Carlton Palmer, Eric Cantona and eight North Korean superheroes 

The Nprth Korean's celebrate their victory over Italy


Peter Davies goes to the pictures

The Cornerhouse in Manchester is one of my favourite places in the world.

 

In the trade, it is known as an 'independent' or 'arthouse' or 'alternative' cinema. It is sited on Oxford Road in the middle of the city, near to the BBC Studios and the Palace Theatre. Its claim to fame - if that is the right phrase - is that while at Manchester United Eric Cantona spent a lot of time in the first-floor café bar. Yes, it's that cool.


The Cornerhouse is an excellent place. In a world full of Odeons and Multiplexes, the Cornerhouse stands almost alone as a cinema of integrity and independence.


I recently turned up at the cinema to watch a documentary called The Game of Their Lives (TGOTL). It was billed as a football spectacular - the inside story of North Korea's amazing adventures during the 1966 World Cup. North Korea not only won through from their qualifying group - disposing of Italy along the way - but gave Portugal a mighty scare in the quarter-finals, eventually going down 5-3 at Goodison Park.


What is more, the director of the film, Dan Gordon (a Sheffield Wednesday fan), was present at the Cornerhouse screening I went to. He introduced his documentary, then went to the bar while everyone was watching it, and then returned at the end to do an extremely revealing Question-and-Answer session in tandem with his Executive Producer,


The evening was given an extra touch of spice by the two blokes sitting immediately behind me. They kept whispering to each other all night, and not very quietly. I discovered that they were both Stockport fans. I overheard a lot of anti-Carlton Palmer utterances during the evening, and at one point they seemed to be saying that even though the North Korean heroes of 1966 were now very old, they could probably still play County off the park. Yes, Palmer's Stockport are that bad - apparently.


I have never really viewed 'documentaries' as 'films' in the same way that 'movies' are 'films', but after watching TGOTL, I've changed my mind. The documentary was not only well made, but inventive and thought-provoking throughout. When it finished, a spontaneous burst of applause rang round the auditorium. It was received that well. The main themes of the evening were these:

  1. England won the 1966 competition, but North Korea were the 'real heroes'.

  2. The North Korean squad of 1966 have slipped quietly into oblivion - hence the rationale for the documentary.

  3. The North Korean authorities let the film-makers into the country precisely because the documentary would cast a good light on the country.

  4. During the 1966 World Cup, the North Koreans were inspired by their very own 'national ideology'.

  5. A bizarre relationship developed in 1966 between the people of Middlesbrough and the North Korean squad because the team played all their qualifying games at Ayresome Park.

As you left the cinema, you could avail yourself of some amazing TGOTL merchandise - the book of the film, the video of the film, or some stunning signed postcards of the eight North Korean 'heroes' who are still alive.


In the days that followed my trip to Manchester, I delved into the Internet for reviews and more information about the film. This is what I found:

 

REVIEW I

In the 1966 World Cup, the North Korean football team shocked the world by knocking out Italy. They then disappeared into oblivion. After four years of negotiations, director Daniel Gordon secured access to North Korea to recount 'the greatest football story never told'. Using a combination of absorbing archival footage, inter-cut with beautifully shot images of modern-day North Korea, Gordon recounts the unlikely love affair that developed between the North Koreans and their host city Middlesbrough. 'It still remains a riddle to me - the people of Middlesbrough supported us all the way through. I still don't know the reason why,' recalls one of the North Korean players interviewed by Gordon. Full of intriguing details, and never short on pace, The Game of Their Lives is a fascinating insight into the motivations and workings of one of the world's most secret countries. And a great football story.

REVIEW II

North Korea's 1-0 defeat of Italy at Middlesbrough in 1966 was by far the biggest shock in World Cup history - 1000-1 outsiders against the wealthiest players on the planet. Yet, due to the inaccessibility of North Korea to Westerners, it's taken over 35 years for the players to be put in the spotlight once more. Daniel Gordon (Director) of VeryMuchSo Productions and Nicholas Bonner (Associate Producer and North Korea specialist) of Koryo Tours, have spent the past five years making the film The Game of Their Lives.


