In May of 2015, episode #556 of the podcast This American Life, host Ira Glass told a story about two South Korean nationals, both celebrities in the filmmaking world, and the harrowing tale of kidnapping and brainwashing at the hands of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il, and also their Hollywood-style escape. Listening to the podcast, my mind raced with thoughts– mostly second guessing every other sentence because there is no way this could be a true story, right? Directors Ross Adam and Robert Cannan take this fascinating historical case and add visuals and firsthand accounts to the story, making it one of the year’s most terrifying films in “The Lovers and the Despot.”
The lovers, in this case, are South Korean filmmaker Shin Sang-ok and actress Choi Eun-hee. They met on a movie set in the 70’s and fell in love, however, relationships in the film industry are hard to sustain (just ask Brangelina), and the two eventually divorced after Shin fathered two children with his mistress. As their relationship is crumbling, across the water in North Korea, movie buff and despot Kim Jong-il complains about the state of his country’s film industry, particularly the excessive crying scenes. “This isn’t a funeral. Is it?” he demands. Upset that North Korean films have been overlooked by the global film festival circuit, he asks how he can get the famous Shin Sang-ok and Choi Eun-hee over to his country to rebrand the flailing movie business. It is then that their fate has been decided.
What follows is an outlandish story that seems like a script to a Hollywood blockbuster rather than the actual account. Choi and Shin were kidnapped separately, sent to Kim Jong-il, where they became his personal filmmakers. The duo always planned to escape, but necessary for their survival, it couldn’t be until the time was right. In the meantime, they knew they had to adhere to his fascist regime. The duo went on to make 17 feature films before they finally found an opportunity to escape.
Perhaps the craziest thing of all is the fact that what makes all of this true hangs on one piece of evidence: taped recordings of Kim Jong-il planning the capture of Shin and Choi. We hear those tapes for the first time and it is enough to send chills down one’s spine. Without saying how the tapes were obtained, we are told it was a “source” who smuggled them out which adds another layer to the mystery!
With a story like this, the interviews should carry the film with very little reliance on distractive filmmaking. For the most part, Adam and Cannan stick to this method of cinematic subtlety. Interviewees include Choi, her adoptive son and daughter, and other government and undercover officials. To visualize their journey, the directors use clips from Shin’s previous films, which can get confusing at times as to whether or not what we’re watching is a dramatization or the actual footage. Gaining access behind North Korea’s guarded gates is a rare feat on its own, and the glimpses of daily life seen in the film are some of the most powerful visuals. Out of control weeping at Kim Jong-il’s funeral, manic zealousness at Kim Jong-un’s inauguration, it is all so absurd and must be seen to be believed.
“The Lovers and the Despot” is not rated. 98 minutes. Opening at the Laemmle in Santa Monica on Friday.
