Films from the North: Hong Kil Dong May 12, 2008

South Korean films continue to set box-office records across Asia and win laurels in international film festivals. Meanwhile, little attention is given to the cinema from the other half of the peninsula. From May 12 to 14, 2008, three films from the DPRK’s canon will be screened as a special presentation in the Classic Movie Night series.

The films have been rarely seen outside the former Eastern Bloc. Cinema in the DPRK is an original expression of social realism and a primary vehicle for conveying state ideology. Even so, the tales—of peasant farmers struggling against feudal lords, anti-Japanese resistance fighters, and ordinary citizens loyal to their hometowns—are also told with genuine artistry.

Mixing Hong Kong-style kung fu with a socialist ethos, the Robin Hood-esque Hong Kil Dong took the Bulgarian box office by storm in the late 1980s. Forever barred from privilege, the eponymous protagonist-the illegitimate son of a nobleman-wanders Korea helping farmers fend off feudal exploitation. But when Korea is invaded by Japanese ninja, he must unite with his perennial enemies to defend the fatherland.

Tickets are available for $7 (members), $12 (non-members), and $30 (for all three movies, $18 for members).

Official Website: http://www.koreasociety.org/arts/film/films_from_the_north.html