Kim Kong
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| German title | Kim Kong |
| Original title | Kim Kong |
| Country of production | France |
| original language | French , Chinese |
| year | 2017 |
| Production company |
Kwaï, Armance, Arte France |
| length | 45-50 minutes |
| Episodes | 3 in 1 season ( list ) |
| genre | satire |
| Director | Stephen Cafiero |
| idea | Simon Jablonka and Alexis Le Sec |
| script | Simon Jablonka and Alexis Le Sec |
| production | Thomas Bourguignon |
| music | Erwann Kermorvant |
| First broadcast | September 14, 2017 (France) on Arte |
| German-language first broadcast |
September 14, 2017 on Arte |
| occupation | |
Kim Kong is a French satire - miniseries in 2017 by Simon Jablonka and Alexis Le Sec , whose three episodes at a time on September 14, 2017 Arte aired. The series was the French entry in the competition of the series festival Séries Mania 2017.
action
The French director Mathieu Stannis made insignificant action films to order with great audiences; but he finds it bad and loses the desire to work. Suddenly he is kidnapped and ends up in a fictional East Asian dictatorship , officially a “people's democracy”. The country's leader, known as the “Grand Commander”, wants Stannis to make a film for him, the script of which the commandant himself wrote: a propaganda adaptation of King Kong . The plot of the film: Donald Trump thaws the monkey that was frozen in the Pentagon and attacks the country with him, but after a farm worker explains the ideology of people's democracy to him, King Kong is converted and fights for the cause of the state. Stannis has no choice but to accept to be allowed back to France , also because the commandant threatens him with execution. But there are considerable difficulties when shooting: language barriers, incompetent crew members, defective equipment, miserable costumes for the monster.
characters
- Matthieu Stannis
- is a successful director in France for inconsequential action films with many sequels (at the beginning he shoots kicker 4 when he is back in France, kicker 6 ), which he processes to order, but he does not like it himself and frustrates him, which makes his lust has lost in work and inspiration as an artist. He's a fan of François Truffaut , but doesn't see himself in the auteur film . When filming King Kong , too, due to the dangerous situation and the poor quality of the production, he was not motivated at all for a long time until he had flashes of inspiration and discovered secret talents in the crew. His enthusiasm for filmmaking is slowly rekindling.
- Choi Han Sung
- is on the committee of the Center for Fine and Plastic Arts and had Stannis kidnapped on behalf of the commandant as the producer of the film, whom he accompanies everywhere during the shooting, although he has no idea about filmmaking himself. He has internalized the ideology of people's democracy deeply and always praises the state and the leader, the film and the shooting. He is always optimistic and motivated and tries to arouse motivation in Stannis too. But as Stannis involves him and the committee less and less and the commandant tries to pull him away from the film, Choi develops a growing dissatisfaction.
- Great commander
- is the name for the leader of the dictatorial people's democracy. (His real name and that of the country are not mentioned.) There is a personality cult around him in the country's propaganda : a portrait of him hangs everywhere; it is said, "he feels no pain, only sleeps forty-five minutes a night and has never cried," the latter said not even at the end of Titanic and his own birth. He threatens his employees with executions, has missile tests carried out and plans a devastating attack against the USA , but is actually not interested in politics at all, but in filming and writing scripts . He is a big cineast, collector of props, connoisseur and critic of Western cinema and a big fan of Stannis. He wrote the screenplay for King Kong himself and should, even if he allows Stannis freedom, live up to his vision in order to propagate the country's ideology at the Cannes International Film Festival .
- Yu-Yu
- is the leading actress in the film. Her role is the hero's sister, a simple farm worker who converts the gorilla to the country's ideology. Yu-Yu has internalized this ideology and in her role, above all, wants to convey the love for the fatherland. It is particularly important for her to be able to exchange ideas with Stannis about her role in order to do her game well. In these conversations, Stannis introduces her to the Nouvelle Vague , encourages her to contribute her own thoughts and offers her to act in his next French film, which is not possible. This also gives her the courage to stand up for Stannis against the commanding officer, but shortly afterwards she allegedly committed suicide. A letter presented as her farewell letter consists only of hollow phrases and confessions of guilt in the style of Stalinist “ self-criticism ”. Stannis dedicates the film to her.
- Dang Bok
- is the main actor in the film. His role is a farmer who becomes a warrior and leads the people's resistance to the beast. Dang Bok does his scenes and is not noticed during the filming. After graduation he turns out to be a CIA man who was smuggled into the country 10 years ago and who initiated Stannis' removal.
