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Overview from Wikipedia: “Swing Kids” is a 2018 South Korean musical drama film written and directed by Kang Hyeong-cheol and based on the Korean musical “Roh Ki-soo.” The film stars Doh Kyung-soo, Park Hye-su, Jared Grimes, Oh Jung-se, and Kim Min-ho. The film was released on December 19, 2018. “Swing Kids” was screened at The 2019 1st PyeongChang International Peace Film Festival on August 18, 2019.
Genre: historical, music, romance, tragedy.
Kang Hyeong-cheol is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. His first two films “Scandal Makers” (2008) and “Sunny” (2011) have been the highest grossing Korean films of their respective years, and are both among the highest grossing Korean films of all time. Kang won Best Director at the 48th Grand Bell Awards in 2011 for “Sunny.”
“Swing Kids” won the following awards:
55th Baeksang Arts Awards: Best Director, Kang Hyeong-cheol
40th Blue Dragon Film Awards: Best Cinematography - Lighting, Kim Ji-young and Jo Gyu-young; Best Editing, Nam Na-yeong
39th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards: Best Soundtrack, Kim Jun-seok
39th Golden Cinema Film Festival: Best New Actress, Park Hye-su
How to use this spoiler-free synopsis
Based on the story arcs, I divided this movie into four parts, indicating the start and end of each part in minute marks. For each part, I narrated some of the main actions without revealing the twists and turns.
Part 4 is the movie’s finale (the last 40 minutes or so); you can just read Parts 1 to 2, for example, to know what the movie is all about and then go watch the movie. (Part 3 is the midway point of the movie.)
Part 1 (from start to 33:15)
The sprawling Geoje (Koje) Island prison camp during the Korean War in 1951 is divided into two warring sides — the POWs who want to be totally repatriated to North Korea and some Chinese POWs (aka the communists), and the POWs who have given up their allegiance to North Korea (aka the traitors or the anti-communists). The conflict between the two sides have led to violent and deadly riots.
The new camp commander, Brig. General Norman B. Roberts, tells his aides-de-camp that “voluntary repatriation” means victory for the US and South Korea, while “total repatriation” means failure. He orders his aides-de-camp to win over the communists through holding talent shows, providing jobs training, and granting pardons to selected POWs.
Among the leaders in the communist side of the camp is Roh Ki-soo; he’s well-known among the communists mainly because his brother Roh Ki-jin is a killing machine and war hero. But he’s also the target of a group of American soldiers led by a corporal named Jimmy.
While rummaging through the camp’s supply room that’s full of canned goods and beer, Ki-soo sees a black American soldier named Sgt. Jackson doing a weird kind of dance; his companion Man-chul tells him that it’s “tap dance.” That night at an entertainment hall, the American soldiers party with several Korean women, among whom is a newbie named Yang Pan-rae. Providing the music is a band composed of Korean POWs.
In a drunken stupor, Man-chul stumbles out of the supply room while Ki-soo crashes through a door that leads into the entertainment hall. As he merrily dances along with the American soldiers and the Korean women, he’s recognized by Jimmy and his buddies.
The next day, Brig. General Roberts orders Sgt. Jackson to form a tap dance team composed of some POWs. But Sgt. Jackson demurs, saying that he doesn’t think Asians can tap dance.
Notes:
1. Part 1 spoilers are posted at the bottom portion of this post.
2. The videos below shows (a) Ki-soo returning to the prison camp after his unsuccessful escape attempt, being confronted by corporal Jimmy, and going to the supply room with Man-chul, from the start up to the 3:31 mark; (b) the first time Ki-soo sees tap dance, from 3:32 mark; (c) dance party.
Part 2 (from 33:16 to 59:45)
As Ki-soo becomes conflicted between his allegiance to North Korea and his growing desire to learn how to tap dance, somebody finds out that he’s learning tap dance. On the other hand, Man-chul tests Ki-soo’s loyalty by asking him to tattoo with a knife the word “traitor” on the forehead of Sam-shik, the Korean idiot-servant of Brig. General Roberts.
