If you only see one Korean War tap-dance musical this year, well, you’re probably watching “Swing Kids.” A brash, busy and often bizarre genre mashup from South Korean blockbuster merchant Kang Hyeong-Cheol, this far-fetched tale of an African-American G.I. finding terpsichorean kinship with a group of Asian misfits in a Pow camp brings a bit of “Footloose”-style pep to an otherwise bloodily solemn anti-war tragedy. Yet while Kang’s film skips along in engaging fashion for its first hour — cheerful anachronisms and all — a pile-up of clashing tones and foggy subplotting combine to put lead weights on its tap shoes. With charismatic K-pop star Do Kyung-soo (better known as D.O.) among the leads, “Swing Kids” should give the director another domestic hit, but international audiences may find it a tad overlong and overworked.
“Swing Kids” is an unfortunate choice of title, recalling as it does the...
“Swing Kids” is an unfortunate choice of title, recalling as it does the...
- 12/24/2018
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
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