Sunday, March 24, 2013

KIM JONG-IL IS DEAD (2013, Rattapong Pinyosopon, A+15)


KIM JONG-IL IS DEAD (2013, Rattapong Pinyosopon, A+15)

"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."
"I hate him. I hate this messed-up country."

The female character in KIM JONG-IL IS DEAD only says this sentence one time, but it gives me an orgasm to hear her say it. When she says this sentence, or whenever she says "NO" to her husband, it gives me an orgasm. The quoted sentence and the word "NO" coming out of her mouth help release something inside of me: my hatred for some oppressors or for some people in this world, such as the censorship board. Hahaha. This is one of the things I like very much in this stage play. It helps release my hatred for some people in this world. So though the heroine of this play says this sentence only once, I would like to repeat her sentence many times for my own pleasure. I HATE HIM. I HATE THIS MESSED-UP COUNTRY.

There are many things I like in this play. I think everything in it is good already and doesn't need to be changed at all. However, the reason why I don't give it "A+30" right now is just because it doesn't overwhelm me instantly. So instead of writing about "everything which is good in this play", I think I would like to write about my own imaginations inspired by this play instead. I imagine that with some changes, this play might fit totally with my taste and I might give it A+30. Hahaha.

The play which might fit totally with my own personal taste might be like this:

1.The play would have given me a really great orgasm if the wife kills the husband, and destroys the photo of Kim Jong-il, and kills herself afterwards or something like that.

2. The play would have fitted my taste if I can feel "a really strong and powerful love" between the husband and the wife, though they have to kill each other in the end, like in the film BETRAYED (1988, Costa-Gavras, A+30). I mean it would have caused a lot of emotions in me, if I could see a husband and a wife who really love or "used to love" each other, who really "used to care" for each other, who really "used to share wonderful moments with each other", who really "used to dream together", kill each other in the end because of political differences, like in BETRAYED.

3. I think the play would have caused a lot of conflicts in my mind, if I can see the hero "really cries" for Kim Jong-il, because Kim Jong-il saved his life in the past or did something very good for the hero in the past or something like that. I think it might be too difficult for a stage play to do something like this. But if this is adapted into a film, and I can see the hero really cries out of his heart for Kim Jong-il, it will cause a great conflict in my mind.

4. Another way for the play to cause a great conflict in my mind is to show that the hero once saved the heroine's life in the past or something like that. It would be more like CASUALTIES OF WAR (1989, Brian De Palma, A+30), in which Sean Penn's character once saved the life of Michael J. Fox's character, but Fox's character still decides to report the crime that Penn's character did. Fox's character has to choose between GRATITUDE and TRUTH. And he chooses TRUTH.

I mean KIM JONG-IL IS DEAD might have fitted my personal taste if I can see more of the tender side or the good side of the hero. If I can see that the hero has a very tender side inside of him, the hero really loves his wife, the hero has many good aspects inside of him, and "the totalitarian aspect" is just one aspect of him, and "this only one aspect" among many good aspects of him makes his wife decide to kill him and kill herself afterwards, the play might have fitted my personal taste totally.

5. Like the paragraph above, I think it would be interesting if the play becomes longer and we can see other aspects of the characters, other aspects which may not be related to "totalitarianism", "the oppressed", or "the oppressor", other aspects which might not be related at all to "the theme" or "the main message" of the play, the other aspects which just make the characters look "more human".

But I think the play is already fine like this. I think one has to choose any way between creating a play in which everything revolves around the main theme or not. If one chooses to create a play which really wants to focus on the main theme, I think KIM JONG-IL IS DEAD is a good example of it.

But KIM JONG-IL IS DEAD unintentionally inspires me to imagine about what it would be like if it becomes a little bit more like the film THE SWIMMER (1981, Irakli Kvirikadze, Soviet Union, A+30). In THE SWIMMER, a man's life ends tragically just because his little kid unknowingly drops a figurine of Stalin into a fish tank. THE SWIMMER talks about totalitarian regime as effectively and powerfully as KIM JONG-IL IS DEAD, but what makes these two works very different from each other is the fact that KIM JONG-IL IS DEAD has only one act or maybe one theme, but THE SWIMMER is divided into three parts and the Stalin figurine is only one of the three parts. The other two parts concern with "other aspects in the lives of people in the Soviet Union".

I think both works are good in their own ways. KIM JONG-IL IS DEAD only focuses on the oppressor/oppressed aspect. And it is good and powerful in its own way. THE SWIMMER focuses on the oppressed aspect and also other aspects in the lives of its characters. And it is good and touching in its own way, too.

In conclusion, I don't mean to say that what fits my own personal taste "is better than" what doesn't fit my own personal taste. I like KIM JONG-IL IS DEAD very much, and I'm sorry that I am not good at describing many things that I like in this play. I think other viewers can see easily what is great in this play when they go to see it. I'm just good at describing my own imaginations inspired by this play. :-)









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