Inside The Rose’s Feature-Length Film!

Director Eugene Yi and producer Diane Quon break down the making of the band’s documentary!

View the Substack version of this piece here!

Photo credit: Richard Hama

Why and at what point in the process was the title The Rose: Come Back to Me chosen? 
Producer Diane Quon: The title was actually decided very late in the process, after the film was almost completed. We loved the different meanings behind the title and how it could relate to the film’s themes. We followed the journey of the four members trying to pursue music first through the traditional K-pop system, [and then they] had to “come back” and pursue music in a way that felt true to themselves. We followed the band during their “comeback” years, after they took an almost-three-year hiatus. They’re asking fans in a way to “come back” now that they’re able to perform and share new songs again. We are also big fans of [the song “Back To Me”], and it is one of The Rose’s biggest hits. The title seemed to work in so many ways! 

What’s the story behind the original song The Rose made for the film, “Trauma”?
Director Eugene Yi: The band generously offered to write an original song for the film. We had little idea what to expect, but after they watched an early cut, they shared “Trauma.” It speaks so perfectly to the themes of the film.

DQ: We were so thrilled to be able to Oscar-qualify the song for Best Original Song.

Eugene, you’ve talked about wanting to make a documentary based on what you yourself would want to see, particularly as a music fan. Can you elaborate on that?
EY: I have long been a fan of Korean rock music, so I was happy to see a film about a Korean rock band. But more deeply, the band members spoke with the kind of openness and candor that grounds any good documentary. Their willingness to discuss some of the most difficult times of their lives gives the film its emotional core. Their openness also stands out in the context of Korean musicians, who so often must present a very polished veneer to the world. This gave the film unexpected power for me. It made it a film I would definitely want to watch!

How did you approach the selection process regarding old footage and interview segments? Were there certain topics or comments that made you think, “This has to make it into the final cut”? 
DQ: It was a very organic process as to when we needed to find archival footage and when to focus on interviews or new footage.

One of the first scenes our editor, David Simpson, cut was the scene with Jeff talking about his struggles with mental health, and the difficulty of sharing his struggles with his parents. Then we see Jeff singing a beautiful song with his father. Later, we see him singing “See-Saw,” a song he wrote with the other band members during his depression. I knew from the very beginning that this scene had to be in the film and in many ways was the heart of [it]. The band's commitment to mental health and healing was a huge reason why I wanted to make a film about The Rose.

EY: One other point I’ll mention is the band’s experience as K-pop trainees. It’s hard not to be drawn to the story of what happens after a K-pop trainee leaves the system. And yet, so much of the overall discussion of the K-pop system in the American press seems to focus on the abuses. But this lens feels flattening, oversimplified, and frankly, quite stereotyping. That said, we knew the guys had legitimate difficulties in the system. How could we discuss these difficulties while expressing the ways the guys were grateful for the discipline it taught them, as well as the ways K-pop overall has created new avenues for Korean musicians to share their music globally? We knew we wanted to find a balanced way to talk about the system, and we hope we hit the mark. 

Although the film is slightly less than 90 minutes, it covers a lot of ground, telling a concise yet comprehensive story of The Rose then and now. Was it an intentional tradeoff to make a relatively short film that covered a lot of ground, rather than focusing on digging deep into a few key points in The Rose’s story at the expense of others?
EY: Perhaps it’s the editor in me, but I’m always happy when a movie can be closer to 90 minutes than not!

DQ: We always intended to make a feature-length film, so 90 minutes is a pretty standard length. The initial intent was to feature The Rose’s comeback tour of 2023/2024, as that was the year we were following them. But a comeback year is not meaningful without knowing what they were coming back from, so we knew we had to also share some of the past. It feels like we put a lot in, but we had to leave out so much! We had to find the right balance so as to make it as concise as possible while making sure we could entertain both the wonderful [fans, the] Black Roses and new fans who don’t know them all. 

How did you approach incorporating The Rose’s songs into the film? 
EY: The process felt quite organic. “See-Saw” is a great example. It was a performance, and we knew we wanted to feature a lot of performances in the film. It felt like it came at the right point in the story, roughly correct in the chronology. It was archival footage, a mix of [fan-made] and professionally-shot footage, which gave the texture of the material itself the feeling of the past. And most importantly, it hit the right emotional beat for that moment. I think some combination of these factors was behind a lot of the choices [regarding] adding The Rose’s music to the film. 