After Ki-soo is kidnapped by Jimmy and his buddies, Jackson is arrested by MPs on patrol. Brig. General Roberts orders that Jackson be sent back not to Japan but to the US; he also orders that the tap dance team be disbanded.
Not giving up, Kang Byung-sam and Xiaofang tell Ki-soo that, while Brig. General Roberts is entertaining the American reporters in the camp, they can do something to help Jackson and their team. But Ki-soo refuses to help, saying that unlike them, he has no reason to dance.
Notes:
1. Part 2 spoilers are posted at the bottom portion of this post.
2. The video clips below might contain some spoilers that could ruin your viewing of the full movie.
Part 3 (from 59:46 to 1:25:33)
Brig. General Roberts tells Jackson that if the tap dance team’s show for the Red Cross and the American reporters on Christmas Day is successful, he will be reunited with his family in Japan. When Jackson asks what’s going to happen to his tap dance team after Christmas Day, Brig. General Roberts smirks at his use of the phrase “my team.” Later on, as Ki-soo tells him about his plans for the future, he says that their team could someday perform on the grand stage of Carnegie Hall.
The peaceful days in Geoje Island prison camp are shattered when Kwang-kuk, Ki-soo’s friend, arrives at the camp along with the newest batch of POWs. In a general assembly, he agitates the communist POWs to annihilate the American soldiers and the anti-communist traitors.
As riots and killings explode in the prison camp, the communist POWs ambush some American soldiers led by Jimmy. Ki-soo arrives, kicks Jimmy downhill, and stabs him repeatedly.
Brig. General Roberts plans with his aides-de-camp how to respond to the riots. Later, during another general assembly, Kwang-kuk tells his fellow communists about how the American soldiers seem to know where they are planning to attack. He says that there’s a spy among them. After announcing that their hero Roh Ki-jin has been reported missing in action, he orders Ki-soo to kill Jackson.
While looking for Yang Pan-rae in a village, Jackson sees Linda and her group of Korean entertainers ganging up on a woman who dared to cross her.
Notes:
1. Part 3 spoilers are posted at the bottom portion of this post.
2. The video clip below might contain some spoilers that could ruin your viewing of the full movie.
Part 4 (from 1:25:34 to the end)
Among the new batch of communist POWs who arrive at the prison camp are Kang Byung-sam’s wife and the chained, heavily guarded Roh Ki-jin.
On the orders of the senior colonel who’s hiding among the communist POWs and organizing their activities, Man-chul is snatched and brought to a cave. Ki-soo is also snatched and brought to the cave where the senior colonel orders him to kill Brig. General Roberts during the Christmas Day show for the Red Cross. He threatens Ki-soo that if he doesn’t do as he’s ordered, he will kill his brother Roh Ki-jin.
The senior colonel coerces Man-chul to deceive Brig. General Roberts into thinking that he has broken up the rebellion of the communist POWs.
When Ki-soo shows up at the training hall, Jackson warns him that he’s putting his life at risk if he dances on stage during the Christmas Day show.
Notes:
1. Part 4 spoilers are posted at the bottom portion of this post.
2. The video clips below might contain some spoilers that could ruin your viewing of the full movie.
Historical / cultural backgrounders and other information
1. YouTube videos about the Geoje Island prison camp and the Korean War
2. Tap dancing
4. Tap dance scene choreography
5. Movie analysis
Lessons in photography with in-depth analysis of the movie’s visuals, cinematography, and editing
Note: This analysis is a work in progress.
“Swing Kids” won awards in the 40th Blue Dragon Film Awards for “Best Cinematography - Lighting” and “Best Editing.” As you can read and see in the discussion below, these awards are highly deserved.
A. Tracking shots (aka “one take shot” or “oner”)
From “From ’Birdman’ to ’Extraction’: 13 Best "One-Shot" Scenes in Movie History”:
The single-shot technique is commonly used in cinema which utilizes a single camera to capture footage in extended takes or to create the illusion that it was. The key factor that influences this technique is the viewer’s increased immersion and participation in what they see and the actions of the filmed characters.
