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Caroline Suh’s exploration of the megastars is bright and fun, but it also includes some deeper insights into the price of fame.
In August 2016, powerful entertainment conglomerate YG Entertainment did something it hadn’t done in seven years: launch a K-pop girl group from its stacked array of multi-talented “trainees” sprouted from their own farm. of local talents and unleashed in the world. That’s where Caroline Suh’s surprising and personal documentary “Blackpink: Light Up the Sky” begins, as a room packed with bloggers and journalists banging on their laptops as a nervous quartet prepares to see the world. While the years leading up to the initial reveal of future Blackpink megastars could easily shape his own documentary, Suh’s doc does touch on some of his biographical high points, “Blackpink: Light Up the Sky” is more about getting acquainted. to that nervous quartet on their own terms.
The result is an intimate look at one of the world’s most popular musical acts, the kind that gets so much praise on its dedicated Wikipedia “awards and nominations page” that it takes a great deal of scrolling to get to the end. Little of this will surprise longtime fans of the group (or, as popular parlance now regards them, “stans”) and will likely wake up newbies interested in searching for more information, but “Blackpink: Light Up the Sky “It does a stellar job of presenting Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa as individuals. The K-pop phenomenon may still seem new to some consumers (it isn’t), but at the very least, Suh’s movie easily removes the feeling that these superstars are simply part of a prepackaged culture machine.
Seemingly designed for American audiences, the film begins with a series of American presenters, from Michael Strathairn to Stephen Colbert, introducing the group before adding their Korean counterparts, the documentary traces the group from their early years to their successful domestic debut in Coachella in 2019. At just under 80 minutes, Suh’s movie still manages to ramble, with Coachella eventually serving as a logical end point because, well, it has to end. somewhere.
More compelling than working toward that “great big performance” trope is the film’s recognition of how much work went into Blackpink before such an eye-catching gig was even a distant dream. Three years after that tense introduction to the world, an event that members of the group remember in delightful detail, Suh finds Blackpink literally rushing toward the next big step, the foursome crammed into a van between duties on a tight schedule. As women answer basic questions about their careers and lives, it’s not initially obvious that “Blackpink: Light Up the Sky” will offer more than just canned answers. Then de facto leader Jennie yearns to always feel “half way” (to the next show, the next album, the next whatever), and suddenly, it seems like Suh is breaking down some unexpected walls.
When the ladies invite Suh in, the film also lets its enthusiastic audience in, as the group arrives at the studio with mentor Teddy Park (a former K-pop star turned producer), hears a new cut from a song. with Lady. Gaga, and eventually sits down for individual interviews that offer more moments of neglect. Suh flirts with other storytelling techniques, from Park semi-narrating the film’s first act to a series of scenes in which the girls watch old videos of his work and laugh at themselves, even joining Jinsoo on a visit her makeup artist and Jennie. during a tough Pilates session. But the most effective are those interviews, in which each member opens at their own pace, sharing their story against the backdrop of home videos and the first images of the competition.
While “Blackpink: Light Up the Sky” doesn’t offer the kind of in-depth examination of the “apprentice” experience that seems destined to emerge at some point, any program that is often described as a “training ground” for artists hopeful, and that you can see some potential stars spending a decade In the boarding school world he surely has some secrets to share, he doesn’t try to overlook that side of K-pop. As Suh’s film becomes more personal, as her subjects become even more open, anecdotes and observations develop about their time as trainees (each Blackpink star spent about five years training prior to their debut).
It’s in those stories that Suh and her subjects question the documentary’s deepest questions, not just about the cost of fame and how each of these mega stars feel about it, but about the path that led to them. Rosé has a hard time writing her own music, even when she explains how important it is to her. Lisa reflects on her early years and how her tastes have changed. Jennie remembers that it didn’t feel like acting came naturally to her. Jinsoo considers her role as the oldest of the group. Everyone remembers feeling out of reach when they started training, and everyone happily reflected on meeting each other and forming a group that felt natural in an environment where teamwork and bonds weren’t always defended.
Those moments of deeper reflection often fail to find a place in glossy documents like “Blackpink: Light Up the Sky,” the first reviews of young rising stars who generally avoid looking beyond basic biographical facts and a feeling. General of “isn’t this cool ?!” At the end of Suh’s movie, the four of them wonder what their lives will be like in 10 or 15 years, already reflecting on how this would all look in the rearview mirror. While “Blackpink: Light Up the Sky” does not offer a full view, has enough self-reflection, and intelligent subjects who are not afraid to participate, we can already guess how everything will unfold, with the same charm and talent. That has already taken them so far.
Grade B
“Blackpink: Light Up the Sky” will begin airing on Netflix on Wednesday, October 14.
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