I randomly stumbled on a film called The Juche Idea, which was released in 2008 and played at the New York Underground Film Festival that year. I was actually under the impression that it was an American made, pro-North Korea/anti-capitalism film, which initially drew me in. However, I’ve since realized it’s entirely fiction.

It’s a little hard to explain what the film is — I guess you’d call it a mockumentary, but not in the Waiting for Guffman/Spinal Tap sense. A South Korean filmmaker, who also spent a number of years living in Japan, goes to North Korea as part of an artist-in-residence program. She studies North Korean filmmaking, which, of course, includes numerous writings by Kim Jong-il. The film splices bits of “the interview,” with real North Korean films, films made by the fictional interview subject, quotations on making films written by Kim, and other North Korea footage from the mass games etc.

All along while watching The Juche Idea I was thinking it was a pro-socialism attack on capitalism, which, when concerning North Korea is something I have little patience for. I kept thinking this S.O.B. could never make a film like this if he was able to live in North Korea. But in realizing it was entirely fiction, I see that the director’s intention is never revealed — there’s no indication that he’s pro or anti-North, or even that he knows much of anything about North Korea — which in itself is a pretty neat trick. It was filmed on location in Troy, New York state.

But what is clear is that the filmmaker knows something about North Korean film, and this clip gives some interesting insights into that. The director’s name is Jim Finn.

You can watch the film via Quicktime here.