From “One-Take Cinematography (Oner) Techniques”:
One-take, which is recognized as a single-take/shot scene, is a long screened sequence being shot with a one-take, or many takes stitched together to give the impression that it was shot in a continuous long take.
General guides for one-take cinematography
- Stitching point
- Motion blur
- Technocrane to handheld
- Using small handheld cameras and Steadicams
- Utilization of natural light
- Planning
- CGI
Relevant resource: “How 8 Scenes Were Filmed To Look Like One Take | Movies Insider” (YT)
1. Two tracking shots “stitched” together: Dance party among the American soldiers and Korean women
(a) In the first tracking shot, the camera, most probably mounted on a technocrane, shows the topmost portion of the dance hall and moves down to the level of Jackson and the American soldiers buying tickets to the dance. The camera then pans left to show another soldier buying a ticket and then passing for a brief moment in front of the curtain and then stepping into the hall.
(b) The second tracking shot is probably the most elaborate tracking shot in this movie. A s the soldier goes into the hall, we see Yang Pan-rae dancing with one of the soldiers. As she turns to look at the sumptuous food on the table, the camera (Steadicam?) pushes on, arcs to show Jimmy and his buddies dancing towards the center of the dance hall. After arcing around them, the camera whip pans to the band. The camera then moves across the hall to focus on the area behind which are the drunken Man-chul and Ki-soo.
2. Tracking shots when Kang Byung-sam wants to leave the tap dance team, with Jackson, Xiaofang, and Yang Pan-rae encouraging him to stay:
(a) Jackson is shot from the waist up; as he moves to the right, the camera booms (pedestals?) down to show only his feet as he tap dances. As the camera pulls out, we then see Xiaofang’s feet; Yang Pan-rae joins them, and the camera booms (pedestals?) up to fully show Jackson, Xiaofang, and Yang Pan-rae. The camera then pulls out for a wide shot.
(b) Encouraged by Jackson, Xiaofang, and Yang Pan-rae, Kang Byung-sam begins dancing. As he moves forward, the camera booms (pedestals?) down to show only his legs and feet. As he slides forward, the camera pans right and, from a low angle point of view, shows him, Jackson, Xiaofang, and Yang Pan-rae as they dance together. The camera pulls out as he, Jackson, Xiaofang, and Yang Pan-rae, move forward and then arcs counterclockwise to show them in a wide shot.
3. Counter track and tracking shot during the fight between Ki-soo, Yang Pan-rae, Kang Byung-sam, and Xiaofang, on one hand, and Jimmy and his buddies, on the other hand:
The camera pulls out as Ki-soo, Yang Pan-rae, Kang Byung-sam, and Xiaofang retreat into the background; Jimmy and his buddies then enter the frame as they chase after Ki-soo, Yang Pan-rae, Kang Byung-sam, and Xiaofang. In the next shot, the camera tracks Ki-soo, Yang Pan-rae, Kang Byung-sam, and Xiaofang as they fight off Jimmy and his buddies; the camera pans continuously to the left as we see, in succession, Ki-soo and Yang Pan-rae, Kang Byung-sam, and then Xiaofang.
4. Some tracking shots during the Christmas Day show:
(a) At the start of the shot, only the tip of the violin bow can be seen. The camera, mounted on a technocrane, pulls out to reveal the solitary violinist on the stage. The camera then pans left across the audience and then pushes in on Brig. General Roberts. The camera then pans left again and then pushes in on empty chair.
(b) The camera tracks Ki-soo and Yang Pan-rae as they move from the center of the stage to the side platform where the band is located.
5. Counter track during the dance audition:
Jackson becomes frustrated with not being able to find any one of the dozens who auditioned who can dance. Then everyone’s attention turns towards the door as they hear the banging of a little gong and see Kang Byung-sam, who’s dressed in traditional Korean attire worn by "pungmul" dancers. As he walks briskly towards the middle of the hall, the camera pushes in on him.
