Pulgasari (1985) ***

The most famous North Korean film of all times; the story of its creation being far more dramatic than its plot. A South Korean film director has been kidnapped and forced to make this campy “Godzilla” rip-off. But he managed to smuggle some clearly anti-Communist themes into his film – Pulgasari, the iron-eating monster that helps the peasants to overthrow an oppressive king, ends up devouring their iron farming tools as well. The anti-Communist message is clear – the Revolution (Pulgasari) can destroy oppression, but it also leads to starvation and misery, and it ultimately ends up eating its own children (as Pulgasari does - literally - at the end of the film).