The film has a scene in which The Rose have an intimate VIP fan event. During the Q&A, someone asks them how many fans they have around the world and where they are the most concentrated. I’m curious why that particular question was the one featured in the film, as well as why that particular fan event was featured. 
DQ: I think for me, that question was important to show audiences early in the film how global their fan base is and continues to be. Most audiences who don’t know The Rose would guess their largest fan base is in Korea, but that hasn’t been the case - even from the beginning - and as the film goes on, we try to explore why. We chose that event as it was one of the events in Korea we were able to film during our one year of filming.  

EY: It’s such an interesting dynamic, of finding success overseas first. Other successful Korean artists have had similar paths. There actually is a verb that is used specifically for an outsider visiting Korea. It’s often applied to non-Korean artists performing in Korea, but the Korean media uses this verb to describe The Rose when they perform [there]. It’s a subtle thing, perhaps, but something that the band members are deeply aware of and is part of their story.

What was the time frame of the one-on-one interviews, and were those a series or just one long interview per person?
DQ: We had one long multi-hour “master” interview with each of the members, but we had many informal interviews - sometimes one-on-one and sometimes together - throughout the year. And then there were many verite moments [when] we would ask a band member a question off the cuff and get a wonderful answer! 

EY: Those main interviews came late in the production stage, which I think was helpful. The band felt comfortable around the team, and that comfort helped lend an intimacy to those interviews.

Photo credit: Richard Hama

What was your thought process behind including vulnerable interview moments in the film and including that rawness - for example, moments when members tear up - without being gratuitous? 
DQ: What impressed me most when I had my first Zoom interview with each of the members was their willingness to be vulnerable. They didn’t want this just to be a concert film or just all about music, and we didn't want that [either], so we wanted to be sure to include those moments and topics that were important to them to share that will hopefully help others in their own journeys. I give so much credit to our team - director Eugene Yi, as well as Rich Hama and So Yun Um - who were on almost every shoot with me, making the members feel they could trust us enough to share those really tough moments. 

EY: In the edit, it’s always a tricky balance. How to show the right amount of tears, without it feeling gratuitous, as you said. The intent is always to have those tears bring an audience member closer, and to do that, we have to make sure the rest of the film can support those moments. And as most readers are likely aware, when it comes to editing a documentary, there is no script, so the movie is being “written,” so to speak, with the footage we have. To that end, a huge credit goes to the editor, David Simpson, who created the foundation to allow those moments to feel grounded and real.

Did The Rose have any say regarding which parts of the interviews did or did not make the final cut? 
DQ: For every documentary I make, I always share a cut with the main participants before I “lock” the film. I feel strongly they should see the film before the rest of the world sees it! [The band had] great thoughts and comments - not necessarily about the interviews. We definitely listened to any concerns or suggestions they had, and at the same time, they were very respectful and always open to listening to us.

EY: The band’s feedback was integral, and we did see [them] as true participants, rather than mere subjects. But they also gave us [a] wide berth to create the film we thought would be most compelling. They even encouraged us to include material that we were concerned about, given that so many topics are off-limits for the average Korean entertainer. We wanted to tread carefully, since we are not Korean, and knowing that we would never understand the nuances they had to navigate.

One comment that stands out to me is Far East Movement’s James Roh calling The Rose “Far East Movement 2.0,” not sonically but structurally, in terms of how they perceive their image and one another. Can you elaborate on that? Relatedly, how essential was it to include Far East Movement in this film? 
DQ: I had always wanted to include the Far East Movement story. I really admired their own story. [They were first] on the scene over 20 years ago, and they faced so much discrimination as an Asian band - a documentary needs to be made about them! I appreciated their commitment to now passing on their knowledge to young Asian bands like The Rose through creating [the agency] Transparent Arts. I also wanted to show how, although there definitely has been progress for Asian musicians globally, we still have such a far way to go! 

EY: Exactly! Much has changed, and yet… For Far East Movement, there was the question of whether the world was ready to accept an all-Asian American electro-rap group. It’s not what the world thought rappers should look like. And for The Rose, there’s the question of whether the world is ready to accept a Korean rock band. Preconceptions still exist, and they can be needlessly confining. 

In the film, Sammy’s mom pulls out a huge box of childhood photos and shares memories of him playing guitar and singing in his bedroom. Separately, there are scenes where Jeff jams out with his dad. Those candid moments stand out to me; were there others like it?
EY: There were other lovely moments with [the members’] parents, and we squeezed in what we could. What stood out was the parents’ support. These parents were supportive of their sons’ ambitions - perhaps cautiously, in some cases, but supportive nonetheless. This flies in the face of certain stereotypes about Asian parenting, and it’s wonderful to be able to show these supportive, warm relationships that provided a foundation for the guys as they chased their dreams. 

