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North Korea: A Day in the Life
Average Customer Rating:   
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$29.95
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Manufacturer: Facets
Directed By: Pieter Fleury
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Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: FACETS VIDEO
EAN: 0736899095420
Format: Color
Label: Facets
Manufacturer: Facets
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Facets
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2006-10-31
Running Time: 48
Studio: Facets
Theatrical Release Date: 2004
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Editorial Reviews:
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In this rare look inside North Korea, director Pieter Fleury gained unprecedented access to a country generally cloaked in secrecy. Using "a day in the life" format, Fleury follows the daily routines of a typical North Korean family as they go to work, attend school, and participate in English classes. Though the country’s inhabitants sincerely put their best face forward, the relentless images and ritualized practices of government propaganda offer a telling portrait of this controversial country.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Humanizing the Axis of Evil
Comment: There can be no question about it Pieter Fleury's North Korea: A Day in the Life is a propaganda piece. Never before had a western journalist been given so much access to a country that is traditionally cloaked in secrecy. But propaganda aside the film does give its viewers a look inside this closed world.
Following the daily activities of the Hong family we get a glimpse of what their life is like. Ms. Hong works in a textile factory and is constantly being observed by the government and her fellow workers as we witness power outages and productivity meetings in which the workers berate themselves and their fellow workers for lack of productivity and mistakes. The problems are generally blamed on the Americans who children are taught to hate from an early age. The song mother and child sing on the way to school is chilling.
The family's young daughter goes to school where she learns of the goodness of dictator Kim Jong Il (the General) through a parable of a pair of boots that he gave up as a child so he could wear wet sneakers like his comrades. The school day is completely regimented and the children come across as robots parroting the party line.
The father spends his day in class learning English and not much else is shown concerning him except that he sweeps the street in front of the statue of the General on his way home. An extra feature says that such work is noticed by the government.
Fleury says in an interview that the purpose of the film was to build a bridge between countries by humanizing the people and by showing them laugh. This is shown in the film but what comes across even more is the sterile environment of repression. These are normal people carrying on normal activities in an abnormal world.
See this film for what it is an unflinching look at a world many of us thankfully will never experience.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Another day in paradise.
Comment: This movie shows a day in the life of a typical (or typical government approved for display) North Korean family. There is no narration, and really none seems needed. It's almost morbidly fascinating to watch just as raw footage edited together.
We see the family eating breakfast together, and then the mother, father and child go their separate ways. The mother takes her child to school singing a song of hatred toward America, and then reports for duty at what looks like a textile plant that manufactures outer coats for the military. Here we see the typical day of sewing the same stiches the same way every day while inspiring North Korean music plays over the PA system. Of course, the day is broken up into segments, just as is the day of the child in school and the husband in his English class.
So, it's really three "days" running in parallel, ending with a family gathering to hear an elderly war hero telling stories.
Highlights, for me anyway, include:
The staff meeting at the textile plant where the varous officers berate themselves for their errors.
The English class where the husband and his fellow students seem to be actually having fun. It surprised me that anyone takes English class in North Korea.
And, perhaps the most pathetic, the story of how the Glorious Leader (or whatever they call him) as a child refused to wear the new boots his mother made for him, prefering rather to suffer with wet sneakers like his comrades who didn't have new boots. Better to have wet feet with community than dry feet alone! Or to put it another way, misery loves company, which seems to be the founding and most important rule of life in North Korea.
Not only do we get to see the "story of the wet sneakers" told to a group of young school children, but we get to see the teacher's meeting where teacher go over and over this story and analyse it in detail as if it's the most important thing in the world to teach to a child.
What would have happened if the Glorious Leader has rather figured out a way to mass-manufacture warm boots for everyone and sell them at a low price? Well, then everyone would have warm boots and the Glorious Leader would have made a lot of money and then we'd be in...America.
So, I recommend everyone invest the 48 minutes or so to watch this and see what the workers' paradise North Korea looks like from the point of view of an "average" family. Better yet, watch it with wet sneakers on.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but not for everyone.
Comment: I have a mixed review of this DVD. For most people, I would recommend instead getting the National Geocgraphic video. I recently ordered both and watched the two almost back-to-back, and much of the video was the same. The National Geographic video, however, was narrated very well.
On the plus side for this video, however, this DVD had SOME new footage, and it was not narrated (that can be a plus for some people). For people who are avid "North Korea watchers" or researchers, it may very well be worth a look. Since those folks may not need a voiceover explaining what they're watching, the lack of narration may be a bonus. As D. Morris alluded, however, the average person will find this DVD boring.
Customer Rating:
Summary: the real life version of The invasion of the body snatchers meets George Orwells Animal Farm
Comment: As many problems as America has, after watching this and Lisa Ling's's Inside North Korea I thank God Alimighty I live in a free country and am not a mind numbed robot. This was absolutley chilling and frighting to see what life is really like on the other side of fence. It broke my heart to see those poor kids in that kindergarden and how they are being lied to by that looneytunes nutcase dictator "the dear leader" Kim L Sung. God bless America and thank goodness for freedom
Customer Rating:
Summary: B-O-R-I-N-G!!!
Comment: Just bizarre! There are few things to which are engaging at the beginning of this documentary, but not all that interesting. I believe the power-outage was just a little too long - but gave an idea how long these situations occur AND what happens during them. The dancing and singing is worth a slight giggle. Not narrated, which makes for a boring couple of hours.
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