maxgallow

The director paints North Korea in strangely positive broad brush strokes. It's about the most non-documentary documentary possible. He barely touches on the serious issues facing North Korea, but rather,focuses on the most mundane social norms and daily activities of North Koreans. Which I guess is his point. He proposes that North Korea is becoming prosperous, their grocery stores are well-stocked, and their bars and nightlife is just like the rest of Asia. This attempt mostly fails by showing a practically empty and dreary piano bar. He films almost none of rural North Korea where life is very different than in Pyongyang. Somehow he makes images of marching children seem innocuous and normal. He doesn't mention that the reason people are gathering in the City Square in subzero weather to watch a sitcom on the giant TV is not because it is a social time- but because they don't have TVs in their homes. It feels more like propaganda than a documentary. So I guess if you want an hour and a half of very strange images of North Korea and A narrator who extols the "New" version of North Korea this is for you.

I know what it is like to have a recovering addict as a sibling. I understand the frustration, anger, disappointment completely. I never felt the need to be mean. Jenny seems to be trying really hard. My brother took his own life due to addiction. Try to be kind. You never know if the words you say are going to be your last.