The North Korean regime's response to The Interview, a film about an assassination attempt on Kim Jong-Un, begins to make sense after reading Paul Fisher's fascinating non-fiction thriller.
There is not much separating art and propaganda in North Korea. Jong-Un's grandfather, Kim Il-Sung, understood film as "a core part of the 'ideological guidance' of the people". His son, the despotic Kim Jong-Il, was a life-long film addict and adored Hollywood. He loved James Bond films the most, but didn't think of them as easy escapism. He believed they were "'social realist docu-dramas'".
In 1967 Jong-Il was appointed as Arts Director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department. By 1978 he was the de-facto leader of the communist regime, writing producing and directing the country's past and present. Jong-Il wanted North Korean film to be recognised worldwide so he did what felt natural: he kidnapped the brilliant South Korean director Shin Sang-ok and his famous ex-wife Choi Eun-Hee, the actress in many of his films. They were kept under house arrest and Sang-ok was tortured, both of them oblivious to each other's presence in the country. In 1983 they were re-united at one of Jong-Il's bizarre parties, and they agreed to make films for him. But as they grew closer to Jong-Il they plotted their escape. Choi told her ex-husband: "'we have acted and directed the lives of others in films. From now on, let's act and direct our lives ingeniously'". They were successful (only just) and they finally found asylum in Vienna in 1986. When they were free they remarried.
A Kim Jong-Il Production is a generally well-researched and fascinating tale of the torturous history of North Korea, Jong-Il's life, and the plight of Sang-ok and Eun-hee. Fischer weaves plenty of cliff-hangers into the narrative, and it sometimes reads like an implausible and labyrinthine action film. But this is the perfect way to learn about North Korea, a truly surreal nation in which the populace are unwilling thespians in a real life horror movie.
Despite all evidence to the contrary, the two escapees have been accused of falsifying their stories. Shin Sang-ok died in 2006 and is sadly remembered more for being a prisoner than a film-maker. Choi Eun-Hee is still alive. She doesn't yearn for the false immortality of stardom; neither does she hate Jong-Il, who died in 2011. Instead, she simply wants the world to accept the truth about her and her husband's remarkable and courageous lives.
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