B. Transitions
1. Cross dissolves during the dance audition:
From an overhead shot, we can see a series of cross dissolves that shows the chaos of the dance audition up to the time when Jackson is left all by himself.
Note: Instead of cross dissolves, the image above might have been a time lapse.
2. Match cuts during the “Hava Nagila” dance sequence:
Ki-soo lies exhausted on the floor after losing the dance battle with Jackson. The camera trucks (moves parallel) to him, pans a bit to the right, and then stops to show him in a medium closeup. After he starts to do a front flip from the floor, we then see him in a closeup. The camera zooms out to show him in a wide view in front of an arch. Notice that as he dances (in a wide view), there are three match cuts: (a) with his left leg, (b) with his right leg, and (c) with his right arm and body as he turns around.
3. Match cut as Ki-soo becomes rattled by the rhythmic beats and sounds all around him that remind him of tap dance: The camera zooms in on Ki-soo and shows him in a closeup. In the next shot, we then see him in an overhead shot suddenly waking up.
4. Match cut from Jackson to Linda:
Jackson does some tap dance moves in the empty hall. As he turns and is about to plant his right foot on the floor, we then see Linda’s right shoe get stuck on the soft ground between the rice fields.
C. “Reveal” shots: In some scenes, a new character is introduced into the frame, changing the scene’s dynamics or context.
(1) Zoom out and panning to reveal who the traitor is among the communist POWs:
As the camera zooms out of Brig. General Roberts, we then see the Korean translator. As Sam-shik moves from the left, carrying a glass of tra, the camera pans left to reveal that the traitor is Man-chul.
(2) Boom shot after the “Modern Love” dance sequence:
We see Ki-soo still inside the empty hall, unable to break out of his fears of embracing tap dance and turning his back on his allegiance to North Korea. As he walks away into the background, he becomes out of focus; the camera also booms down (pedestals down?) to reveal his tap dance shoes on the floor.
(3) Reveal shot at the end of the “Hava Nagila” sequence:
Ki-soo ends up at night near the wire fence; he’s surprised to see someone there with him. The camera trucks (moves parallel) to the left to reveal that it’s the boy-soldier who has been hanging around him.
D. Best examples of this movie’s excellent editing:
(1) Ki-soo becomes rattled as he thinks about joining the tap dance team; everything around him reminds him of tap dance — the POWS marching back and forth, the cooks cutting up the vegetables, the laundry guys beating the wet clothes with the paddles, the men drying the huge blankets, etc.
(2) Ki-soo can’t sleep because every little movement and sound that his fellow POWs make remind him of tap dance. In this scene, there are numerous 90-degree Dutch angle shots, whip pans, zoom in, and zoom out.
E. Miscellaneous observations:
(1) Jimmy's buddies restrain Ki-soo on the ground as Jimmy threatens to cut his leg with a scythe. The camera trucks (moves parallel) to Ki-soo and Jimmy’s buddies; as they disappear from the screen, it then seems to swing upward and sideways to show Jimmy in a 90-degree Dutch angle shot.
Short siding
Dutch angle shots
POV shots
Warm colors
Compressed perspective
Part 1 spoilers:
Sgt. Jackson organized the unauthorized dance party to raise funds that he needs to marry his Japanese girlfriend in Okinawa; in the entertainment hall, he’s amazed by Ki-soo’s dance moves.
The group of Korean women led by Linda provide the entertainment and companionship for the American soldiers in exchange for money. Yang Pan-rae, the newbie, becomes afraid that if Jimmy and his buddies beat up Ki-soo, the dance party will be stopped. Thus, she rushes to the stage and performs a song-and-dance routine with the band that starts the American soldiers and the Korean women dancing and having fun again. But chaos breaks out when an electrical short circuit starts a fire in the hall.