- Bae Yoon Jo and Khan
- are crew members on the set of the film. Bae Yoon Jo is a short, older, gray-haired woman who initially works as a head camerawoman . She doesn't understand Stannis and always only answers with “Yeah, yeah”; On the other hand, she always gives her instructions to the crew in a loud roaring voice. Khan is initially responsible for the flap , but stutters. After Stannis discovers that Khan has been secretly working on the lights and cameras at night for years, he swaps the two workers into each other's position, which is actually better for them.
- Léo Duval
- is a special effects artist and film colleague of Stannis in France, whom Stannis has brought into the people's democracy so that he can make better masks for the gorilla costume. Of course, Leo is not enthusiastic about this at first, but then complies. When Stannis can leave the country, Leo decides to stay because he has already received a new offer and has also fallen in love with Bae Yoon Jo. This role is played by the director of the series.
Episode list
| No. | German title | Original title | First broadcast in France | German language first publication (D) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | episode 1 | Episode 1 | September 14, 2017 | September 14, 2017 |
| The French director Mathieu Stannis wants to stop the shooting of his current film, which he thinks “sucks” because he has lost the desire to create when he is suddenly kidnapped from his hotel room. He wakes up in a room where a strange man (Choi) announces to him that he has been chosen by the Grand Commander to make a film. Stannis flees, but has to realize outside that he is in another country and has no chance to escape. After months in the “Center for Voluntary Re-education” and talking to the French ambassador, he agrees to be able to go home after the film. He is brought before the dictator of “People's Democracy”, who tells him the plot of the film: It is an adaptation of King Kong . Even the first day of shooting reveals many difficulties: incompetent crew members, language barriers and defective equipment. Stannis looks at films from the country and copies scenes from them for his film, which the producer Choi notices and displeases. Such a scene is shown when the first pattern is presented to the commanding officer. To express his opinion, he takes a prop, " Rambo's knife ," and rams it into Stannis' thigh as he enumerates the shortcomings of this scene and emphasizes that he wants to see "great cinematography". | ||||
| 2 | Episode 2 | Episode 2 | September 14, 2017 | September 14, 2017 |
| Stannis has problems implementing King Kong's first appearance because of the bad masks. But during a celebration to mark the end of the first week of shooting, he got the brainwave to shoot from the gorilla's perspective. In another scene in which Yu-Yu is supposed to sing, he gets a freak out after several unsuccessful attempts and yells at many employees, which is why Yu-Yu puts the right feelings into the singing. Stannis finally finds an access to her and also discovers Khan's secret talent for light and camera, so that he puts him in these functions. From now on, Stannis is more motivated, gets more involved in her work and exchanges ideas with Yu-Yu. He also makes changes to the script, which Choi displeases, but convinces the commanding officer. He then invites Stannis to dinner and talks about the cinema with him; In return, Stannis expresses his own ideas for the film, such as making the role of Yu-Yu a heroine. He has his film colleague Leo kidnapped so that he can make a better monkey mask for him. Leo disapprovingly notices Stannis' enthusiasm for the film in this serious situation, and Choi is also not satisfied because he is not involved as a producer by Stannis. | ||||
| 3 | Episode 3 | Episode 3 | September 14, 2017 | September 14, 2017 |
| Stannis is taking more and more liberties and bypassing the committee's rules to implement his vision of the film when the French ambassador tells him that the CIA will organize his removal within 48 hours if he sends them secret documents from the commandant. Stannis tells Yu-Yu which film he would like to do next in France and that he wants Yu-Yu as the leading actress; this has to refuse because the artists of the country are not allowed to leave it. When the commander Choi wants to pull off the film, he reports that Stannis has deleted many scenes that were important to the commander. The commander then appears on the set and threatens to fire or shoot Stannis if he doesn't follow the commander's vision. Only Yu-Yu calls in and supports Stannis. On the next day of shooting, another actress suddenly appears in her place: Yu-Yu committed suicide and left a suicide note. Stannis falls in mourning and refuses to work, so that the commander appoints Choi as a director. When Stannis wants to return to the set, the commander presents him with the idea for a second film - Godzilla - for which Stannis is to stay in the country. At this meeting he manages to photograph the commandant's documents, which he then promises to the French ambassador. After the film ends, Dang Bok reveals himself to be a CIA man and initiates Stannis' removal. When looking at the final scene with Yu-Yu, the commandant cries. | ||||
Cast and dubbing
The German synchronization is created for a dialogue book and the dialogue director of Masen Abou-Dakn by Interopa Film GmbH in Berlin .
