By Elyssa Phan, Staff Writer/Photographer and Jennifer Trend, Staff Writer
Screening for only four days, Thursday Nov. 15 to Sunday Nov. 18, Burn the Stage, was shown in theaters. The film follows K-Pop boy-group Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS) through their many concerts of the “2017 BTS Live Trilogy Episode III: The Wings Tour”, including Chile, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Bangkok, Newark, among others, and additionally making stops at Las Vegas for the Billboard awards and Los Angeles soon after for their appearance at the American Music Awards.
At first glance, the film looks vaguely familiar, as if the scenes are pulled right out of their YouTube Red series with the same name. So was it really worth the $15? Spoiler alert: it is!
The Dream:
Going through the movie, a lot of the narration and monologue seemed repetitive, bringing emphasis to what was usually something along the lines of “our passion for music, dream, we craved more of…”, etc. and the word ‘dream’ is repeated at least 20 times throughout the movie. But it was all for the right reasons. Because essentially, if there was only one word to describe the plot of their journey, it’s simply this shared dream that the seven members were working towards. The audience can see that a major part of the boys’ success is due to their tight grasp onto their original vision since 2013 (when they first debut) and how they each want to achieve it with the same amount of vigor. The immense ambition of BTS definitely exhibits throughout the entire film.
The Hustle and The Love:
The movie really reveals how much careful thought and mindful detail BTS put into the concept of their artistry and career as a whole: the words that they say at the end of every concert is carefully evaluated by leader Kim Namjoon as he debates whether it sounds too scripted or if it is intimate enough; Bang PD, their executive producer draws out a thorough map of countries BTS have yet to hit the charts in.
One thing to note for sure is how caring of a leader Kim Namjoon (stage name RM) is. Even if one were to come in and watch the film without any prior knowledge of his character, the audience can surely see how he always looks out for the members, constantly reminding them to take it easy, to take a break, and to never push themselves over their limits or the extreme.
Frankly, you simply can’t leave the theatre without noticing all their love for each other as brothers. Min Yoongi, the rapper and frequent writer/producer of many of the band’s songs, explicitly tells Kim Seokjin, the eldest member, on a car ride to make sure to eat more food because they need it more now than ever, and even confesses to the camera at one point how he isn’t worried when he is in pain, but rather when the other members are.
Music:
The whole story is structured around “Sea”, a hidden track off of the “Love Yourself: Her” album, making the film so much more intimate. The parts are divided up into the different sections of the song accordingly (ocean, desert, etc.).
Apart from that, the movie featured many of the boy-group’s hits, including multiple songs from over the course of BTS’s career along with solo songs from members. Some memorable songs were “Piece of Peace” by Jung Hoseok (stage name J-Hope) and “4 o’clock” by Taehyung (stage name V) and RM. From the group albums, many tracks were played from “Wings”, and a few from the “Love Yourself” trilogy. New instrumentals were introduced as background music, but it was just as powerful as the other songs.
However, the most memorable score to us had to be the orchestrated version of “Sea” playing in the background of a concert preparation montage. Being priorly unreleased, it was able to truly capture the emotion that BTS wanted to express.
Personal Favorites:
Jennifer: One scene that especially stood out was when Bang PD, the CEO of BigHit Entertainment, sat with the boys to discuss their career. During this meeting he talked about how above all he wanted the boys to do what they want to do and take the time to be happy and not always concentrate on the music. Today, this idea that you should take time to be happy isn’t always obvious no matter who you are and what you do. During the meeting, members discussed what they do to relax and stay happy, and as fans, we see what they do everyday.
Elyssa: One of my personal all-time favorite scenes of the movie has got to be the backyard BBQ scene, where you see the boys just truly have fun, eating, swimming, enjoying each other’s company. And cinematically-wise, the coloring of the scene was just captivating.
The Verdict:
From the music to the different light we saw in the members, it really brought to life what kind of people they were. We were able to see the members without a filter and to see how human they are.
While BTS is very active with fans, we only see them in one particular light or one side of them. This movie allowed us to see how human and like us they are without the filter. Each scene showed just how much they loved their music and how this was their dream, even if it sometimes gets too hard or exhausting. We see this family aspect in them and how they can all come together and lean on the other, and how they genuinely care for one another.
P.S.:
The movie had a very precise pattern in structure, being some inspiring monologue and then fading into black, which honestly made us weirdly on the edge of our seats throughout the entire film, wondering if the movie had ended already.