Just as Jackson feared, he couldn’t find any one from the dozens upon dozens of volunteers from the POWs who’s capable of learning how to tap dance. He dismisses Yang Pan-rae after the auditions, but Yang Pan-rae proves her worth by being able to speak Chinese to Xiaofang, a Chinese POW who wants to join the tap dance team.
While Jackson and Ki-soo are having their tap dance showdown, Kang Byung-sam tells Yang Pan-rae that if he becomes famous through the tap dance team, he might be able to find his wife. After Yang Pan-rae says that she doesn’t want to join the dance team because there’s no money in it, Xiaofang says that he dances just because he can and because he needs the food.
Ki-soo loses the tap dance showdown against Jackson and thus becomes part of the team.
Part 2 spoilers
Offended that Jackson didn’t give him a pair of tap shoes, Ki-soo storms out of their training hall. On his way, he’s kidnapped by Jimmy and his friends.
Ki-soo, Yang Pan-rae, Kang Byung-sam, and Xiaofang defeat Jimmy and his buddies in a dance showdown. During the fight, Jackson arrives and asserts his authority as a sergeant to stop Jimmy and his buddies from assaulting his tap dance team.
Because of Jimmy’s revenge, Jackson is arrested when the MPs find communist propaganda materials inside the sack that contains Ki-soo’s tap dance shoes.
Dressed in traditional Korean costumes and wearing masks, Ki-soo, Kang Byung-sam, and Xiaofang present a dance and music showcase that raucously unites the warring sides in the Geoje Island prison camp and sends the American reporters into a frenzy.
Part 3 spoilers
Ki-soo saves Jimmy’s life by pretending to have killed him. But during the general assembly, he’s accused by Kwang-kuk of not doing his part in killing American soldiers.
At the village, after Linda screams that the woman who struck her is a communist, the villagers stone the woman to death.
Jackson explains to Yang Pan-rae that because of the riots in the prison camp, their dance team practices have been suspended. As Yang Pan-rae curses the ideologies of communism and capitalism and exclaims “F_cking ideology!,” he says that if the South and North Koreans can set aside their ideologies, they will remember that they are just one people.
Acting on a tip from the spy, the MPs raid the tent where Kwang-kuk and the other leaders of the communist POWs are meeting and preparing Molotov cocktails. The MPs spray the tent with gunfire, and Jimmy kills Kwang-kuk.
Man-chul is the spy; he betrayed the communist POWs after Brig. General Roberts promised that he will be reunited with his grandmother. When confronted by Ki-soo about betraying his fellow communists and killing Kwang-kuk, he retorts that Koreans have nothing to do with communism and capitalism; he also says that Ki-soo is a traitor himself by learning how to tap dance.
Part 4 spoilers
Kang Byung-sam’s wife is almost a zombie, having become a prostitute to survive the war.
The senior colonel who’s organizing the communist POWs is none other than Sam-shik, the idiot-servant of Brig. General Roberts.
Ki-soo’s brother Roh Ki-jin is a giant with the IQ of a young child.
Yang Pan-rae finds Kang Byung-sam’s wife and provides her with food and shelter.
During the Christmas Day show, Jackson introduces his tap dance team as the “Swing Kids” and titles their performance as “F_ck ideology!”
After the team’s performance, Ki-soo returns alone to the stage and starts tap dancing before the audience. While seeing Ki-soo dance, Jackson imagines him dancing on the grand stage of Carnegie Hall.
Roh Ki-jin stops Ki-soo from taking the gun hidden behind the stage. He takes the gun and shoots Brig. General Roberts. Chaos erupts as he and the American soldiers exchange gunfire.
Sam-shik escapes from the hall, while Brig. General Roberts orders the MPs to kill all the “f_ckin’ yellow gooks.” Jackson tries to protect Ki-soo, Yang Pan-rae, Kang Byung-sam, snd Xiaofang, but they’re all shot and killed.
Decades later, Jackson visits Geoje Island prison camp, which is now a memorial site. Inside the hall where the Christmas Day show was held, he remembers his tap dance showdown with Ki-soo.
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