Swing Kids (2018) – Korean Movie Review

Starring: D.O. (디오), Jared Grimes, Park Hye-soo (박혜수), Oh Jung-se (오정세), Kim Min-ho (김민호), Ross Kettle, A.J. Simmons

Directed by: Kang Hyeong-chul (강형철)

Review: Swing Kids is set during the Korean War and takes place in a South Korean P.O.W. (Prisoner of War) camp on the island of Geoje where adherence to the mandates set by the Geneva Convention in regards to the treatment of P.O.W.’s sees not only an increased quality of life in comparison to the average South Korean villager (and that’s saying something for the extreme conditions people are experiencing at some of the poorest levels), but there’s also a divide in the camp among the prisoners as to where their loyalties lie. Some prisoners have decided they would like to remain in the South after the war concludes while others retain their loyalty to the North, some more zealous than others.

And with the Korean War being a war of ideologies, the camp commander puts Sargent Jackson (Jared Grimes) in charge of assembling a small dance team consisting of camp prisoners as part of an ambitious PR campaign set to culminate in a press filled public recital that aims to show the world that the UN backed forces are not only in full control of a camp marred by violent prisoner uprisings, but that they were also winning the hearts and minds of the communist sympathizers.

Rather than dwell on the hardships faced by either the prisoners or the soldiers living in the camp, Swing Kids decides to spend most of its time unearthing optimism in the face of overwhelming adversity through music and dance. For much of the first half of the film especially, the film’s protagonists manage to twist high tension and even life-threatening scenarios to their advantage by utilizing rhythm and dance as a way to work out their various misgivings and grievances. In this way, music becomes the main language of the film in an attempt to bridge the gap between the warring ideologies. The music and dance helps establish a common ground of humanity for the characters to share and connect within, if only for brief moments in time.

While Jared Grimes pulls out one of the best performances I have ever seen from a non-Korean actor within a Korean film as he portrays the character Sargent Jackson, a former Broadway performer and tap dance extraordinaire who fights for his own sense of dignity as a minority black officer among those stationed at the camp amidst the racially charged atmosphere of the times, the heart and soul of the film shines brightest with its star Do Kyung-soo, a.k.a. – D.O. – , who is no stranger to intricate dance moves himself being a member of the Korean/Chinese boy group EXO.

D.O. puts on his dancing shoes in Swing Kids as a tough-guy North Korean prisoner named Gi-soo, who is known around camp as one of the most misbehaved of the communist sympathizing lot. The actor brings every bit and more of his extensive experience as a performer to the role. With the character Gi-soo preferring to speak through actions rather than words much of the time, on top of not being able to communicate through English with the American forces in charge — which includes his newly formed dance team leader Sargent Jackson, the rhythmic beat of music flows through Gi-soo as if it were the very air he breathes. The character’s newly found fascination with tap dance as he attempts to master it as if he was taming a wild horse is a delight to watch. Whatever the overall takeaway of Swing Kids may be, there is no denying the captivating screen presence of D.O. in the film. Other big acting standouts come from fellow dance team member and master of languages Pan-rae, played by Park Hae-soo, as well as the stern General in charge of the camp played by Ross Kettle.

Swing Kids has a very stage like and theatrical quality to its overall production, which makes sense with the film actually being based on a stage play. Whether that stage like feeling is indicative of a successful screen adaptation or not I’m not quite sure of, but I’m leaning towards it having been intentional due to its story specifics and overall stylistic choices. The editing in particular is a major highlight with its creative use of cuts and transitions that create a sort of musical heartbeat for the entire production.

Swing Kids is also notable for its dramatic shifts in tone throughout the film. Beginning as a rather comedic if not a slightly goofy wartime musical, Swing Kids ultimately trends more towards the dark end of the spectrum in terms of its overall tone and themes. The film hopes to leave viewers hard hit by its rather unexpected finale and finds moderate success that rivals some of the best portrayals of tragic wartime stories we’ve seen before.

But this dark tonal shift left me struggling to get swept away in the more magical and upbeat aspects of Swing Kids. The film at times feels like it could be enjoyed by the entire family, or perhaps even used as a teaching tool in history classrooms. But the persistent use of racial slurs by those in the camp, whether it’s White directed at Black or Asian or visa versa, and even though it being a sign of the times, the language can be very off-putting as it just doesn’t mesh with the film’s whimsical style. The film was rated 12 (12 years+) here in Korea, but since a lot of the slurs and profanity are in English, I’d expect this film to get an easy R or its equivalent adult only rating overseas. This is unfortunate as the rating could severely limit the films potential international exposure.

This darker tonal shift is also marked by the introduction of several important characters midway through the film that are brought into the P.O.W. camp. And without giving away any plot spoilers, the characters have close ties to the main character and ultimately contribute to the major conflict that arises in the film. But it is these characters that add to the unevenness of Swing Kids as they are portrayed as if they were pulled straight off the pages of a comic book or graphic novel. The characters being written too much as caricatures of themselves is what ultimately took me out of what could have been a much more impactful third act.

All in all there is a lot to admire about the colorfully complex production of Swing Kids. As the darker nature of the story could have been easily muted or had changes forced upon it for its cinematic rendition, one can’t help but applaud the film for sticking to its guns and seeing out its original vision. The musicality of Swing Kids is much more than a style or genre for the film to live in as music and dance becomes the preferred method of communication among the film’s characters. Messages of unity and commonality that can be relayed through dance as it transcends culture, ideology, and skin color, has rarely been as powerfully portrayed as it is here in Swing Kids.