver an impeccable musical scoring that strongly fit with the different atmospheres of this movie. In addition to this, the cinematography was nothing less than spectacular. The seamless transitions, beautiful framework, and color-grading, were perfectly executed. Clean cross-cuts and multiple camera angles such as bird's eye view, wideview, and close-up shots gave emphasis towards facial expressions and setting. Along with that, the mix of cool bright colors and warm saturated ones allow to give off a certain ambiance and captures the captivating backgrounds of Korea. All these elements combined result in visually appealing, vibrant scenes, and further accentuates the production behind this movie.

 

                                      courtesy of Next Entertainment World

        An aspect that stood out to me were the many topics tackled in this film and the multiple genres it includes, such as musical and drama. It touches on ideology, communism, capitalism, and the like, through slapstick comedy, and ultimately, music and dance. It shows the necessity of having a stance and how betrayal can lead to consequences; yet also teaches how individuals can influence and inspire one another in greater and positive ways-- how humans are one people and that no one should kill and be killed. Although this may seem like your average anti-war movie, the odd yet felicitous add-on of tap dancing certainly serves as an asset all throughout; it expressed how dance and music can bring people together regardless of race and nationality, and was brought out even further through a wonderful cast of high caliber. One scene that caught my attention were the transitional cuts of Roh Kisoo and Yang Pan-rae as they dance to “Modern Love”. It expressed the new found love and joy that the two found in tap dancing, neither of them wanting to stop anytime soon. The sounds ringing in their ears and the drive to release all worries, pulls them in, to let loose and dance freely. With emotions taking control of their movements, the audience witnesses proof on how “Tap dancing can really make a person go crazy.”, as said by Roh Kisoo. 

            Additionally, I would like to emphasize the use of tonal disparity. More often than not, many sequences in this film shift from a mellow and cheerful aura to one that is heavy and dark, such as when main characters are dancing and is suddenly followed by scenes filled with gunshots and killing. The storyline in the first half was mainly focused on the "put on a good show" theme that the audience initially expects, until the disparity becomes more evident around the latter part of the film once scenes start to wrestle with one another, vague narratives begin to emerge, and later on becomes confusing to catch up to. Despite this weak point, I personally think that it was properly given justice as the subplots became more understandable and were eventually explained.

                    courtesy of Next Entertainment World

           Apart from this, the movie’s running time may have been long-drawn-out, as it could have easily passed and discussed its point within an hour and a half. With a number of extended dialogues and interludes, certain sequences resulted in being a bit more lengthy and may have led the audience to become uninterested and lose track of particular happenings. Despite it being longer than what was needed, they were able to pick the storyline back up during the latter part and progressed from there. I definitely see the cons and disadvantages of a prolonged running time, but I personally think that it was also beneficial and necessary since it served as a bridge to further show character dynamics-- what they go through, how they have developed, and how much deeper of a bond they have formed with one another. Otherwise, the film would have lacked in terms of expounding their stories and in showing the significance and value of friendship. 

                                   courtesy of Bizzy Woods  

    

            Overall, I believe this film successfully delivered a story that is both heart-warming and brimming with exuberance, albeit with an emotional and cruel twist. With carefully thought out aspects such as, production, cinematography, musical scoring, and the like, it would not have made as big of an impact than it already did. Apart from this, it gave a unique storyline that has its own imperfections; yet is able to eventually carry it well and present the story's meaningful moments and experiences even in the midst of trials and tribulations. Lastly, it did not fail to show the relationship the characters have built with each other and how all of them, both individually and not, have developed throughout the duration of this film, such as seeing one's cold exterior get thawed and realize what every individual would do for family as well. 

          Witnessing a tap dance team who longs for freedom, fights for their rights, and dances their hearts out in an endless spectacle, certainly leaves you in pure awe, wanting for more. As they stand on a platform, leaving scratches on its surface, this team made up of strong-willed individuals, attempt, and later on find their passion and purpose right on the soles of their feet. It is indeed a film that holds an enthralling story and conveys messages through soul, movement, and meaning-- one that hits you when and where you would least expect it to.