Go Go 70s (2008) User Reviews

Not Terrible, But Tries Too Hard.

[gohmifune · 6/10 · 21 June 2009]

The movie is hard to rate. I for one can't tell if there is some hidden Korean cultural context that I missed, or if that it was faking it. I am leaning towards the latter.

The movie is about a "soul band" in the seventies called "The Devils" and their existence in post war South Korea. You can in fact apply the formula that most band movies have to this movie. Without spoiling too much, it does have the standard things come full circle ending.

Possibly the biggest problem with the movie was the music. Used are various 60s/70s/pre-disco era American music, which is fine considering context, but the selections aren't great when couple with the singers, and the songs contribute nothing to the plot. In fact the entire setting is unnecessary, and could have easily taken place in modern day. This makes any importance that music had at that time in South Korea seem trivial and detaches the viewer from the experience of the film.

Acting was fine, if a little bit forced. The script wasn't great, but production was strong and direction was solid. The movie as a whole just didn't seem to come together very well.

High energy fun with a old message

[julesette-1 · 9/10 · 3 July 2009]

I picked this movie to see totally at random. I was perusing the list of films in the Asian Film Festival and thought, hmm..70s..music...this one sounds fun! It's true, the characters were not fully developed, but it wasn't about the people in the band. It was about the band, the authority they subverted, and their affect on the young people. Yes, it's an old story, the powers that be attempt to stop the "those kids and their crazy music" (which in this case could lead to the takeover of South Korea by Communism), and as such, it's timeless. Although the music is some sort of soul/R&R, I found the band's energy and attitude more reminiscent of the dawn of punk rock.

I couldn't help but feel sorry for the audience as The Devils made their debut in Seoul, as they sat there quietly, not having a clue what to make of them. Enter Mimi (the luminous and occasionally pouty Sin Min-ah) with her costumes and dance moves, and the public becomes mesmerized.

I thought the film took a turn for the worse with the obligatory band member death followed by the brutal treatment of the police in its attempts to end this youthful exuberance by grabbing the "long-hairs" and jailing them. But it just serves to unite the disintegrating band against a common enemy.

This movie is not just about a band. It's about the eternal struggle of youth versus authority. The music is fun, musician turned actor Cha Seung-woo is a stand-out. With the exception of Mimi, none of the characters were particularly likable, but I still had no trouble rooting for The Devils' fight, and for the kids of Seoul who escaped to their music every late night. The reunion show is a fantastic climax.

And, of course, you can't forget the three beautiful Go-Go dancers, they just add to the energy of the film.

A entertaining tale of adolescent discovery versus oppressive government. And a history lesson about Korea's turbulent 1980's.

[info-111-805141 · 9/10 · 2 November 2022]

I was expecting a fun music story and another great performance by Shin Min-a. Go Go 70's is much more than a music film. It hides a warning which applies to every society which tips the governmental scales towards a dictatorship or a rule of law based on religious morality. It is the story of a generation of young people who have just found their freedom from childhood and need to express themselves. And a country ready to suppress that freedom for control of the public.

Korea was going into a full on dictatorship with Park Chung-hee going from president to dictator by announcing martial law to avoid being outvoted as president. He also felt it important to keep the U. S. military in Korea to help protect against North Korea (so he joined the U. S. in the Vietnam War, sending 350,000 Korean troops to war). Our hero is up for conscription into the Korean army but decided to dodge the draft.

Those U. S. troops brought American music and ideas with them which gave a generation of Korean youth an idea of freedom. The film captures a group of young people, just entering adulthood, the first chance to be free of school and parents. Rock and Roll? Not yet. Since most of the U. S. soldiers stationed in Korea were Afro-American (a commentary on American social bias), our young Korean musicians grab onto Soul Music and are successful but underpaid in the tiny clubs. While bandleader/singer Sang-kyu and guitarist Man-sik are satisfied their groupie, Mimi (played by standout actress Shin Min-a), can see a bigger and better future by entering a Seoul rock and roll contest run by a rock journalist, Lee Byeong-wook, who wants to emulate U. S. entrepreneur Bill Graham.

Entrepreneur Lee Byeong-wook opens a post-curfew nightclub called Nirvana. It is only when Mini adds her fashion sense and go go dance moves to stir up the audience that the group, the Devils, take off. And Go-Go becomes the word, causing hundreds of all-late night rock clubs. The Devils and Mimi are flying high. But this means young people across Korea are out partying all night and not being controlled by Park Chung-hee's martial law and his highly authoritarian Yushin Constitution.

In order to control youth, Park Chung-hee outlaws the Go-Go clubs, effectively breaking up the Devils. The law forces all young men to cut their long hair or have them arrested and forceably clipped. Beaten and shorn, the Devils decide to have one last blow-out, illegal big concert. While the concert rocks the house, a huge troop in SWAT armor arrives to break up the concert...

Fortunately America dodged a wanna-be dictator and rock 'n roll and youth rebellion remain legal. Sadly Russia and China are not so lucky as Tsar Putin and Emperor Xi Jinping have the iron hand. Great film! Worth the viewing.