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Kimjongilia

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On Monday evening I went to Berkeley to see Kimjongilia, a documentary about North Korea, its escapees, and its dictator. The film had its high points but these were tempered by some seriously awful camera work.

For the most part the film was made up of interviews with defectors from the Communist regime. The majority of the interviewees had been prisoners in North Korean gulags sentenced for a family member’s crime not even their own. The practice in N. Korea is to send three generations of a family to the gulag as punishment. So if your father is caught listening to an unsanctioned radio broadcast, for example, his parents, your mother, and all your brothers and sisters are also sent to prison. In prison, N. Koreans perform forced labor; the goods of which contribute to the country (military uniforms, raw minerals, etc), but some are also sold abroad (paper flowers to France, bras to Russia). The fact that other countries continue to buy items from N. Korea astounded me.

Of course, not all the interviewees had been sent to prison, two notable exceptions were a pianist and a singer. The piano player had been raised in the Conservatory–one of the country’s elite. If your family has never been accused of a crime you might remain near the top of the ranking system (there are 32 levels in all). Pretty much all of the country’s members in good standing live in Pyongyang, have access to food, and are granted more privileges than the rural people who eat grass, tree bark, and mice to survive. That is, if they can catch the last item. So the piano player was sent to Russia to continue his training and was flabbergasted to suddenly be exposed to the entirety of Western music. In N. Korea you play what is allowed by the state or you go to prison. Predominantly this means classical Korean music; nothing connected to capitalism is allowed. So the greats of Western musical traditions are neglected. Anything modern is completely unheard of. The piano player tried to practice some French composer once he was back in Pyongyang and was overheard. He stole money to bribe the border police and escaped the country because he didn’t want to have his musical tastes stifled. But not before being hung up and beaten for 14 hours.

The singer’s voice was compared to South Korean popstars which was, obviously, frowned upon. She fled the country with her mother and sisters to avoid prison. But once in China, they were all sold into sex slavery. She and her family didn’t escape that condition for five years when she stormed the South Korean embassy and demanded asylum.

One of the escapees wrote a book titled Aquariums of Pyongyang. His family (three generations) were sent to a gulag–I think it was No. 14–but he was allowed to bring one of his aquariums with him. He doesn’t say in the film, but I’m willing to guess his family eventually ate the fish. Another defector, who was a captain in the military, escaped with his family via boat down across the 38th parallel. He now works for Free North Korea Radio in Seoul. They broadcast to N. Korea (illegally by N. Korean standards) for 6 hours a day trying to describe to a beaten people the tenants of democracy and how they need to stand up to their oppressors to gain what they’re entitled to. Human rights in N. Korea are obviously non-existent due to the totalitarian control of the government and Kim Jong Il and that is one of the ideologies of the developed world that Free North Korea Radio is trying to deliver to their countrymen.

Several of the interviewees claimed that upon the collapse of the government they would be back in North Korea within a day. Others cry while expressing their bitter hatred towards the country of their birth and state that they will never go back.

As a documentary, I think Kimjongilia was well done. It showcased a situation with first hand testimonials that many people know very little about. It did this with care and real feeling for what has been suffered. The director also chose to intersperse the interviews with clips from propaganda films made in North Korea as well as performance pieces glorifying the state and the Kim family that have been filmed and smuggled out. In addition due to her theatrical/dance background the director chose to incorporate some footage of ballerinas doing interpretive dance. One was dressed in a modified Korean garment and the other was in a traffic cop uniform. I liked these all right but thought some of the editing effects detracted from their impact. In addition the camera work in a few of the interviews was horribly distracting–super shaky close-ups with jerky movements. So as a film Kimjongilia still needs some work but on the whole, I think it contained a powerful message raising awareness of an awful situation.

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bust

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i have been given a number to call for an interview with the society of experimental test pilots. at 10 am i dial the number. i am greeted with a highly chipper recorded voice.

“congratulations! you have reached the rewards center! chances are you dialed this number by mistake but luckily for you this will be the most exciting and rewarding phone call you make all day! in these tough economic times, we offer significant value in the deals we will make with you today, press one to hear more! and remember, only one deal per household!”

seriously?

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international film festival

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looking for some movies to watch and someone to see them with? look no further! let me know if you want to see any of the following with me.

Bluebeard

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Breillat (the director) brings forward and mingles in a deliberately jarring fashion the palpable sensuousness of two worlds–the fairytale and childhood–to capture provocatively, and with more than a little silent laughter, a seminal moment at work in the terror of children’s stories: enough for a lifetime of fantasies; a lifetime to murder and create.

