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On the Art of the Cinema
In his preface the author “The cinema is now one of the main objects on which efforts should be concentrated in order to conduct the revolution in art and literature. The cinema occupies an important place in the overall development of art and literature. As such it is a powerful ideological weapon for the revolution and construction. Therefore, concentrating efforts on the cinema, making breakthroughs and following up success in all areas of art and literature is the basic principle that we must adhere to in revolutionizing art and literature.” Kim Jong Il (1942- ) is leader of North Korea (1994- ). Kim Jong Il succeeded his father, Kim Il Sung, who had ruled North Korea since 1948.
344 pages, Paperback
First published April 11, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 28, 2016
I can't believe I read this nonsense--what the hell was I thinking?--but I suppose I'm in agreement with KJI about some aspects of the creative process (the need for a "realistic" subject, the importance of sincerity in art, a disdain for special effects produced solely to impress).
October 8, 2017
I've read this for my Politics of Culture in North Korea class, as a joined reading with 6 other classmates.
What struck me first and foremost is the use of language and the clarity with which concepts are described. Also, this work is very consistent in its opinions and ideology.
I will not go into discussion here about the value of the Kim regime's ideology (there is way too much to say about that). However, I would like to emphasize that the general western conception of North Korea and its culture is ignorant at best.
How much do we know about North Korea? And how can we opinionate on the North Korean culture when we don't have enough knowledge nor any experience with it for ourselves? Think about it, learn about it if you're interested, but never just believe what media tell you through your emotional antennae. The media, even if sincerely intented to be, are not objective. And also consider this; how free are we in the west? Are we free? Are we more free? Does more freedom mean things are better in your society? Does freedom give the power of better judgement?
Anyway, I gave this 3 stars, because although clear and consistent, this work uses term like 'always', 'never', 'entirely', 'absolutely', etc., which makes it less academic and enforces the propaganda-feel.
What struck me first and foremost is the use of language and the clarity with which concepts are described. Also, this work is very consistent in its opinions and ideology.
I will not go into discussion here about the value of the Kim regime's ideology (there is way too much to say about that). However, I would like to emphasize that the general western conception of North Korea and its culture is ignorant at best.
How much do we know about North Korea? And how can we opinionate on the North Korean culture when we don't have enough knowledge nor any experience with it for ourselves? Think about it, learn about it if you're interested, but never just believe what media tell you through your emotional antennae. The media, even if sincerely intented to be, are not objective. And also consider this; how free are we in the west? Are we free? Are we more free? Does more freedom mean things are better in your society? Does freedom give the power of better judgement?
Anyway, I gave this 3 stars, because although clear and consistent, this work uses term like 'always', 'never', 'entirely', 'absolutely', etc., which makes it less academic and enforces the propaganda-feel.
December 24, 2023
The intersection of art and dictatorship is fascinating. The free expression of film we know bent to fit by the harsh lines of Junche. This book was written with a love of film in mind but ends as reflection of the states dream of control of the mind.
May 3, 2024
RIP Kim Jong-Il you would have loved Letterboxd.
May 6, 2024
Honestly, I went into this knowing it would be a total propaganda piece, but I sorta just wanted to get a firsthand look into Kim Jong Il’s head since this is such a strange theory based work. That, and I only needed to buy one more book to get free Amazon shipping.
On The Art of the Cinema is a giant combination of obvious and dull talking points around basic concepts of art creativity and film creation, as well as how to run with a narrative. At times, some even felt like good points, especially when he went on about western film industries just building up celebrity worship and being a giant money machine. However, this was also way too dogmatic and repetitive, explaining the crux of many of the problems that arise with socialist art in some cases. Moreover, this was also extremely boring after a while, and repetitive. The Federalist Papers may have been a more enjoyable read, which is really saying something. The first 100 or so pages, I was still invested, but that started to wane fast.
I guess if this was strictly about “how to make a propaganda piece that follows our party’s line,” and it was maybe 1/3 the size, it would have been a worthwhile read at minimum. Let’s face it, there are films with this type of angle all over the world. But man, I really feel like this dude just wanted to hear himself talk. I won’t dive into my thoughts on the author himself, but I will close by saying it’s a bit weird that he was such a huge fan of western cinema despite making that so hard to attain in the DPRK. I guess if nothing else, I can check out some of the Korean movies he mentioned?
On The Art of the Cinema is a giant combination of obvious and dull talking points around basic concepts of art creativity and film creation, as well as how to run with a narrative. At times, some even felt like good points, especially when he went on about western film industries just building up celebrity worship and being a giant money machine. However, this was also way too dogmatic and repetitive, explaining the crux of many of the problems that arise with socialist art in some cases. Moreover, this was also extremely boring after a while, and repetitive. The Federalist Papers may have been a more enjoyable read, which is really saying something. The first 100 or so pages, I was still invested, but that started to wane fast.
