Pulgasari

zLet's get out of Japan for the first time in a long time! We're talking about Pulgasari, a North Korean kaiju film from 1984. That might strike you as strange, but let's continue. The background on this film is... a lot. The director, Shin Sang-ok, was a famous and popular director from South Korea who was kidnapped by North Korean agents in the 70's in an attempt to elevate North Korean cinema. Pulgasari was the last of these films made by Shin, and a remake of a lost film from the 60's based on the same legend. There's not space enough here to talk about the kidnapping saga, but needless to say the making of this film is predicated on some absolutely buck-wild events.

The wackiness of the background of this film doesn't end there, however, as the main actor of Pulgasari, the titular character? Kenpachiro Satsuma, a veteran of Godzilla movies and the suit actor for Godzilla himself in the upcoming Heisei era of Godzilla films. In fact, the first of the Heisei Godzilla movies came out before Pulgasari, so Satsumsa went from being cast as Godzilla, to making a North Korean kaiju film with a director who was kidnapped by the state, to playing Godzilla in subsequent films. That's not as wild as literally being nabbed by a country to elevate their country's cinema, but it is a strange turn of events all its own that seemed worth mentioning.

If You Haven't Seen it Before

- In a small village ruled by a horrible tyrant, a local blacksmith tries to keep the army from taking his village's farming and cooking tools, without which they'll be unable to live (literally). He is imprisoned. 

- Before he dies of starvation, he creates a figure and prays to the gods that they will make the figure a living creature that protects people and saves humanity.

- The adorable Pulgasari predictably comes to life and begins to eat all things metal his tiny self can get ahold of.

- As the tyrants soldiers come by to further torment the villagers, the ever-growing Pulgasari begins to eat their weapons and bite their faces, finally beginning a proper resistance. Pulgasari is now human-sized, having begun his life just a few days before while fitting in the palm of a hand.

- The newly inspired rebels, supported by Pulgasari, invade the local tyrants' palace and kill him.

- The king, of whom the corrupt and terribly tyrant was but a representative, must crush this new rebellion. Unfortunately for him, Pulgasari keeps growing stronger and bigger as they bring weapons for him to eat.

- The king does manage to capture and execute the leader of the rebellion, and threatens to kill the blacksmith's daughter (with whom Pulgasari has a bond) if Pulgasari does not surrender himself.

- Sacrificing himself for his greatest friend, Pulgasari subjects itself to fire and explosives as the king's men try to kill him. This fails and they reap some heavy consequences by dying in a brutal fashion.

- The evil army apparently, finally, manages to kill Pulgasari by setting a trap and burying him alive. The evil army begins to win this war, executing the leader of the rebellion and having already captured the blacksmith's daughter.

- The blacksmith's daughter escapes and is out for vengeance! She revives Pulgasari using her blood and he returns to finally finish off the evil king.

- After smiting the king, Pulgasari is regarded as a hero by his people and they allow him to eat their weapons (as they no longer need them).

- Insatiable, Pulgasari continues eating, eventually progressing to their cooking and farming tools just like the original tyrant that started this all. 

- The blacksmith's daughter, Pulgasari's best friend, realizes he cannot control himself and will lead to the death of them all when he eats all of their metal tools.

- She hides herself in a giant metal bell, ringing it to draw the attention of Pulgasari. As he prepares to eat the bell with her inside, she prays that he will leave this earth with her.

- Having eaten the person who gave him life, Pulgasari turns to stone before shattering.

Kaiju Notes

- Both baby and teen Pulgasari are adorable. Resembling an armadillo mixed with a bipedal lizard, he is almost a perfect union of the cute/scary scale while he's maturing.

- As Pulgasari grows, he gains horns to complement his appearance. Some might claim that looks like a demon, and they'd be right, but at least he looks like a (relatively) friendly one.

- Pulgasari's motivation, eating metal, is strange. He wouldn't make much of a kaiju in the Godzilla-verse since he lacks lasers or explosive weaponry, but in the context of helping people rebel against tyrants it's a very good fit. Though this story takes place many centuries ago, I bet a metal eating monster which appears invulnerable to most harm would fuck up some tanks and battleships too, if he wanted.

- Pulgasari does seem to be able to absorb heat and use it as a weapon, so that might actually be really useful if he were up against Godzilla. Radiation is a type of heat, right? In this movie though he uses it in one dramatic scene to absolutely fuck up some soldiers. After being set on fire and being hot, he goes to cool off in the sea. The soldiers trying to escape from him via boat are capsized and thrown in the water, and the water begins to boil as Pulgasari cools off. Holy shit.

- Satsuma brings his veteran suit acting ability to Pulgasari, making the little and big versions seem like a loyal pet to the blacksmith's daughter, who simply can't be killed and loves eating metal.

Pulgasari is not going to be gaining any points for excellent special effects or story telling. It does, however, do an effective job at telling the story it is going for. Pulgasari himself manages to look more menacing than he behaves (unless you're his enemy), which is fitting for his ultimate characterization of a relatively simple beast with an interest in helping his friends and eating metal. This simpleness contributes to his downfall, however, as he takes all the villagers metal not out of malice but out of his own desires. The human performances are broad, but Satsuma's work as Pulgasari is particularly interesting. 

As mentioned a few sentences before, Pulgasari seems more "simple-minded animal" than anything else. Even at his most menacing it often seems accidental, as in the above mentioned scene where he boils soldiers in the sea. Pulgasari himself didn't seem to have it as a plan, simply killing all of these people as a consequence of trying to cool himself down. It's brutal in effect, but seemingly innocent in intent, and it creates an interesting dynamic between Pulgasari's effect and his affect. While obviously Satsuma did not (likely) make these decisions by himself and it was likely in the script, it colors everything Pulgasari does and makes the creature himself enjoyable to watch. Even his death is a bit unclear, in that his (accidental) eating of the blacksmith's daughter either makes him choose to die or happens as a consequence of him killing the one who gave him life. Either way, the circumstances only happen because the blacksmith's daughter understands that he'll simply eat metal when he sees it, so it contributes to an interpretation of him as simple rather than malicious, or even particularly intentional in his actions.

Some have suggested that Pulgasari's arc is a critique of North Korean leadership, being a revolutionary figure who saves the people before turning to being their oppressor in a similar vein of the previous despot. While I can understand that take on a "this is what happens on paper" level, it doesn't read to me as true based on the actual film. While it's all technically true, Pulgasari's characterization (see the paragraphs above) makes it seem more accidental than intentional despotism, which is not applicable to the government of North Korea. Each choice they make is intentional and has a reason behind it far beyond Pulgasari's simple desires, so I think applying that interpretation to the movie would actually weaken it as critique of the government who kidnapped the director. Pulgasari has more in common with Daiei's Daimajin, both centered on heroic (and violent) creatures which must be brought down by the same people they helped. Adding to this that the plot is apparently based on a Korean legend, Pulgasari seems a more straight-forward kaiju film rather than a thinly-veiled takedown of Kim Jong-il.

At the end of the day, Pulgasari is more interesting than it is entertaining. It's not necessarily bad in any way, but there's nothing about it that makes a strong initial impression. In the context of kaiju movies it is very similar to Daimajin, though substituting "hunger" for "wrath" as the titular character's motivation. Pulgasari himself is a bit of a delight as a character, being somehow vacant and self-directed at the same time and charming yet menacing. It's hard to suggest one watches this for themselves, but it's also not the worst film we've seen through this blog by any means. If you're really into kaiju movies (what a weirdo, who does that?), it's worth a look-see.

Next: The Return of Godzilla!