The Game of Their Lives tracks down the seven survivors of that great side of 1966 as well as giving an insight into modern North Korea. The film captures the incredible relationship that developed between the North Koreans and the fans of Middlesbrough who adopted the players as their 'home side'. The support was so great in the match against Chile that the crowd's thunderous applause and stamping broke the lights in the press box! 


Told mainly by Pak Do Ik, scorer of the winning goal and a national hero in North Korea, the filmmakers travel around North Korea talking to the seven surviving players and their trainer, reliving their experiences in England, and catching up with them in their present-day jobs. Providing a background to the story are the country's politics and beliefs. The film aims to tell a very human-oriented story with real issues and real people - all brought together through football.


The Game of Their Lives traces the preparation of the North Korean team, their philosophies and their deep belief in teamwork. Rising from the devastation of the Korean war and with their Chollima-inspired recovery effort, the players and the people share an obvious and fanatical love of their country and their Great Leader, Kim Il Sung. As The Game of Their Lives introduces us to a group of people we haven't heard from in 36 years, the film is one of struggle, success, surprise and football transcending political and cultural boundaries.

 

With colour footage obtained from the North Korean film crew in 1966, the film shows the three games at Ayresome Park, the former ground of Middlesbrough FC, and the quarter-final at Goodison Park, home of Everton FC. It also shows how the North Koreans were adopted by the Middlesbrough people and especially its Mayor at the time. This culminates in 3,000 Middlesbrough supporters following the North Korean team 150 miles to Goodison Park for their quarter-final clash with Portugal, lead by the mighty Eusebio.

 

It is perhaps Pak Do Ik, the man who scored the winning goal against Italy, who best captures the spirit of the whole project: 'The English people took us to their hearts and vice versa. I learned that football is not only about the winning. Wherever we go…playing football can improve diplomatic relations and promote peace.'

REVIEW III

As the 1966 North Korea football team return to the UK, this is another chance to see the highly-entertaining documentary about the seven surviving players who knocked out Italy and won the hearts of the British public.

 

A remarkable film and affectionate story, The Game of Their Lives proves it isn't just England who still get nostalgic about 1966.

FOUR FACTS

1. The home and away legs of North Korea's World Cup qualifying match against Australia were both played in Cambodia.

2. 3,000 Middlesborough fans followed the North Korean side to Liverpool for their match against Portugal.

3. The atheist North Koreans were forced to stay in a Catholic retreat in Liverpool, accommodation originally intended for the Italian team.

4. Although the North Korean dictator Kim Il Sung died in 1994 he is still the country's 'eternal president'. 

SCREENINGS AND INFO

For screenings and further information, see: www.thegameoftheirlives.com

For travel to North Korea, see: www.koryogroup.com

Take a look also at the way the film was reported in the media:

NORTH KOREAN SOCCER STARS RECALL THE GAME OF THEIR LIVES
By Hamish McDonald, Herald Correspondent in Beijing
North Koreans may feel a bit more loved over the next two weeks, as an extraordinary reunion in Britain recalls a moment of sporting history when they were the toast of the world.


The seven surviving players and coach of the North Korean team that made it to the World Cup quarter-finals in 1966 by knocking out a hot favourite, Italy, are returning to the scenes of their triumph in the industrial north of England. The men, in their late-50s, are emerging again from the shadows into which they disappeared after their moment of celebrity 36 years ago.


'We are looking forward to seeing the people who were so kind and hospitable to us,' said Han Bong-jin, who now coaches the Pyongyang city team.


They will be present at the premier showing in Sheffield of a remarkable TV documentary about their 1966 tour, The Game of Their Lives, made by a British director and soccer fan, Dan Gordon, over the past four years in collaboration with a Beijing-based travel agent, Nick Bonner, who has a niche business running tours in and out of reclusive North Korea.

The Sydney Morning Herald
Australia has a small cameo role in the story. North Korea qualified for the World Cup finals by beating Australia 6-1 and 3-1 in two games played in the neutral country of Cambodia because of the lack of diplomatic relations between the two countries. 


The Cambodian ruler, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, was a sporting host. He divided the Phnom Penh stadium in half, and allocated 20,000 Cambodian spectators to each side, and they barracked with enthusiasm. 


An African boycott then let the North Koreans progress to the Finals. When they arrived in England they were 1000-1 outsiders, and lost their first game 3-0 against the Soviet Union. But then they drew against Chile, and their hosts in the working-class town of Middlesborough became galvanised with pro-Korea fervour.


In their next game they achieved the greatest upset in World Cup history, with the match's single goal by Pak Do-Ik downing the Italians, who at that time were the world's most highly regarded and highly paid soccer players.


The North Koreans became the first Asian side to move into the World Cup quarter-finals, and the Italians went home to be pelted with rotten tomatoes in Genoa. 


North Korea went three goals up in the first half of their next match, against Portugal in Liverpool, where about 3000 Middlesbrough fans had packed the stands and chanted: 'Korea! Korea!'


But then the dream run ended. The Koreans were outclassed by Portugal's all-time great Eusebio, who scored four goals. Portugal won 5-3 and went on to the semi-final against England, who defeated West Germany in the final.


The documentary puts to rest the rumour, possibly created by Cold War propagandists, that the North Koreans were packed off to labour camps on their return for having 'thrown' the Portugal game.


Mr Bonner says they continue to be household names and prominent soccer personalities rather than non-persons.

WAR GAMES - THERE'S NO BEATING A GAME WHERE TWO NATIONS FACE OFF IN A GLOBAL SHOWDOWN…
 By Andrew Mueller, The Guardian
There's no beating a game where two nations face off in a global showdown, both aiming to score as many political points as goals. Andrew Mueller plays referee in sport's biggest grudge matches. 


The world hears a lot about North Korea, but the world, if pressed, could probably only name three North Koreans: Kim Il Sung, the Great Leader, the founding father, who has not been formally disencumbered of his responsibilities as head of state despite being dead for some years; Kim Jong Il, the Dear Leader, son and heir of the aforementioned; and Pak Do Ik, a sprightly winger who, one improbable afternoon at Ayresome Park during the 1966 World Cup, scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Italy. North Korea, then as now the most secretive country on earth, had announced themselves with one of the greatest sporting upsets of all time. 


'In the dressing room at half- time,' recalls Pak during an amazing film called The Game of Their Lives, 'the players were full of resolve. We knew what the Great Leader expected of us.' (Which, whatever one's opinion of Stalinist totalitarianism, makes a change from, 'Well, I've hit it across the keeper and it's gone in and at the end of the day I've got to be pleased with that, Garth.') 


The Game of Their Lives catches up with North Korea's 1966 side, 35 years later. The film took four years to organise, while permission to take cameras to North Korea was wrung from the authorities in Pyongyang. It was worth the wait. The old men, their suits spangled with dutifully polished medals, tell of and exemplify a life and mindset incomprehensible outside North Korea at a number of levels, whether it's their heartfelt tears when discussing the late Great Leader, or their wistful nostalgia for Middlesbrough, the population of which adopted the North Koreans as their own during the team's stay there. 


While their Italian opponents went home to a reception of angrily flung vegetables, the North Koreans proceeded to a quarter- final with Portugal. Incredibly, they were 3-0 up at one point, before Eusebio started playing, scoring four and laying on a fifth. 


They'd proved their point, though, in the way that only sport can. Their country had only existed for 21 years. It had been at war with half the world, including Britain, 14 years previously, and still wasn't recognised by the government of the United Kingdom (the Foreign Office went to extraordinary lengths to prevent the North Korean anthem being played during the tournament). But after 1966, everyone knew who they were. 


Sport has never been played in a vacuum. Governments use it to prove things to each other as ruthlessly as the participants.