Fri, Apr 24 / 7:15 / Kabuki

Sat, Apr 25 / 9:30 / Kabuki

Wed, Apr 29 / 4:15 / Kabuki

Hansel and Gretel

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With eye-popping art direction, a trio of terrific child actors and a passel of disquieting moments, Hansel and Gretel is a Grimm delight.

Fri, Apr 24 / 11:15 / Kabuki

Mon, Apr 27 / 3:15 / Kabuki

Thu, Apr 30 / 7:00 / ROXIE

Kimjongilia

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Through a series of extraordinary interviews with North Korean refugees, N.C. Heikin’s stylistically inventive documentary presents a devastating indictment of Kim Jong-Il, one of the world’s most elusive dictators.

Mon, May 4 / 6:30 / PFA

Moon

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A lone astronaut on the moon, only weeks away from returning to earth, is shaken to the core when he regains consciousness after an accident to discover he is no longer alone.

Sun, May 3 / 9:00 / Castro

The Paranoids

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In this wry comedy of errors from Argentina, an unaccomplished screenwriter who works children’s birthday parties for a living tries not to sleep with his best friend’s girlfriend, but fails at that, too.

Sun, May 3 / 12:15 / Kabuki

Small Crime

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An earnest young policeman assigned to a small island is bored until he investigates a suspicious death, gets to know the residents and falls in love. Spectacular Greek island locations and authentic details root this delightful romantic comedy.

Wed, Apr 29 / 9:45 / Kabuki

Tue, May 5 / 3:15 / Kabuki

Still Walking

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The acclaimed director of Nobody Knows and After Life (SFIFF 1998) once again triumphs as a nuanced chronicler of contemporary Japan with this multigenerational portrait in which family ties are tested by loss and strengthened through humor and perfectly prepared tempura.

Sun, May 3 / 8:45 / Kabuki /

NOTE: After Life is a fantastic movie. So good if you’ve never seen it.

Unmistaken Child

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Tenzin Zopa is a 28-year-old Buddhist disciple who journeys through the Tsum Valley of Nepal in order to locate the reincarnation of his recently deceased Tibetan master in this intimate, emotionally enthralling and visually splendid documentary.

Sun, May 3 / 3:15 / Kabuki

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rock city, baby

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last week at rock city with excitable 5 and 2 year olds, i learned many things:

1. if you accidentally give a kid a boost causing him to ram face first into a rock, well, he’s probably OK. i mean. he’s not bleeding or anything. totally fine.

2. if you’re helping a kid get a pretzel and accidentally sweep him off the picnic table bench and face first onto the dirty ground, well, he picks himself back up again. kids! they’re resilient. bounce back like jiggly jell-o. no problem-o.

3. it is amazing the things kids can quote. tyler can do some excellent bolt impressions.

“are you hungry?!” he hollers at me.

and before i can answer he yells “starving!” in a psychotic serial killer hamster in a ball sort of way. then we eat lunch (see #4).

later on he sings ‘iron man’ by black sabbath. have you ever heard a child sing heavy metal? it’s kind of awesomely creepy.

“Nobody wants him

He just stares at the world

Planning his vengeance

That he will soon unfurl

Now the time is here

For Iron Man to spread fear

Vengeance from the grave

Kills the people he once saved”

4. before the trip to rock city i mentioned to ellie how great it was that she was always feeding me. it’s like a complete abdication of responsibility sometimes, being around her and the boys. i can be just the third kid. fed and reprimanded to behave appropriately. i’m pretty sure after the multiple accidents i was directly responsible for my appropriate behavior points had shot way down and yet she still gave me a ham and cheese sandwich. she also offered to burp me. i turned her down.

5. kids are gullible. you tell them the fire ants will eat them and they think every ant is a fire ant capable of devouring them in one bite. tyler was all, “ant! ant!” and i’m like, “dude, it’s black not red. calm down. it won’t eat you.” and then i accidentally tripped him and he fell into a mass of poison oak.

no, not really.

“seriously michele, there’s an ant over there.”

“it’s not going to eat you. i’m sorry i ever lied to you.”

“liars never prosper. ‘I. Am. Iron. Man…do duh do do do do duh duh do.'”

more pictures here.

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Day 6

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In which we drive the relatively short distance between Aberdeen, WA and Cannon Beach, OR even though it takes us almost 7 hours. Many of which were spent in bookstores. Only 2 different bookstores though. Man, that is technically a 3 hour drive (we took an hour detour to see some WA beaches). Bookstores are time sucks. I love them.

See the pictures here.

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