Pulgasari is legit!

Pulgasari is authentic spectacle!

As melodrama, Pulgasari is totally ham fisted and overplayed. Oh the weeping and wailing! As communist propaganda, however, this movie’s message is far less clearly revolutionary than I expected.

Pulgasari itself is a juche weapon of liberation, yet it's created through the sheer will of an unjustly jailed and starved-to-death farmers’ blacksmith, a man who would never have created a weapon himself. Pulgasari is an overthrower of the corrupt ruling class but it also consumes the workers tools and destroys their means of production. Pulgasari is animated to life, and later saved, by the blood of an innocent youth, but then that same innocent must - spoiler - sacrifice her own life to…

K-GUST: The North

Apparently a mystical creature based on a Korean legend and also a South Korean film, this was definitely not on my bingo card. A NK Kaiju film featuring a horn-y God(or should I say, Satan?)zilla creature that starts as a small toy figure before someone drops some blood on it and then it comes to life and feeds on metal, which would come in very handy as that’s what all the bad guys swords and stuff are made of. Iron, incidentally, is what fuels its growth. But he’s also still like a pet for our heroes. A savior. Until he will eventually prove to be a pain in the arse for obvious reasons.

I mean, on one…

"Pulgasari" is a 1985 fantasy epic film directed by Shin Sang-ok. At face value it holds some heavy kaiju looking energy, like a makeshift "Godzilla" (1954) which "Pulgasari" holds a very similar candle to in appearance, but as some Kaiju destruction is in this film, it easily takes a backseat to a romanticized, verging on propagandic, fantasy folk telling story in primary energy. Why is that, well because this is a notorious film in history that was a production of North Korea. Birthed in a bizarrely laden tale of strange aspirations circling around the country looking for new ways to gain global revenue and resorting to literal kidnapping to achieve their goal, "Pulgasari" holds more weight in the annals of…

Pulgasari is probably the most widely known North Korean film, which I admit might not be saying much, that's probably like talking about Moldova's most famous pop act, but here we are. The story of its making, whereby agents of Kim Jong-il kidnapped Shin Sang-ok, a famous South Korean film director and imprisoned him and his wife in a re-education camp for several years before forcing him at literal gunpoint to make movies for the state before they finally escaped seems almost too crazy to be true, but it isn't. I'd recommend people read up on the backstory, but what about the film itself? The first thing to say about Pulgasari is that it's not very good, in terms of…

North Korea tackles its very own zip-up suit King Kong flick (not their first film, but possibly the most universal for its monster appeal) inciting the struggle of the working man and the uprising against the imperialist swine. Pulgasari is the bloodborne embodiment of the fight for freedom, and in a very awww-inspring way, chewing every piece of iron in its path saving lives and growing even bigger. While most of the time this felt like a school funded video you'd watch with the substitute teacher, slowly drifting to your notebook to doodle, then gazing up to see yet another battle ensuing, I think is better merited by the way it came about and the meaning behind it. Serves as…

"Nations that chart a self-defining course, seeking to use their land, labor, natural resources, and markets as they see fit, free from the smothering embrace of the US corporate global order, frequently become a target of defamation. Their leaders often have their moral sanity called into question by US officials and US media, as has been the case at one time or another with Castro, Noriega, Ortega, Qaddafi, Aristide, Milosevic, Saddam Hussein, Hugo Chavez, and others."

"So it comes as no surprise that the rulers of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) have been routinely described as mentally unbalanced by our policymakers and pundits. Senior Defense Department officials refer to the DPRK as a country 'not…

North Korea's answer to Godzilla! A Kaiju movie made by Shin Sang-ok; a director kidnapped by Kim Jong-il (who also serves as executive producer) for the purpose of making critically acclaimed films. Pulgasari is a story of oppression, as a blacksmith jailed for refusing to create weapons for the corrupt government, creates instead an iron eating monster who helps the people rise to victory. There's a clear allegory about the nature of liberation running through this, but it is handled rather delicately and its the story and the spectacle that take presidence. The early parts of the film reminded me a lot of German silent classic Der Golem as our title character begins life as (small) model who grows each…

Pulgasari is like the mini Korean Godzilla you never knew you needed. This adorable little monster just wants to eat iron and play all day, while also helping peasants rise up against their oppressive rulers. Watching Pulgasari grow with every bite of metal is strangely satisfying, and despite his fearsome powers, he remains incredibly endearing. How could anyone want to harm such a cute creature?

The film boasts some surprisingly fun practical effects and creative creature designs, which are impressive given the context. The battle sequences and Pulgasari’s rampages are especially memorable, bringing classic kaiju-style action to the screen in a uniquely Korean way. However, it does have its flaws—especially when viewed through a modern lens. The pacing can feel…