Inside BTS’ ‘Break the Silence: The Movie’: 7 things we know

Fans of BTS in the UAE, rejoice! Their fourth and latest documentary film ‘Break the Silence: The Movie’, which premiered on September 10, is finally hitting local cinemas this weekend — and tickets are now on sale. But what is ‘Break the Silence’ about, and where does the movie fit within the band’s record-breaking journey so far? We break down seven things to know ahead of the film’s UAE premiere.

1. BTS’ ‘Break the Silence: The Movie’ is the fourth documentary and concert film from South Korean band BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan). The seven-member K-Pop group formed in 2010 and debuted in 2013, releasing three movies since — ‘Burn the Stage: The Movie’, ‘Bring the Soul: The Movie’ and ‘Love Yourself in Seoul’. ‘Break the Silence’ will mark the fourth.

2. The movie follows BTS over the span of 14 months on their 42-date ’Love Yourself World Tour’ in 2019. It was BTS’ most successful tour to date, drawing in more than 2 million people. The tour extension, aka the ‘Love Yourself: Speak Yourself’ tour, was the band’s first-ever stadium tour. It took the band across massive stadiums all around the world for an additional 20 shows, starting in California at the Rose Bowl Stadium, with 120,000 attendance, and ending in Seoul, with a total of 130,000 in attendance.

3. BTS made a stop in the Middle East when they performed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, treating their regional fans to their live show. They also became the first Korean band to play Wembley Stadium during the tour; their London show sold out in a mere 90 minutes. Tickets for their show in Brazil sold out in an even shorter span of time, only lasting for 75 minutes. The band finished the tour on home soil, with a three-day finale at the Jamsil Olympic Stadium in South Korea.

4. The film features concert footage from the tour, as well as behind the scenes insights and sit-down interviews with each of the seven members of the group — RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook. “They are the ones I spent the most precious and brilliant moments of my life with. That’s how I would describe them,” says Jimin in a teaser. “The moment I have to let this go, I think it will be really difficult for me,” says Jungkook in another trailer.

5. The film seems to feature a tagline: Facing my other self ‘PERSONA’, as included in the movie’s official synopsis. (The band’s sixth EP, ’Map of the Soul: Persona’, released in April, 2019, while they were on tour.) According to the tour’s website: “‘Love Yourself: Speak Yourself’ is now over. The worldwide stadium tour topped the Billboard Boxscore, and marked BTS as the first Korean group to perform at Wembley Stadium. The tour took place across Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Sao Paulo, London, Paris, Osaka, Shizuoka, Riyadh, and Seoul. With unprecedented access, ‘Break the Silence: The Movie’ travels with BTS throughout the tour, exploring each band member behind the curtain. Off stage, we see another side of BTS. The seven members begin to candidly tell personal stories they have never voiced before. Facing my other self ‘PERSONA’.”

6. Early reviews of the film say the band discusses their struggles with fame, how they handle their gargantuan success and how they stay grounded while performing for thousands of fans globally almost every night.

7. Not sure where to watch? There’s an official website that shows you all the screenings near you. That’s right — breakthesilencehtemovie.com is a dedicated website that will pick up on your location and show you, on a map (of your soul), exactly where you can catch the film. You can even click through directly from the website to individual cinema pages where you can buy tickets.