NK-European romantic comedy charms South Koreans

BUSAN (Yonhap) — A romantic comedy may be unusual fare from a nation whose media is best known for aggressive ideological rants, but its European co-producers insist that “Comrade Kim Goes Flying” is a feel-good film with themes that transcend its setting — North Korea.

“I am a filmmaker and I want to tell stories that make people happy and smile,” said the film’s co-director and co-producer, Belgian native Anja Daelemans. “We wanted to make a North Korean film that is a universal story.”

The movie had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival and then played last month at the Pyongyang Film Festival, winning prizes at both events. Its South Korean premiere was at the Busan International Film Festival on Wednesday.

It follows the odyssey of an attractive coal miner (played by Han Jong-shim) in a rural settlement whose dream is to become a trapeze artist in Pyongyang. Standing in her way is an arrogant male acrobat (played by Pak Chang-guk) who refuses to believe that “Comrade Kim” has the right stuff — until he falls in love with her.

The two leads are both real-life acrobats, but the film also co-stars veteran leading man Ri Yong-ho, who the film’s publicity material calls “North Korea’s George Clooney,” as a construction site manager.

The film, which cost approximately 1 million euros to produce, is a three-way collaboration between North Korea filmmaker Kim Gwang-hun, Daelemans, and British entrepreneur Nick Bonner, whose Beijing-based company, Koryo Tours, has been taking global tourists into North Korea since 1993.

Daelemans and Bonner met in 2002, and remained in touch. Daelemans has twice been nominated for Oscars for her short films, and Bonner has co-produced award-winning documentaries in Pyongyang. In 2006, “over several whiskies,” the pair decided on a feature film set in North Korea.

Enlisting North Korean producer Ryom Mi-hwa, they spent years reworking the script, before director Kim picked it up. During the writing process, Bonner and Daelemans insisted that the focus be on a strong, sassy female lead.

“Where this film differs from North Korean movies, though there are North Korean romantic comedies, is that this is a film about girl power,” said Bonner. “It is a film about a young girl achieving her dream — for herself.”

Even so, “Comrade Kim” is as much North Korea as it is romantic comedy.

North Korean society is portrayed not so much as comradely as downright chummy: All “Comrade Kim” needs to do is flash her coy smile — which rarely departs her face for the film’s 81-minute running time — and workers in mines, factories and performance troupes are falling over themselves to assist her. When an obstacle appears, she is harangued to summon her revolutionary spirit and leverage the power of the working class.

For overseas audiences, these aspects of the film may reek of propaganda.

“When we wrote the script it was never our intention to put propaganda in but to make a movie for North Korean people, that is why we had to make those lines,” conceded Daelemans. “We tried to avoid putting a Western stamp on the movie, we wanted to stay as close to North Korean culture as possible.”

The filmmakers say they suffered no censorship from Pyongyang authorities, but there were cross-cultural issues — one of which appears specially designed to sink a romantic comedy.

“In Europe, a kiss is nothing on film, but in North Korea, a kiss is not possible,” said Daelemans. “But that is not so strange — in Bollywood films they don’t kiss either.”

While no romantic comedy might be expected to focus on the North Korean issues that capture headlines — missiles, nuclear programs, human rights abuses, malnutrition — the film’s publicist is working to ensure that cynical reporters pick up the film’s positive vibe.

“It is one of those films we have not screened for everyone,” said David Magdael of Hollywood-based David Magdael and Associates. “It could easily be taken out of context if you don’t see it with an audience.”

The Busan audience on Wednesday, largely youthful South Koreans, appeared charmed, laughing at all the right moments.

“It was a bit like South Korean soap operas and home dramas with family settings,” said audience member Hwang Yun-mi, a 32-year-old teacher of English and film studies. “It was not alien to me.”

It is too early yet to discuss commercial releases. Their North Korean partners hold the rights in North Korea, while Bonner and Daelemans have the rights for the rest of the world.

They may hope to fare commercially better than the last European-North Korean co-production: The forgettable Italian-North Korean actioner “Tenzan: The Ultimate Mission” (1988) was described by one reviewer as “truly lamentable.”

However, a key market may be tricky to enter. With South and North Korea technically at war, all Pyongyang media is blocked by Seoul authorities, making it uncertain whether “Comrade Kim” can be viewed by South Koreans outside film festivals, where censorship is lifted.

Even so, Bonner said that South Korean authorities last month granted special permission for the film’s cast to visit South Korea for the festival; unfortunately, there was no time to arrange their visit. And he was delighted at South Koreans’ reaction to the film’s Busan premiere.

“Showing this film here, right now, having Han Jong-shim being loved in the north of the country and for you in the south to love her too — that is more than Anja and me could ever have dreamt,” he said following the screening. (Yonhap) <The Korea Times>

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