North Korean Cinema

[aox]

Does North Korean cinema ever leak out of the country? Does anyone have any experience with it?

I can't imagine that much exists, but I read now and again that the state does fund film production. The last mention I saw of it was here. It's an article about a US defector, Joe Dresnok, in North Korea who acts in many of their films. He is their "John Wayne" (I don't know how that works), and usually plays an evil US commander or character. There is some info here, but not much.

Completely disregarding DVD distribution out of the country, I realize they don't have public internet, so I am not sure how these films would make it outside of the country. However, North Korea is utterly fascinating to me, so obviously, their cinema goes hand in hand with that interest. Not sure if there are torrents or anything. Additionally, are there any essays pertaining to their cinema?

Mods, I am putting this in "New Films", but I certainly don't want to disregard the past 50 years either.

[zedz]

There's a good documentary on Dresnok called Crossing the Line, which includes extracts from several of his films (which look generally awful, but still, it's something).

[fiddlesticks]

North Korea certainly has a film industry; it's state-controlled and I understand generally produces propoganda-type films, but it exists. I could swear that I've seen announcements of exhibitions of North Korean films at the Korea Society or someplace, but in the limited time I have available I can't pinpoint it.

If this is an interesting subject for you, you might be interested in reading about the bizarre abductions of Shin Sang-ok and Choi Eun-hee by Kim Jong-il in order to boost his fledgling film industry. It's briefly discussed in Shin's 2006 obituary in the New York Times, as well as his Wikipaedia page. Together they made several films in Pyongyang, clips from which I have seen, probably in hour-long documentary of Shin found on each disc of the Shin Sang-ok Collection (worth the price if you can find it).

Sorry if that's a bit vague and shallow, but maybe it'll give you a start.

[Amy Racecar]

Building on fiddlesticks' mention of Shin, the guardian did a pretty in depth article in 2003 which also mentions a couple of revolutionary era films that were made under Kim il-Sung, as well as a book that Kim Jong-il wrote called 'On the Art of the Cinema.'

[Gregory]

This is a little tangential, but Jim Finn is a filmmaker who has done interesting film collage work using North Korean propaganda films. These films and the ideology of the Kim Jong Il personality cult are topics he seems to have researched pretty widely. An example of his work can be found on Wholphin #8.
Edit: typo

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

A few films in circulation with English subs:

On the Railway / [can't find the Korean title] (1960s) - war movie

The Flower Girl / 꽃파는 처녀 (1972) - semi-musical melodrama adapted from a novel and subsequent revolutionary opera, ostensibly created by Kim Il-sung -- probably the most widely seen NK film, distributed throughout the communist world and with minor classic status in China

The Tale of 15 Children / 열다섯소년에 대한 이야기 (1984) - a sort of family adventure film about kids shipwrecked on an island

Pulgasari / 불가사리 (1985) - you probably know this one -- Shin Sang-ok's attempt at an NK blockbuster, basically a DPRK kaiju film

Hong Kil Dong aka Avenger With a Flute / 홍길동 (1986) - folk tale adaptation incorporating elements of kung-fu movies -- big in Bulgaria, apparently

Bellflower / 도라지꽃 (1987) - romantic melodrama

Traces of Life / 생의 흔적 (1989) - romantic melodrama about war widows -- an interesting piece about the film here

Girls in My Hometown / 내 고향의 처녀들 (1991) - romantic melodrama, one of the more widely available titles

Urban Girl Comes to Get Married / 도시처녀 시집와요 (1993) - romantic comedy about a farmer trying to impress a city girl with his revolutionary zeal -- made by film students

Marathon Runner aka Racing to Crown / [not sure what the Korean title is, it's written here but I can't make it out] (2000) - based on the story of Jong Song-ok; supposedly a favorite of Kim Jong-il (aren't they all?)

All of these are available on eBay, albeit at inflated prices. Most can also be found at torrent sites (coughCinemageddoncough) or ed2k, and many have excerpts on Youtube (try the Korean title if the English doesn't turn up anything). As you can see they're big on melodramas, nearly all of them rural -- Marathon Runner seems to be the only one even partially set in a city. (The title character eventually gets "sent down" to the countryside for not showing the proper team spirit.)

The impression I get is that the history can be broadly divided into three phrases: overtly revolutionary melodramas and war films in the '50s-'70s; more escapist and somewhat commercial films in the '80s (which would roughly coincide with Shin Sang-ok's stay, although he was presumably fulfilling the leadership's wishes); and more conventional social-realist fare as the economy went south (a couple of reviews of The Schoolgirl's Diary -- which has received much wider distribution than the typical NK film -- liken it to Taiwanese "healthy realist" films of the '60s and '70s). But this is going by a fairly small sampling of titles.

