Suga | Agust D D-Day Tour the Movie (2024 | Korea | 87 minutes | Jun-Soo Park)
Suga is one of seven members of BTS, arguably the most well-known (and well-loved) Korean pop band making music today. Well… I’ll put a caveat on that one, all seven members also happen to be serving their mandated 18 months (with a little variation amongst them) in the military. As a matter of fact, they entered nearly at the same time and will slowly be trickling back into civilian life next year (all save Jin and J-Hope who’s coming back later this year). Each member has his own projects along with the band’s releases and smartly they’ve planned a continuous output of music and content even while they’re stashed away in the service. One such release is Suga’s D-Day Tour Movie, a near-to-real-life record of his limited run tour promoting a solo album called “D-Day” (playing on his other mononym AgustD).
Yes, undeniably this movie (along with his bandmates’ other content slowly coming out into the world during this time) keeps the funds flowing not only for the man himself but for his label Big Hit. More than that though, each of the seven men of BTS have intimated just how important live shows are to them personally and how much they care for their fans; the very fans that have greatly helped put them in the position of, dare I say, musical gods. Releasing a film like this along with music, personal and professional videos, etc during these two years is to offer Army (the title given to their fanbase) a continued connection to the band they love. So maybe drought isn’t exactly the right term because there’s a constant stream of content coming from the Bangtan Boys, but they’re not “here” here so we have to make due with all the incredible rollouts they’ve left us with. To those outside of the the kpop (Korean pop music) fan world, the love the offer to fans and from the fans in return may seem a bit over the top, but it all brings the band and Armty closer and that’s the goal for both sides.
Even though the film’s name is a mouthful and there’s almost zero promotion outside of the BTS fanbase, it has become the second highest-grossing movie at the US Box Office in 2024. Suga | Agust D along with director Jun-Soo Park creates an experience that’s larger than life. Starting with some simple words from Suga to build an intimate world for viewers to escape to with him, the bulk of the movie is a concert, a replaying of nearly every song he performed on the very short run D-Day tour. These few live performances were his last opportunity to connect with fans on an intimate level, and that showed in every aspect of the production. Most of the show was performed on a simple platform starting out larger and higher above the crowd but by the end it was barely big enough for him to move around on and set at nearly eye-level with the admirers lucky enough to get a front-row (standing) seat. The closer he could get to them the better and it showed in every move he made. His personal musical style is hip hop, so the D-Day album was a mixture of rap, hip-hop and occasionally acoustic music.
The cameras capturing footage for this feature weren’t up in his face like you might expect. The perspective was much more like what an audience member would have experienced, putting you in the room as if you were there. As a matter of fact, a lot of the folks watching the film with me had their BTS light sticks with them (a hand-held flashlight specific to each kpop band with interactive abilities at live shows) waving them around to add that extra level of in-the-moment fun. Everyone in the theater was having a great time and after each song, we clapped as if we were really there. A large part of that connection is due to director Park creating a personalized experience. Even if you’re not on the “inside” of kpop or BTS fandom, going to see this movie is worth your while. The music is fantastic and the experience in the theater is so much fun; the energy and excitement alone will give you your money’s worth.
Suga | Agust D D-Day Tour the Movie is in theaters now on a limited run, get your tickets here: https://www.sugathemovie.com/.