‘BTS: The Return’ documentary review: Music, introspection and the pressures of a comeback

At the commencement of the Netflix Documentary BTS: The Return, the group’s leader, RM (Kim Namjoon), reflects, “Normally, the beingness of a K-Pop creator is truly short. But, luckily, our beingness has extended. The unit is that we person to determine what to support and what to change. But for those kinds of questions, nary 1 knows.”

A week aft the merchandise of their comeback medium Arirang, and a expansive unrecorded performance astatine Gwanghamun successful Seoul which was streamed globally connected Netflix, BTS: The Return, a one-and-a-half hr agelong documentary directed by Bao Nguyen eschews each pomp, hype and theatrics for a quieter introspection into the comeback of 1 of the world’s biggest popular euphony acts successful the past decade.

The movie follows BTS members RM, Jin, SUGA, J-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook arsenic they hunker down successful Los Angeles and enactment connected their caller music. Having flown determination close aft completing their mandatory subject work (Jin joins them aboriginal aft completing his solo performance tour), we observe that the radical is connected a choky timeline to decorativeness their comeback album. After moving connected astir 100 songs, the radical is present attempting to enactment connected a mates much songs and looking to finalise a conception and rubric for each the euphony they are creating.

While performance films enactment the realities of the stage, the aggravated mentation that goes into it all, and the exhilaration of gathering the fans, Nguyen present chooses to commencement from wherever it each begins — the music. In BTS: The Return, the septet besides has to contend with the information that they person each changed successful galore ways aft a hiatus, solo euphony stints, and subject enlistment. The aggravated unit of creating thing special, amidst the hype, expectations, and scrutiny, overwhelms them. 

The extremity merchandise is simply a movie acold from sanitised oregon simply celebrating their successes. When we conscionable the group, they’ve deed a wall, and their impermanent slump feels visceral. The radical debates and mulls implicit everything from the English successful their euphony (there are immoderate absorbing discussions with their statement executives), whether the Arirang illustration works successful their opus ‘Body to Body’ (J-Hope’s jubilant jig versus RM and Suga’s reservations), wondering astir their spot successful this ongoing originative process (Jin’s quiescent reflections), and wanting to measurement backmost from the changeless expectations and scrutiny (Jungkook’s contemplation). It feels alternatively refreshing that the manager chooses to dwell connected each of this, the struggle and the self-doubt.

In galore ways, the movie seeks to and is mostly palmy successful offering fans of BTS and radical funny astir the radical a glimpse into their originative process. The documentary besides captures the set members’ reflections connected their existent spot successful their journey. They are keen that their euphony besides bespeak however overmuch much mature and evolved they are arsenic a group. Nguyen alternates betwixt originative discussions successful their signaling studios and sunshine-filled breaks wrong the pool. There is simply a consciousness of state here. And yet, the pressures of a deadline and the value of expectations travel them similar a shadow, and creep into their dinnertime conversations. 

ALSO READ: BTS and ‘Arirang’: A usher to the medium release, unrecorded performance and more

While the documentary could person benefited from a shorter runtime, the slower attack is deliberate. In the film’s last moments, the members look backmost connected however acold they person travel (‘like being backmost unneurotic with my family,’ Jin says) and the information that they are each successful this together. As they are acceptable to embark connected an expansive comeback tour, the documentary feels similar an essential, well-made companion to Arirang. The ‘Blood Sweat & Tears’ that person paved this travel are much than evident here.

BTS: The Return is presently streaming connected Netflix