I guess if this was strictly about “how to make a propaganda piece that follows our party’s line,” and it was maybe 1/3 the size, it would have been a worthwhile read at minimum. Let’s face it, there are films with this type of angle all over the world. But man, I really feel like this dude just wanted to hear himself talk. I won’t dive into my thoughts on the author himself, but I will close by saying it’s a bit weird that he was such a huge fan of western cinema despite making that so hard to attain in the DPRK. I guess if nothing else, I can check out some of the Korean movies he mentioned?
August 18, 2018
My good buddy Denny Rodman gave me this book by our mutual friend in North Korea. I couldn’t believe it when he told me it’s from 1973. Christ! That little Rocket Man is older than he looks! What the hell are they eating over there? Anyway, this is the number one book you gotta read if you wanna learn all about movies and how they get made. Now I’ve seen a lot of movies, and I even starred in a few, like Home Alone, Wall Street, and Zoolander Part 2, but I never heard about any of the movies that are in this book. That old butterball really knows his stuff, just terrific. It’s enough to make you kinda depressed. The guy sits on his fat ass in front of the tube all day, he’s got no stress, no wonder he don’t age. Thinks he’s some kinda film expert, BIG FUCKIN’ DEAL. I work myself to the fuckin’ BONE making sure this country don’t go down the crapper and I still got time to read all these books. I bet that lazy slob never read a book in his rotten life. I’m gettin’ a little steamed here. I’m gonna call Denny Rodman right now and tell him to send all these book reviews to Pyongyang. Then we’ll see who knows what. Hey fatso, you’re gonna ruin your eyes with all those fuckin’ movies!
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March 25, 2019Please help me find my white-whale. If you find a copy--I'm dying to get my hands on this book.
Found one.
Found one.
August 29, 2019
i would have given this two stars. the two extra stars are there if you read it purely as a work of outsider art
August 30, 2023
Thought I’d take a break from the fiction and memoir reading as of late, for a treatise on cinema by the late Korean leader.
While the book’s suggestions are basically for “more Juche”, his prescriptions (for basically psychologically nuanced socialist realism) largely went unrealized, even though this book was required reading there. One of several books on the arts he would pen over the years. Is it “insightful”? Of course not, but it’s also the only film theory book written by a world leader, and as such unique (as well as being tedious and mind-numbingly repetitive).
Kim was a movie fanatic. It’s possible Kim’s Video in Pyongyang was larger than Kim’s Video in Manhattan (though the severity meted out for late returns was considerable—“Be Kind—Re Education Camp”). He was frustrated that North Korean films looked cheap, were slow, and seemed cheesy compared to Western purveyors. He deemed his book a failure as after its publication, the movies still sucked. The dictator doth protest too much for Pulgasari is still a fun film to have on for late-night parties.
While the book’s suggestions are basically for “more Juche”, his prescriptions (for basically psychologically nuanced socialist realism) largely went unrealized, even though this book was required reading there. One of several books on the arts he would pen over the years. Is it “insightful”? Of course not, but it’s also the only film theory book written by a world leader, and as such unique (as well as being tedious and mind-numbingly repetitive).
Kim was a movie fanatic. It’s possible Kim’s Video in Pyongyang was larger than Kim’s Video in Manhattan (though the severity meted out for late returns was considerable—“Be Kind—Re Education Camp”). He was frustrated that North Korean films looked cheap, were slow, and seemed cheesy compared to Western purveyors. He deemed his book a failure as after its publication, the movies still sucked. The dictator doth protest too much for Pulgasari is still a fun film to have on for late-night parties.
December 21, 2025
This has got to be the most vapid and dull thing I have read in my entire life. Author has almost nothing genuine to offer here about the filmmaking process, just vague adages like "the actor is the character's direct, autonomous creator" and "the most important thing in editing a film is to sequence and link shots logically." Or my personal favourite: "without the actor, it is impossible to make the film character." Every paragraph is like two sentences long and it is just this all the way through, for nearly 500 pages. Coming from a guy who boasted so much about his love of film, you would expect at least a little more from him than these nothing sayings. Don't waste your time with this (not like anyone would willingly, anyway).
January 11, 2022
đọc lấy tư liệu làm bài nhưng mà hay ho phết =))
May 10, 2025
🫡 comrade cinephile
May 1, 2007
Mind numbing propaganda from one of Kim Jong Il's ghostwriters.
September 26, 2014
Read one chapter, and you've read them all. Seriously, this book repeats itself more than a middle-school teacher trying to make a class of kids shut up.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews