Trey Parker, Matt Stone/USA/2004; R4
Roadshow, NZ$34.95 | Reviewed by Alexander Bisley

THE HIGHLIGHT of the World Cinema Showcase was the restrained, jaw-dropping State of Mind. Kim Jong-Il's North Korea is terrifyingly reminiscent of George Orwell's 1984. North Korea is a shockingly secretive, totalitarian nightmare. I was disappointed with Team America: World Police when I first saw it (twice). "There are funny scenes, including the hilarious shot of North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-Il lying on his bed singing I'm So Ronery," I thought. Reminded, this time round, how much this scathing portrayal as the puppet satire's villain would annoy Kim – as spectacularly self-indulgent commentary crushers tend to react – I was more amused.


Kim's vocal similarity to Cartman; the visceral hatred of Hollywood liberals (the movie contrives that Hollywood's leading actors, from Sean Penn to Samuel L. Jackson (yup), are fighting alongside Kim against America); the absence of criticism of the Bush administration and effective endorsement of their "war on terror"; the considerable amounts of clichéd, sluggish, unfunny satire; and the missed potential bother me less. Kim, especially I'm So Ronery, keeps me smiling. Directors Trey Parker and Matt Stone, South Park's right-wing libertarians, also include an uproarious scene of X-rated puppet sex.