The Tamesis
There’s a formula to “K-pop documentaries” that’s familiar to anyone with a glow stick and a photo card in their phone case: drone footage of concerts and long, quick shots of screaming fans interspersed with idols in a white canopy, introducing themselves and their side of the story with one or two simple sound bites.
BTS is undoubtedly the most documented band in K-pop. They have three tour documentaries, four seasons of travel shows, and their own variety show, not to mention hundreds of hours of YouTube content and behind-the-scenes footage of projects and public appearances.
So what impact does it have on Bao Nguyen, the documentary director and filmmaker Hybe hired to document BTS’s return to performing after four years? His previous work includes The greatest night in pop music historyabout the night of the “We Are the World” recording, ESPN 30 for 30 Record, It’s waterabout Bruce Lee. But unlike those paeans to pop culture history, BTS: ReturnPremiering on Netflix on Friday, it captures the heat of the moment in time.
Last fall, after their mandatory military service ended, BTS embarked on an unprecedented new chapter by beginning work on their first album in Los Angeles, and Nguyen has been with them from the beginning.
I talked to Ruan this morning. return After the release, after a 10-minute game of “BTS as USA for Africa” (RM is Quincy Jones, J-Hope is Cyndi Lauper, Suga is Bob Dylan, V is Dianna Ross, Jungkook is Michael Jackson, Jimin is Stevie Wonder, Jin is a Willie Nelson/Kenny Rogers hybrid), we discussed the meta-mission of documenting the band’s creative process.
Fashion: When did you first get involved in this project?
Ruan Bao: I went to a SoFi show in 2022, which was my first BTS concert. I tried to go to the Rose Bowl to see them, but the pandemic happened. So I went to visit them, and I was very touched. I’ve been to a lot of concerts and this was definitely the most immersive and loud concert I’ve ever been to, in the best way possible. BTS had long conversations with their Army, and it was great to see the connection they could make in such a big stadium. Just witnessing that connection, that relationship, reminded me a little bit of Odyssey. The members of BTS are almost like Odysseus about to join the army, and Penelope is the army, eager to return in many ways.
