The Lovers and the Despot | |
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Directed by | Robert Cannan Ross Adam |
Written by | Robert Cannan Ross Adam |
Produced by |
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Starring | Choi Eun-hee Shin Sang-ok Kim Jong-il |
Narrated by | Choi Eun-hee |
Edited by | Jim Hession |
Music by | Nathan Halpern |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Soda Pictures Magnolia Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 95 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Languages | English Korean Japanese |
The Lovers and the Despot is a 2016 British documentary film written and directed by Robert Cannan and Ross Adam, about the 1978 abduction of South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee, and film director Shin Sang-ok, by Kim Jong-il of North Korea. It was pitched at Sheffield Doc/Fest's 2014 MeetMarket.
The Lovers and the Despot has received positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 77%, based on 57 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's consensus states: "The Lovers and the Despot offers a compelling—albeit by no means comprehensive—look at one of the more bizarrely stranger-than-fiction episodes in cinematic history." [1] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 65 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [2]
Writing for The New York Times , Manohla Dargis stated that "Despite its flaws and will to kitsch, The Lovers and the Despot has enough enigmas and chills to merit a look, even if some of its spookier moments involve cinephilia rather than the usual weapons of mass destruction." [3]
In Jordan Hoffman's review for The Guardian , he wrote that "there’s an incredible story somewhere in this tale [...], but this documentary buries it by way of over-measured effects and chronic pussy-footing." [4] In a review for RogerEbert.com , Matt Zoller Seitz called it a "frustrating missed opportunity", saying it "takes a fascinating story about filmmaking, politics, kidnapping and propaganda and gives us almost no insight into the work of its two main characters." [5]
As of 3 November 2016, the film has grossed $55,511 at the box office. [6]
Lady Vengeance is a 2005 South Korean neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Park Chan-wook. The film is the third and final installment in Park's Vengeance Trilogy, following Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) and Oldboy (2003). It stars Lee Young-ae as Lee Geum-ja, a woman released from prison after serving the sentence for a murder she did not commit. The film tells her story of revenge against the real murderer.
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is a 2002 South Korean neo-noir crime thriller film directed and co-written by Park Chan-wook. The film stars Shin Ha-kyun as Ryu, a young, deaf-mute factory worker trying to earn enough money for his sister's kidney transplant by holding the daughter of a wealthy man for ransom, and the path of vengeance that follows when the plan goes awry. Alongside Ha-kyun, the film's cast includes Song Kang-ho, Bae Doona, Han Bo-bae, and Im Ji-eun.
Shin Sang-ok was a South Korean filmmaker with more than 100 producer and 70 director credits to his name. He is best known in South Korea for his efforts during the 1950s and 60s, many of them collaborations with his wife Choi Eun-hee, when he was known as "The Prince of South Korean Cinema". He received posthumously the Gold Crown Cultural Medal, the country's top honor for an artist.
Choi Eun-hee was a South Korean actress, who was one of the country's most popular stars of the 1960s and 1970s. In 1978, Choi and her then ex-husband, movie director Shin Sang-ok, were abducted to North Korea, where they were forced to make films until they sought asylum at the U.S. embassy in Vienna in 1986. They returned to South Korea in 1999 after spending a decade in the United States.
Seoul Institute of the Arts (Korean: 서울예술대학교) is an arts university in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. The Namsan campus in Seoul is used for presentation of arts productions and convergence with industry. The Ansan Campus opened in 2001 and is used for educational training.
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The Suspect is a 2013 South Korean action spy film starring Gong Yoo, and directed by Won Shin-yun.
Quiz of God is a South Korean television series broadcast on cable channel OCN. It was the first medical/forensic crime investigation drama to air in Korea. The series follows genius but eccentric neurosurgeon and forensic doctor Han Jin-woo and his team as they solve suspicious deaths and unravel mysteries involving rare diseases.
The Age of Shadows is a 2016 South Korean period action thriller film directed by Kim Jee-woon and written by Lee Ji-min and Park Jong-dae. The film is set in Shanghai and Seoul in the 1920s and stars Song Kang-ho and Gong Yoo. It was selected as the South Korean entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.
Operation Chromite or Battle for Incheon: Operation Chromite in US, is a 2016 South Korean spy war film co-written and directed by John H. Lee. It is a fiction based on a true story of Operation X-ray by ROK Navy Intelligence Unit and Operation Trudy Jackson by US Military Intelligence Unit, depicts espionages which took charge for preparatory stage of Operation Chromite in Korean War.
The abduction of Shin Sang-ok and Choi Eun-hee occurred in North Korea between 1978 and 1986. Shin Sang-ok was a famous South Korean film director who had been married to actress Choi Eun-hee. Together, they established Shin Film and made many films through the 1960s which garnered recognition for South Korea at various film festivals. In 1978, Choi was abducted in Hong Kong and taken to North Korea to the country's future supreme leader Kim Jong Il. The abduction of Shin followed six months later.
Choe Ik-gyu, also known under the pseudonym Choe Sang-gun, is a North Korean film director, propagandist, and politician.
An Emissary of No Return is a 1984 North Korean historical drama film directed by Shin Sang-ok and Choi Eun-hee. Shin also wrote the script. It was the first of four films Shin and Choi made during their abduction to North Korea under the orders of Kim Jong Il. Adapted from Bloody Conference(혈분만국회 ), a play allegedly written by Kim Il Sung during his guerrilla years, the film retells the dramatized story of the Hague Secret Emissary Affair. The affair ensued when the Korean emperor king Gojong sent three unauthorized emissaries to the talks of the Hague Convention of 1907.
Salt is a 1985 North Korean tragedy film directed by Shin Sang-ok. It is the third of Shin's North Korean films after he and his wife Choi Eun-hee were abducted and brought to the country against their will. Choi stars in Salt as an unnamed mother who disapproves of her son after he runs away with guerrillas, but eventually comes to see them as fighting for a just cause. The film is set in 1930s Kando (Jiandao) where ethnic Koreans are persecuted by the Chinese and Japanese.
Runaway is a 1984 North Korean melodrama film directed by Shin Sang-ok. It was the second film in North Korea by South Korea's Shin after he and his wife Choi Eun-hee had been abducted there. Runaway stars Choe Sang-soo as the protagonist and Choi as his wife.
Love, Love, My Love is a 1985 North Korean musical film in the genre of romantic melodrama. It was directed and produced by South Korea's Shin Sang-ok while he and his wife Choi Eun-hee were abductees in North Korea.
The Tale of Shim Chong is a 1985 North Korean musical film directed by Shin Sang-ok.
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