Swing Kids (2018 film)

The story takes place in Geoje prison camp during the Korean War in 1951. Ro Ki-soo, a rebellious North Korean soldier, falls in love with tap dancing after meeting Jackson, an American officer and former Broadway star who has been tasked with putting together a dance company. Kang Byung-sam auditions for the company in hopes of finding his wife, alongside Xiao Pang, a Chinese soldier and born dancer who cannot dance for more than a minute due to angina, and Yang Pan-rae, who needs money but says there's no money through dancing.^[8]

Director Kang Hyeong-cheol is known for his hit films Scandal Makers, Sunny, and Swing Kids marks the director's return after three year from directing his hit film Tazza: The Hidden Card. Filming of Swing Kids started on October 18, 2017^[1] and ended on February 20, 2018, in Anseong, South Korea.^[10]

Swing Kids was released in 23 countries including America, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia. The film was released in Hong Kong and Macao in January 2019.^[11]

The VIP premiere of Swing Kids was held On December 6.^[12][13]

On November 12, 2018, the director and main cast of Swing Kids held a press conference where they discussed the film and answered reporters' questions.^[14][15] On the same day, a showcase for the film was held, where Doh Kyung-soo, Park Hye-su and Oh Jung-se performed a segment of Tap dancing along with other tap dancing professionals, and later talked about the film along with director Kang Hyeong-cheol.^[16] On November 26, the director and the cast attended a movie talk on V Live.^[17]

On December 4, the cast and director attended a media distribution preview event for the film.^[18] On December 17, The cast and directory attended an event called "Chewing Chat" at Lotte Cinema World Tower, and also held a stage greeting in the same place. On December 18, Doh Kyung-soo, Park Hye-su and Oh Jung-se went on the radio show Cultwo Show were the talked about the movie,^[19] and later held another stage greeting at CGV Yongsan I-Park Mall.

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 63% based on eight reviews, with an average rating of 6.3/10.^[20]

The film received mixed reviews from critics. Praise was given to the film's production design and music,^[21] with criticisms directing towards the long running time and the structure of the film.^[22] Guy Lodge from Variety, wrote about the film: "Too often, it simply feels like two films wrestling in one roomy framework, sometimes overlapping to awkward effect".^[23]

Park Boram from Yonhap News Agency, wrote: "The film's booming tapping sounds set against the film's throwback soundtrack -- which includes David Bowie's "Modern Love," Benny Goodman's "Sing Sing Sing," The Beatles' "Free as a Bird," as well as Korean veteran singer Jung Su-ra's popular 1988 song "Joy"—drive colorful vibrancy into the film, making the audience twitch with amusement throughout the film's 133-minute running time.", Park also added that the "musicality and a Christmas scene close to the end make the production a perfect film choice for the holiday season."^[21]

The film was ranked No.3 by Pierce Conran from Modern Korean Cinema in Top 15 Korean Films of 2018. Conran wrote: "Swing Kids was without a doubt the best theatrical experience I had all year. Infectiously rhythmic, this Korean War POW camp tap dance extravaganza will have you yearning for old-school Hollywood showmanship and begging for more when the curtain falls."^[24]

Prior to its release, Swing Kids ranked first in the pre-sales, with 70,256 viewers and 21.6% reservation rate.^[25] The film ranked second place on Korean theaters among Korean movies, since its release.^[26] On December 25, Swing Kids began its seat sales and ranked first in the box office, surpassing Aquaman and The Drug King by 32% and 56% respectively.^[27] On December 27, Swing Kids attracted more than 1 million viewers.^[26]

In the United States it made $222,001, South Korea $10,672,098, Australia $17,141, and in New Zealand $2,157.^[28]

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