The Big Picture: Monster's Movie

[Little2Raph]

Ah, Kim Jong-Il, you crazy korean bastard. May you burn in hell for eternity.

I'd find his supervillian antics a lot funnier if it weren't for the millions of lives he destroyed and the abject misery he's forced upon the people of north korea.

 

[C.S.Strowbridge]

Amazingly, I knew that story. Maybe not all of the details, but I knew about the kidnappings, the movies, and the eventual escape.

 

[Endocrom]

Thank you Bob, that was the best part of my day.

We need to find out what movies Kim Jong-Un likes and if any of their directors have gone missing within the past ten years.

 

[Monsterfurby]

I actually saw Galgameth sometime in the nineties on superRTL

Same here, same station, actually. For some reason, Germany seemed to like that movie enough to broadcast it regularly in the late 90s.

With the background story, of course, it becomes strangely more interesting. Also: why has no one made a movie about Kim Jong Il's abduction and subsequent "employment" of Shin Sang-ok yet? That would be perfect material in my book.

 

[MetalMagpie]

The idea that the director had the courage to basically give Kim Jong the finger in his own movie is awesome though.

I always suspected Kim was a bit thick, but missing the obvious symbolism in having the monster that by his own demand represented Communism turn on the people it fought to save?

The director guy really had balls to do that. Kim Jong didn't noticed it or punished him?

Actually, Bob may have got the wrong idea on that one.

The BBC claims the film is actually meant to be a cautionary tale about Capitalism, not an inspirational film about Communism. So the message is "Capitalism may appear to liberate you, but in the end it will just enslave you in a different way".

North Korean propaganda is (supposedly) very focused on the idea of "Capitalist Greed" as a insatiable force. Hence the big monster demanding to be fed iron.

Amazingly, I knew that story. Maybe not all of the details, but I knew about the kidnappings, the movies, and the eventual escape.

It was repeated ad nauseam by the British press in the week(s) after he died. Maybe you saw it on the BBC news website?

Wonder how long till the president starts claiming divine right.

Well, the first thing he'd need to do is remove the two-terms limit. In the UK, we really can have Prime Ministers who rule for decades (providing they keep being voted back in). We also have a monarch who really is the head of the Church of England, with all the "divine right" that goes with it.

So I think you're pretty safe. The USA is quite a long way away from having a dictatorship.

 

[Kapol]

The idea that the director had the courage to basically give Kim Jong the finger in his own movie is awesome though.

I always suspected Kim was a bit thick, but missing the obvious symbolism in having the monster that by his own demand represented Communism turn on the people it fought to save?

The director guy really had balls to do that. Kim Jong didn't noticed it or punished him?

Actually, Bob may have got the wrong idea on that one.

The BBC claims the film is actually meant to be a cautionary tale about Capitalism, not an inspirational film about Communism. So the message is "Capitalism may appear to liberate you, but in the end it will just enslave you in a different way".

North Korean propaganda is (supposedly) very focused on the idea of "Capitalist Greed" as a insatiable force. Hence the big monster demanding to be fed iron.

Well, it's always possible that the director left that intentionally vague, or explained it to be so to avoid punishment. The way Bob explained it makes it seem like that interpretation could be more accurate to what was intended. Of course, if the giant monster was meant to symbolize Capitalism, then what were the forces he fought meant to represent? It seems like they would then represent communism, since that what the country uses for a system of government.

Though I'm really more suggesting possibilities then anything definite. I've never seen the movie. So I can't really say one way or the other what it does or does not mean. I couldn't tell you if the BBC is right or Bob is right. Not that it matters anyways.

 

[Jman1236]

That man had guts for putting a screw you message in the movie, great story bob.

 

[T'vin]

I've actually been to the movie studio in Pyongyang. It was pretty awesome. Also the most surreal holiday I've ever been on.

 

[Bluecho]

Well crap, now I want to see Pulgasari. Or at the very least Galgameth.

 

[PunkRex]

Kim Jong Il was born under a double rainbow?

This displeases Lady Rainicorn!

 

[Skjutentrast]

Ghadaffi was not such a bad guy. In 10 years the rest of the world is going to wish that he was kept around.
The worst thing he did was turning fighter jets on civilians. It was a dick move and where he failed.

 

[XMark]

I'd love to see a movie based on this whole story. It's got all the elements to make a great movie. Romance, drama, black comedy, political intrigue, and a thrilling escape towards the end.

 

[ZakCanard]

Well crap, now I want to see Pulgasari. Or at the very least Galgameth.

It would appear that the whole film's on YouTube [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkZjt3A3az4], the BBC linked to it [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16245174] as part of their obituary articles back in December.

 

[Mousse Templar]

Didn't Marvel Comics make an Iron Man Annual with an awfully similar
plot? (of the story, not the movie)
Think it was called. mandarin, story of my life

 

[anonymity88]

Maybe it's just my tendency to focus on minor details, but what caught my ear was that the kidnapped director was IMPRISONED FOR 5 YEARS BEFORE ANYONE EVEN TOLD HIM WHY HE WAS THERE! I mean, I can kinda understand kidnapping someone to make movies for you, but I can't understand KIDNAPPING HIM AND THEN FORGETTING ABOUT HIM FOR FIVE FUCKING YEARS!

Maybe he was hoping for Stockholm Syndrome to set in?

 

[JehuBot]

YES! when I saw the thumbnail for this episode, I got all giddy and fanboysy! ^^

I already knew about this movie's insane, yet fascinating story thanks to Cracked, Wikipedia, and IMDb, and I still find it crazy to think that such thing happened in real life.

I was so excited to know your take on the whole thing. and I'm glad that I've finally heard it.

this is easily one of your best episodes so far, right next to the MST3K episode, the Schlocktober mini series, and other great ones that I can't remember right now.

 

[C.S.Strowbridge]

Amazingly, I knew that story. Maybe not all of the details, but I knew about the kidnappings, the movies, and the eventual escape.

It was repeated ad nauseam by the British press in the week(s) after he died. Maybe you saw it on the BBC news website?

Actually, I knew that about him while he was still alive. One of those esoteric facts I keep stored away for no good reason.