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Credit: Aleks Dorohovich
The first ever western movie to show on North Korean TV isn’t what you’d think
What do the movies Friday the 13th, Godzilla and Rambo each have in common? Strangely, they were all favourites of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, with the infamous political icon being something of a movie buff throughout his life. A lover of Hollywood, Jong Il had a particular love for James Bond, that was until Die Another Day destroyed his passion by depicting a North Korean leader as the villain.
Although not popular knowledge, North Korea does have a film industry, even if it doesn’t churn out world-beating blockbusters, with most of production being dedicated to producing propaganda movies. Supervised by the Workers’ Party of Korea, these films explore the military might and public resolve of the country with non-propaganda films reserved for a truly special occasion.
Many of these films are aired on national television, with people of the country treated to a slice of 90-minute propaganda from the comfort of their own armchairs. As for movies from the western world, these are strictly forbidden. That is aside from one unlikely British cult classic.
Bizarrely, in what might be one of the greatest movie trivia facts of all time, the first movie to ever air on North Korean television was the empowering football film, Bend it Like Beckham.
Marking the tenth anniversary of North Korean relations with the United Kingdom, Kim Jong Il authorised an edited version of the 2002 movie to be broadcast on state television on Boxing Day 2010. Speaking at the time, the British Ambassador to South Korea, Martin Uden stated that the unlikely independent movie starring Kiera Knightley and Parminder Nagra was the “first ever Western-made film to air on television” in North Korea.
The broadcast made partial sense, but then again no sense at all. The people of North Korea are ardent fans of football, so the harmless British comedy would make for perfect viewing. But then, at the very same time, the film also discusses several taboo topics such as interracial relationships, homosexuality and religion, much of which was presumably cut from the television broadcast.
Half a coming-of-age London-based romance tale and half a compelling social commentary, Bend it Like Beckham tells the story of a young Punjabi girl named Jesminder (Parminder Nagra) and her friend Jules (Keira Knightley) who wish to play professional football despite their parent’s wishes. Speaking to young girls growing up in the heart of London, the film provided the early inspiration for so many women and British Asians who saw their experience of playing the game being accurately reflected on the big screen for the very first time.
Check out the trailer for Bend it Like Beckham, below, and keep in mind that it was the first movie to ever be shown on broadcast television in North Korea. Brilliantly bizarre.
