by Jaime Grijalba.
(North Korea, 95 min.)
This is by far one of the weirdest finds I’ve ever had in this year of focusing on asian films so far. It’s a north korean documentary that has no credited director that I had the luck of seeing thanks to today’s technology and youtube. The presentation is, of course, not perfect, but the story behind this documentary is quite intriguing (I shall leave you with the statement from the uploader shortly) giving the film a tone of urgency and at the same time certain fear of what it really aims for. It is a north korean film that uses snippets from tv commercials, films, tv series and other audiovisual material (most of it from the United States) to try and proove a point: modern society is a dumbed down due to the power of these pictures of violence and commercial enticement. Nevertheless, the film does go in a certain aspect that I found to be a little hypocritical: democracy, but I still thought that it was worth watching for a lot of reasons that you can find out if you watch it after the jump.
For now, I leave you with the statement made by the uploader of this film:
On a trip to visit family in Seoul in April, I was approached by a man and a woman who claimed to be North Korean defectors. They presented me with a DVD that recently came into their possession and asked me to translate it. They also asked me to post the completed film on the Internet so that it could reach a worldwide audience. I believed what I was told and an agreement was made to protect their identities (and mine).
Despite my concerns about what I was viewing when I returned home, I proceeded to translate and post the film on You Tube because of the film’s extraordinary content. I have now made public my belief that this film was never intended for a domestic audience in the DPRK. Instead, I believe that these people, who presented themselves as ‘defectors’ specifically targeted me because of my reputation as a translator and interpreter.
Furthermore, I now believe these people work for the DPRK. The fact that I have continued to translate and post the film in spite of this belief does not make me complicit in their intention to spread their ideology. I chose to keep posting this film because – regardless of who made it – I believe people should see it because of the issues it raises and I stand by my right to post it for people to share and discuss freely with each other.
Enjoy, or not.
Wow! I just looked at part of this, and realize it’s an important film, and one that has miraculously been made available as per that amazing information you reveal. It’s no wonder Laurie put the ‘I like it’ moniker up! I’ll have to watch it in it’s entirety. Terrific post Jaimie!