12 reviews
- eelen-seth
- Aug 13, 2019
- Permalink
A little slow in the beginning but this movie builds to a big climax. It's interesting to see a view of the North v South Korea conflict from Korean eyes. This ain't MASH. It's not a war epic, it's more nuanced than that. It's more about ideology conflict than the physical battles of war, but there's a taste of that too. It's based in a prisoner camp that in real life was run by the UN. As for whether this particular story is true or not I can't be sure. What I do know is that it's a far more interesting film than it promised in the opening credits. If it is true it's another shameful episode that hopefully helps both sides do better next time. A forelorn hope perhaps but a powerful outcome of seeing this film. There's a taste of every emotion on offer.
Excellent, Wonderful, gets you feeling all kinds of mixed feelings - all characters were superb, BUT they messed up the ending Big time.
This movie is really good one! You can feel the pain of to be in the middle of a meaningless war. We're watching the people who are not responsible for their life circumstances and who are trying to do what they want to do just for a second.
It's becoming much complicated more than need sometimes but still good. And the whole cast are really successful.
And I'm just wondering, how can not you be a fan of Do Kyung Soo after this movie guys?
It's becoming much complicated more than need sometimes but still good. And the whole cast are really successful.
And I'm just wondering, how can not you be a fan of Do Kyung Soo after this movie guys?
- fatmas-43864
- Feb 17, 2020
- Permalink
Im not familiar with korean war. So i cant really comment on that. But aside from that, this movie was fun and engaging. I enjoyed the dance battles and I even held my breath when they were on stage. The chemistry between characters were great. And one more thing, DO is for sure multi talented!
- at_RivyuwMamak
- May 3, 2019
- Permalink
Swing Kids is a movie that meddles both with saddening violence and happy feel-good dancing sequences. Usually, these two are not mixed in the same cauldron but the Korean director Kang Hyung-chul decided to make this move and it paid off.
In the midst of the Korean War, a POW camp is formed that receives the Geneva convention blessing and acts foreground to lure the prisoners to seek capitalism. One of the protagonists is a North Korean soldier, who's known as a hero and a defender of communist ideas but we soon learn that he also has a different affiliation - his love for tap dancing. He rejects it at first as it is a dance, created by capitalists but it doesn't take long for his love for tap dancing to triumph over his hatred for the invading powers. Ideology takes the center stage as the topic here as ideology leads them into this war and ideology kept our protagonists from pursuing what they actually liked. Ideology left people separated, left people losing their loved ones and left people to not think about pursuing their dreams, for our main protagonist - it even led to rejecting those dreams as they were provided by a different ideology.
Even though dancing connected our protagonists and happy thoughts like going on tours and tap dancing in different cities of the world kept them inspired, the reality was that they were still in a middle of a war, backed by two superpowers. That lead to one of the saddest endings I've witnessed in recent history. At points like this, you come to wonder how many young talents were forced to put their dreams aside just to fight for their country and possibly die for it because of ideological wars. How many of those were just innocent people that got caught in the crossfire. Mark Rober once said that it's a statistical certainty that Albert Einstein wasn't the most intelligent human, it was some random person you've never heard of, probably born a long time ago, who spent most of their daily energy just trying to survive. I think war is similar in this sense, as it strips people of their dreams and makes them focus on their ideologies instead of their ambitions.
The only thing that was a bit harder for me to digest here is the comedy. It wasn't always a miss but it looked or sounded so bizarre at some points. For example, the effects of when our main protagonist was doing the Kalinka, the traditional Russian dance, just looked ridiculous. The dance battles with the American soldiers also seemed out of place, though entertaining at certain aspects, they just really didn't fit the war theme. Some of these scenes were reminiscent of Bollywood-level action. I'm starting to get an idea that Korea is known for its own version of Bollywood-like action that isn't as popular in the depths of the internet. Can't say it's existent in every Korean production as I don't remember seeing anything like that in Parasite (2019) but Fabricated City (2015) definitely had that vibe.
Overall, this movie is really good. Korean war is not touched by popular cinema as much as the World Wars or other conflicts that occurred during the Cold War. There's an idea that wasn't touched in the movie as it focused on a specific aspect of this war but it is said that the Korean War prevented WWIII from occurring. Around the same time, there was a conflict spewing in Yugoslavia and the Soviet forces were preparing to intervene, which would likely create a backlash from Western Europe. The only reason why the Soviets didn't intervene was because they saw Korea as a threat to communism and decided to relocate their forces there, instead of sending them to Yugoslavia. With that point aside, I love how indirectly capitalism and communism manifest in the movie. Nobody is portrayed in the right and the whole point of the message that they tried to send with the dance was spot-on in my book. A definite recommendation to everyone.
In the midst of the Korean War, a POW camp is formed that receives the Geneva convention blessing and acts foreground to lure the prisoners to seek capitalism. One of the protagonists is a North Korean soldier, who's known as a hero and a defender of communist ideas but we soon learn that he also has a different affiliation - his love for tap dancing. He rejects it at first as it is a dance, created by capitalists but it doesn't take long for his love for tap dancing to triumph over his hatred for the invading powers. Ideology takes the center stage as the topic here as ideology leads them into this war and ideology kept our protagonists from pursuing what they actually liked. Ideology left people separated, left people losing their loved ones and left people to not think about pursuing their dreams, for our main protagonist - it even led to rejecting those dreams as they were provided by a different ideology.