| role | function | actor | consequences | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| main characters | ||||
| Mathieu Stannis | Director of the film | Jonathan Lambert | 1 - 3 | Gerrit Schmidt-Foss |
| Choi Han Sung | Producer of the film, | Frédéric Chau | 1 - 3 | Jacob Weigert |
| commander | Dictator of the people's democracy | Christophe Tek | 1 - 3 | Tobias Nath |
| Yu-Yu | Leading actress in the film | Audrey Giacomini | 1 - 3 | Luisa Wietzorek |
| Dang Bok | Leading actor in the film | Anthony Pho | 1 - 3 | Florian Cyde |
| Minor characters | ||||
| Léo Duval | Special Effects Artist | Stephen Cafiero | 2 & 3 | Tim Moeseritz |
| Bae Yoon Jo | first cameraman of the film, then on the flap | Isabelle Girard | 1 - 3 | Mey Lan Chao |
| (Name unnamed) | French ambassador | Henry Courseaux | 1 - 3 | Wolfgang number |
| Marie room | Mathieu's agent | Domitille Bioret | 1 | Katharina Koschny |
| khan | first on the flap, then cameraman for the film | Philip He | 1 - 3 | Zhiping Jia |
subjects
Kim Kong , whose title is a play on words from the names of the North Korean dictators Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un and the movie monster King Kong , treats dictatorships and the art of film as his two subjects . The plot is based on a true story: the kidnapping of the South Korean director Shin Sang-ok on behalf of Kim Jong-ils, who was himself a cineast, so that he made films in honor of the country, including the monster film Pulgasari .
The series is a political satire on East Asian dictatorships like North Korea and China - the fictional people's democracy is positioned on a map of Asia in the opening credits adjacent to the southern coast of China - and on their dictators, specifically on Kim Jong-un. In the national ideology, the Fiihrer, the Grand Commander, is revered in a personality cult and the simple farm workers are heroized. During filming and in everyday life, it becomes clear how propaganda penetrates all areas of life and determines the speaking and thinking of the local characters. A portrait of the commanding officer hangs everywhere, many interior walls are adorned with paintings with scenes of farm work, the radio and karaoke only ever play the national anthem, which sings of love for the fatherland and is also included in the film. At the same time, the threat from the military and the commanding officer, who is constantly surrounded by military generals, is always present in the background: whoever disappoints him or does not submit, threatens the “Center for Voluntary Re-education” or execution. Further restrictions for the locals can be seen in the fact that the artists are not allowed to leave the country.
Another theme of the series are reflections on film as art and its production, about which the characters, mainly the commandant and Stannis, exchange views. At the first meeting of Stannis, the commandant wanted to know what the film was for him as a basis for cooperation.
"The film, yes, ... it is a means of expression ... that tells stories ... in a universal language."
Many filmmakers and directors are mentioned in their conversations, French such as Georges Méliès , Jean-Luc Godard and Luc Besson, and those speaking other languages such as Quentin Tarantino , Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick ; also various western films such as Rambo , Terminator and Titanic . François Truffaut , in particular , is featured frequently: Stannis shows Yu-Yu examples of the Nouvelle Vague , who wants to discuss the film You kissed and they beat it with Choi . Choi, who is completely unfamiliar with film, begins to learn and recite Truffaut's quotes about film in order to be able to communicate with Yu-Yu and Stannis.
“It's more harmonious in film than in life, Mathieu Stannis. There are no traffic jams in the films, no waiting times, you see? Films move like trains ... like trains in the night. "
In addition to these honors of the cinema from back then, today's western cinema is criticized for the use of excessive digital technology and the production of the film as a mass product instead of as art, on the one hand by the depiction of the film production of Kicker 4 in France, which removes Stanni's motivation and inspiration, on the other hand, in conversations between him and the commanding officer, who added anti-Semitism to his criticism of Western cinema .
“The cinema of the west has sold its soul. It once belonged to the artists. But these days it's only controlled by the CIA and the Jews. "
Axel Weidemann writes for the FAZ that the series is “an homage to filmmaking of yore, including cutting machines that still have cranks and ring bells [...]. “Cinema,” says the commander, “is emotion - not software.” On film art. ”
Web links
- Kim Kong on Kwaï TV.
- Trailer at Arte.
- Kim Kong in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Kim Kong at Fernsehserien.de
- Kim Kong at Moviepilot
Individual evidence
- ↑ John Hopewell: 10 Highlights from Series Mania 2017 . April 14, 2017. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
- ↑ a b c Axel Weidemann: A gorilla becomes a communist . September 14, 2017. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
- ↑ a b Kim Kong. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing index , accessed on August 12, 2019 .
- ↑ In the service of the dictator . In: arte . Retrieved August 12, 2019.
- ↑ Maximilian Haase: “Kim Kong”: Almost as absurd as reality . Retrieved August 12, 2019.
- ↑ Original: “Les films sont plus harmonieux que la vie, Alphonse. Il n'y a pas d'embouteillages dans les films, il n'y a pas de temps mort. Les films avancent comme des trains, tu comprends? Comme des trains dans le nuit. " - François Truffaut as Ferrand in The American Night (1973)