Here's a Sight and Sound piece that covers the industry in more detail. The article says that recent output has run around half a dozen films annually except for 2007 and 2008, when it dropped to just one (for rather unusual reasons). Here's another good overview which references "a devastating loss at an international film festival in Czechoslovakia" that apparently marked the end of large-scale exportation -- I'd love to read more about that.

[gelich]

There are a few films among the DVDs listed here:
http://www.dprk-book.com/english/movie. ... ocumentary" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

No English subtitles, though.

[Lemmy Caution]

It is possible to visit North Korea, as limited tour groups can go.
I'm sure it would be a surreal experience, where everyone you meet believes that you are probably a spy, and there are guides and official minders keeping you from talking to any regular person without a gov't presence listening. When I first came to China in the early 90's there was still literature circulating telling Chinese to remain calm if spoken to by a foreigner, to be polite to give a good impression of the the motherland, but to make sure not to give out any actual information. I wish I kept some of that, along with the hyper-political English-Chinese dictionary my first girlfriend had (ie under the entry for Lawyer, the sample English sentence went something like: "Lawyers are employed by capitalists in order to exploit the masses").

If you have trouble tracking down any of those NK films, let me know and I can check what the gov't shops might be selling here in Shanghai. I assume they would be low budget editions, probably either from Bo Ying or another similar marginal source. Some of it might be Dvd, some VCD even. But at this point I'm just guessing. Maybe No. Korean films aren't around, but I suspect they are along a lot of old Chinese war and propaganda films. I'll try to see if the Shanghai Grand Theater music/movie store is online.

[manicsounds]

A few years ago, a north korean film was screened in Japan, but I cant remember the title.

[Cinephrenic]

Just run across the DMZ with your own camera and start filming. However, I don't think anyone will be able to see your footage.

[lady wakasa]

As mentioned above, the Korea Society has done a couple of "Films From North Korea" series, in both 2008 and 2009.

I did see some of them; I especially remember Tale of Chunghyang, which was pretty good (and not *overly* propagandistic) but *wasn't* the Tale of Chunghyang that Shin Sang-ok did when he was in North Korea (which is supposed to be classic).

They've also shown a documentary about US soliders who defected to North Korea: Crossing the Line.

I wrote down the company info off the back of one of the DVDs, but unfortunately don't have it handy right now (I think there was a website, or at least an email address). But DVDs are available - it just takes some digging.

[lordrsb]

I was curious about seeing A Schoolgirl's Diary due to the direct involvement of Kim Jong-il in its production; I found a distributor over here in the UK that has English-subtitled prints of that film & another NK production, The Flower Girl: Wavelength Pictures

I'll have to get in touch with my local independent cinema's programme manager, methinks...

(Also, in my searching, I happened across an interesting article about the Pyongyan International Film Festival. It's odd that the NK crowds seem to go wild for the commercial British flicks...)

[aox]

(Also, in my searching, I happened across an interesting article about the Pyongyan International Film Festival. It's odd that the NK crowds seem to go wild for the commercial British flicks...)

Fantastic read! Thank you.

[Person]

Pulgasari - The Legendary Monster (1985)

The Dear Leader, Kim Jong-il was executive producer. I kid you not!

Where is the Blu-ray already?

[manicsounds]

Pulgasari is one film I've been waiting a long while for. I know of the Japanese DVD release which is hard to find now, but yes, we need a new version of this!

Kim Jong Il audio commentary is what I would hope for...

[Numero Trois]

Alas, I think he's too busy right now arranging auto accidents to bother with any commentaries. At least for the time being.

[MichaelB]

Of course, the killer Kim Jong-il commentary would be on Team America: World Police.

And I don't for one second believe that a film buff with a 20,000-strong DVD collection hasn't seen it!

[oldsheperd]

Pulgasari is one film I've been waiting a long while for. I know of the Japanese DVD release which is hard to find now, but yes, we need a new version of this!

Kim Jong Il audio commentary is what I would hope for...

I'm sure voiceover actor and Stephanie Miller Show co-host Jim Ward could provide a good commentary.

[torkst]

not only north korea but more amazingly why havent more south korean films been released in the west? It's true that there have been a few jems released, namely; vegetarian, the Isle, and The Bow. But what about titles such as The Day After, Sisters On The Road, The Room Nearby, Crush & Blush, A Blind River, and Something To Do Before You Die? And those are just the films that I know have english titles ( most South Korean films have english sub-titles even domestically), this soon to be past decade has shone south korea to be a marvel of contemporary cinema. Drama's mixed with a subtle humor, films reminiscent of Rohmer's idea of new wave, a sort of cinematic voyeurism, with thought provoking dialogue.