Even though dancing connected our protagonists and happy thoughts like going on tours and tap dancing in different cities of the world kept them inspired, the reality was that they were still in a middle of a war, backed by two superpowers. That lead to one of the saddest endings I've witnessed in recent history. At points like this, you come to wonder how many young talents were forced to put their dreams aside just to fight for their country and possibly die for it because of ideological wars. How many of those were just innocent people that got caught in the crossfire. Mark Rober once said that it's a statistical certainty that Albert Einstein wasn't the most intelligent human, it was some random person you've never heard of, probably born a long time ago, who spent most of their daily energy just trying to survive. I think war is similar in this sense, as it strips people of their dreams and makes them focus on their ideologies instead of their ambitions.
The only thing that was a bit harder for me to digest here is the comedy. It wasn't always a miss but it looked or sounded so bizarre at some points. For example, the effects of when our main protagonist was doing the Kalinka, the traditional Russian dance, just looked ridiculous. The dance battles with the American soldiers also seemed out of place, though entertaining at certain aspects, they just really didn't fit the war theme. Some of these scenes were reminiscent of Bollywood-level action. I'm starting to get an idea that Korea is known for its own version of Bollywood-like action that isn't as popular in the depths of the internet. Can't say it's existent in every Korean production as I don't remember seeing anything like that in Parasite (2019) but Fabricated City (2015) definitely had that vibe.
Overall, this movie is really good. Korean war is not touched by popular cinema as much as the World Wars or other conflicts that occurred during the Cold War. There's an idea that wasn't touched in the movie as it focused on a specific aspect of this war but it is said that the Korean War prevented WWIII from occurring. Around the same time, there was a conflict spewing in Yugoslavia and the Soviet forces were preparing to intervene, which would likely create a backlash from Western Europe. The only reason why the Soviets didn't intervene was because they saw Korea as a threat to communism and decided to relocate their forces there, instead of sending them to Yugoslavia. With that point aside, I love how indirectly capitalism and communism manifest in the movie. Nobody is portrayed in the right and the whole point of the message that they tried to send with the dance was spot-on in my book. A definite recommendation to everyone.
Swing Kids, set in a PoW camp, tell the story of a few prisoners who join the team of Tap Dancers organized by a man of color. The movie strongly questions how Idealism and other factors that divide human beings just for the political and financial exploitation of the powerful. A pretty good watch with some music, dance, comedy and drama.
What a surprise. Starts off semi comedy and ends up shocking you with the very real brutality of war. Drags you in slowly, gets your heart involved and then whacks you with a sledge hammer. Well worth its 2hr run time.
- bottomline
- Apr 9, 2022
- Permalink
It hits on the performance.
It hits on the romance.
It hits on the social commentary.
Hell, it even hits on the action.
Most brilliant directing I've seen, too bad the American actors had really awkward dialogues and acting, too.
It hits on the romance.
It hits on the social commentary.
Hell, it even hits on the action.
Most brilliant directing I've seen, too bad the American actors had really awkward dialogues and acting, too.
- felipepm17
- Oct 16, 2020
- Permalink
Damn ideology!
This is the movie that keeps on giving. I never would have expected a war comedy that actually works to then turn into a mindless ideological war and then into a deeply moving melodrama about the senselessness of it all, all the while punctuated by amazing dance-offs and catchy music.
Great crowd work, choreography, acting, editing.
Doh Kyung-soo's dead stares are epic. He sure sells this role. Please throw good scripts at him. He can pull it off. So do all the others of course, but he's the main draw.
I don't know the origin of this story, if there is any basis in reality and I'd love to know.
This is the movie that keeps on giving. I never would have expected a war comedy that actually works to then turn into a mindless ideological war and then into a deeply moving melodrama about the senselessness of it all, all the while punctuated by amazing dance-offs and catchy music.
Great crowd work, choreography, acting, editing.
Doh Kyung-soo's dead stares are epic. He sure sells this role. Please throw good scripts at him. He can pull it off. So do all the others of course, but he's the main draw.
I don't know the origin of this story, if there is any basis in reality and I'd love to know.
- lilianaoana
- Jul 5, 2025
- Permalink
Swing Kids (1993) & Swing Kids (2018)
Director: Thomas Carter & Kang Hyung-chul
First Watched: 4/9/25 & 6/10/23
6/10 Stars & 8/10 Stars
feel-good, big band swing Batman and Doctor Wilson, fighting the good fight!
Loose, confined history reading; cumbrous but stock Nazi script.
The Korean war- splendid choreography, tap transcends cultures.
Laugh, cry, shudder, celebrate; such feeling from a tap shoe!
#Somonka #PoemReview #DoubleFeatureReview
Poem reviews- especially syllabic ones- encourage eloquence through brevity. Indeed, this is the challenge and thus artistic strength of them. IMDB character limits do not encourage this endeavor with its 600 requirements.
feel-good, big band swing Batman and Doctor Wilson, fighting the good fight!
Loose, confined history reading; cumbrous but stock Nazi script.
The Korean war- splendid choreography, tap transcends cultures.
Laugh, cry, shudder, celebrate; such feeling from a tap shoe!
#Somonka #PoemReview #DoubleFeatureReview
Poem reviews- especially syllabic ones- encourage eloquence through brevity. Indeed, this is the challenge and thus artistic strength of them. IMDB character limits do not encourage this endeavor with its 600 requirements.
- ASuiGeneris
- Apr 23, 2025
- Permalink