What was it like to revisit locations from The Rose’s early days, like their old rehearsal space? Given the really positive and traumatic memories, did they have concerns about stepping back into those places? 
DQ: Rich and So Yun shot all the footage in Korea. The band was very open to revisiting some of their old haunts and were even pretty excited about it. We definitely did not want to re-traumatize them, so we let them decide where they wanted to take us. 

EY: In those moments, the guys mentioned how even though there were painful memories there, [it] was still fertile ground for them. Their earliest bonds, their earliest collaborations, their earliest work, all sprang forth from that ground, and they recognized that.

I formed a few main takeaways from watching the documentary, and I’d like you to share your thoughts about them. 

First of all, The Rose seem to have no filter and act the same whether or not they’re in “celebrity mode.” Sammy even cursed in both a one-on-one interview and on stage at Coachella!
DQ: What you see in the interviews is also what we saw off-camera! I really don’t think they see themselves as celebrities. They just want to create and perform their music.

EY: Totally agree! It feels like it underscores their independence. They really can present themselves in a way that is more open and unvarnished.

Throughout the film, they bring up their “music is healing” ethos, as well as their “choose the group” prioritization, so another main takeaway for me is that the members have a genuine, strong bond with two things: music and one another. 
DQ: Also so true. I think this foundation was the key as to why they could survive all the challenges they went through and remain a band. Having said that, it was and still is hard, even with such a strong bond. I definitely came to respect band dynamics and what it takes to keep a band together. 

EY: Agreed as well. The strength of their brotherhood stood out to me. Their trust in each other was certainly put to the test, but the fact that they’ve made it this far just shows how strong that bond was. They’ve already been through so much, and it’s a testament to their creative chemistry and their faith in the music they make together.

My third main takeaway from The Rose’s story is that it’s not an average underdog story, and they’ve succeeded not despite but because of their intuition. For example, they insisted on debuting with the song “Sorry,” despite the company wanting them to opt for something  more upbeat. Betting on themselves paid off again when they insisted to their hesitant team members that they were ready to play the Kia Forum. In the movie, James Roh goes so far as to say if The Rose had been talked out of playing the Forum, they “definitely” would have not been offered a Coachella gig! 
EY: As strategic as the team around the band might try to be, there’s always an element of instinct or impulse that feels important in any creative endeavor. It’s that extra something that adds an element of possibility, of risk, of reward. As Daniel Lee, one of the members of their team at the time, says about the decision to play the Forum, “You have to leave room for magic.” The intuition you mention is where perhaps some of that magic comes from.

Photo credit: Jaehyeong Lee

What was the Tribeca Film Festival crowd’s reaction to the movie like?
DQ: I think there is nothing like seeing the film on a big screen with 500 other folks! I think it meant so much to [The Rose] and they appreciated the film in a different way [after that]. Same as when they saw the film in Busan with a mostly Korean audience. The love shown by both Black Roses and new fans meant so much to us all!  

I think the biggest reaction from non-fans was, “Oh, it’s a real documentary! Not just a concert documentary!” They have been so touched by The Rose’s journey of friendship and resiliency, along with their willingness to be vulnerable, especially if it can help audiences. 

EY: That reaction was so crucial. They’ve shared that they felt like their lives were just their lives - quotidian and boring. But seeing the film and the ensuing reaction gave them a new context to see their own journey. 

I still remember hearing [member Lee] Taegyeom say after the Tribeca screening, with some amazement, “People really like my dad!”

Is there anything else you’d like to say about the film or The Rose?
DQ: This was the hardest film I’ve produced, and to have it in theaters is another kind of pressure. On the other hand, it has been one of the most rewarding films I’ve ever worked on. From day one, it’s been such a huge team effort. The band, [Transparent Arts], each of my producing partners, our funders, the production and post-production teams, the marketing team,  our distributor, CJ4Dplex, the wonderful fans… all have come together to make this film a success, and I am so grateful. 

EY: It really was a dream team of producers and filmmakers that came together to bring this film to the screen. It’s been incredible to see them all working on all cylinders to make this film a reality, and I’m humbled to stand alongside them as the film is released in the world. To have a documentary receive this kind of distribution is such a rare privilege. We hope that audiences will embrace our film and be inspired by The Rose and their against-all-odds story!

The Rose: Come Back to Me is in theaters worldwide starting TOMORROW, February 14!

Answers have been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.