Beautiful, interesting, incredible cinema.
Interweaving footage from the director’s three visits to North Korea with songs, spectacle, popular cinema and archival footage, Songs from the North takes a different look at this enigmatic country typically seen through the distorted lens of jingoistic propaganda and derisive satire.
Interweaving footage from the director’s three visits to North Korea with songs, spectacle, popular cinema and archival footage, Songs from the North takes a different look at this enigmatic country typically seen through the distorted lens of jingoistic propaganda and derisive satire.
Lately we’ve seen plenty of directors filming in the closed world of North Korea, but few pursue their subject with the distinct sensibility and essayistic approach of South Korea-born, American filmmaker Soon-mi Yoo. Her film movingly captures the gulf between everyday people and official rhetoric.