An Escalator in World Order

Kyung-man Kim / Republic of Korea (South Korea) / 2012 / 115 min.

synopsis

This editorial essay composed of propaganda films and news stories criticises the development of US-Korean relations after the Second World War. Kyung-man Kim subtly emphasises the rhetoric of the celebratory documents and turns it on its head. A constellation of Korean and American statesmen creates a media image of South Korea as a war-torn country that rises from the ashes like the mythical phoenix and, with the help of its saviour the USA, transforms itself into an economic power. But all the celebratory ceremonies, military parades, and rhetorical performances of Reagan, Clinton, and Bush are just puppet theatres for obedient citizens of a country troubled by dictatorship and autocratic regimes.

“The collision and irony between faith and the world, the unbridgeable gap.”

biography

Kyung-man Kim (1972), a Korean director and multimedia artist, processes archival materials into editorial essays. Among his films include Long Live His Majesty (2002), The Structure of Goliath (2006), and Beep (2014), which was presented by Ji.hlava IDFF. An Escalator in World Order is his feature-length debut.