[Lemmy Caution]

I was disappointed that the North Korea pavilion at the World Expo didn't have a section dedicated to film, given the Dear Leader's serious interest in cinema. I was hoping to copy down the names of "important" NK films and see non-glamor shots of North Korean starlets. Actually the whole North Korean pavilion could/should have been weirder. They were selling lots of propaganda books and pamphlets on Kim Il Jung Theory and other (elsewhere) outdated commie era propaganda, reflecting Stalin/Mao Era political obsessions, and familiar to me from early 90's China.

As it turned out Venezuela was easily the propaganda champ of the Shanghai Expo -- with interviewees in their Intro to Venezuela film routinely beginning sentences with phrases such as "After the Revolucion ..." or talking about how the gov't helps the people discover and develop national character. My favorite was the 18 year old circus acrobat who explained earnestly that the circus "is not just entertainment, but is designed to tackle the problems of society." It's kind of cruel to see a whole people brainwashed with such obvious short-run nonsense. Much better to have a liberal democracy where only half the people (or more, as they choose) are duped with long-term messages of greed-is-good and wars-will-make-things-better propaganda.

At least Venezuela compensated nicely by becoming the unofficial cheap rum outlet of the 2010 Expo -- Buy 1 Get 2 Free! -- apparently overestimating the demand for Venezuelan rum among Chinese tourists.
("The peasants have no clean water? Then, let them drink rum!)

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

I was disappointed that the North Korea pavilion at the World Expo didn't have a section dedicated to film, given the Dear Leader's serious interest in cinema. I was hoping to copy down the names of "important" NK films and see non-glamor shots of North Korean starlets. Actually the whole North Korean pavilion could/should have been weirder. They were selling lots of propaganda books and pamphlets on Kim Il Jung Theory and other (elsewhere) outdated commie era propaganda, reflecting Stalin/Mao Era political obsessions, and familiar to me from early 90's China.

A couple of those books and pamphlets were cinema-related, though -- I picked up a copy of Let Us Create More Good Music, Dances and Films Congenial to the National Sentiments of Our People and the Aesthetic Sense of the Times, which probably violated some sanction and admittedly never improves on the title. But passages like this come close:

As the feature film "A Rich Village" shows, last year our farmers worked hard, even carrying humus soil, so as to produce a bumper harvest. However, farming cannot be successful with humus soil alone. For good farming, plenty of phosphate fertilizer should be spread in paddy and dry fields. The most difficult problem facing us in the preparations for this year's farming is that we are experiencing a shortage of polyvinyl chloride sheets. For farming this year to be a success we must find a solution to the problem of these sheets.

The film-making sector should produce plenty of good films.

[Lemmy Caution]

Good job, comrade. Your diligence has been duly recorded.

I barely managed to glimpse one or two counters which were blocked by rows of Chinese --
I wonder what they made of that throw-back propaganda? -- so I didn't get a good look at the offerings. And my Chinese friend was mildly impatient to move on.

What was your impression of the Expo? Which pavilions did you like?
I got somewhat addicted to the Expo, once I realized that I could get occasional free tickets and also go in the evenings for about $7.50.
I'm writing an article "70 Million Chinese Can't Be Wrong" about the Expo experience, though for now Haibao won't consent to an interview.
Maybe your experience at the Expo is better diverted to a PM (or you can email me), as I am interested in hearing more Expo accounts.

[Lemmy Caution]

I spotted a Wildside set of 4 North Korean films on 3 discs tonight.
I was intrigued, but it only comes with Chinese and French subtitles.
The films ranged from circa 1970 to one recent film from 2006.
The two titles I recall were Tale of Chunghyang and The Flower Girl (1972).
I forget the other titles as they were in French.
I'll edit them in if I can track down the disc on these here internets.
I wonder how open/blocked the internet is in North Korea, or probably more pertinently, who/how/where one has access.

[aox]

From what I understand, the country is completely shut off from the internet except for high level party officials and defense people working on cyber-terrorism. Additionally, North Korea has something called an 'intranet' which is simply a mini-internet self-contained with the North Korean borders. However, since the majority of the country is lucky to even have running water or electricity, a lot of the intranet's usage comes solely within urban areas. I assume mostly students in Pyongyang.

EDIT: wikipedia page on the subject

[Tom Hagen]

This is my favorite thread bump on the forum. I get a good laugh every time I see it.