One of the films that I didn’t realize was playing at this year’s NYAFF was a Belgium, UK, and freakin’ North Korean co-production titled Comrade Kim Goes Flying. You read that right, a North Korean film that was shot in the country and starring first time actors is making the festival rounds and man is it an experience that you have to live through for yourself (just because it’s a North Korean movie, you’ll likely be the only one to have seen one).
Directed by Anja Daelemans, Nicholas Bonner and Kim Gwang Hun, Comrade Kim Goes Flying tells the story of Kim Yong-Mi (Han Jong-sim), an accomplished and hardworking countryside coal mine worker who has dreams of joining the national circus as a trapeze artist. When she is sent to Pyongyang she finds out there is an audition to join the troupe and that’s when she hilariously realizes that she is afraid of heights. After meeting Pak Jang-phil (Pak Chung-guk), the head of the Pyongyang Trapeze Troupe who insulted her, she becomes determined to conquer her fears and perform the acrobatic acts she’s dreamt about since she was a child. As time passes her looks and perseverance win Jang-phil over and he learns a thing or two about humility while also thinking she might be a great replacement for his former partner who recently left the circus.
Comrade Kim Goes Flying is one of those super bubbly, over-the-top friendly movies made exclusively for children. The only adults that would ever consider watching this are the ones who speak Korean and plan on watching it with their kids or cinephiles who want to see what a North Korean film could be like as well as seeing what North Korea actually looks like on the inside since, as most people know, we don’t exactly have an open window to view into the country.
Personally, I found it very difficult to watch the film because of how childlike it was and the fact that our lead literally had a smile on her face for 93% of the film. I’m all for uppity films like Pee Wee’s Big Adventure but this made me want to rip my eyes out and fill my ears with cement. What’s funny is that I didn’t even mind the communist messages that popped up every so often, I could live with that since it was really all about promoting team work, but what I couldn’t handle was the intense positivity and creating this hardcore follow your dreams, anything you can do I can also do regardless of class mantra, it emotionally wore me down. It’s like watching an 88 minute long Nick Jr. show with the slow speaking, overzealous personality of Dora the Explorer as the lead.
Though more of a generic straight to DVD film than a romantic comedy theatrical feature which it is billed as, Comrade Kim Goes Flying is actually a film that’s easy on the eyes and shows that North Korea isn’t exactly as desolate as one might have thought, in fact it does have some beauty in the areas we get to see. The acting might be clearly amateur and the story is highly predictable but, probably thanks to the outside help from the UK and Belgium, it is not nearly as terrible as one would have expected it to be, it’s just painfully childish.
Rating: An agonizing watch for adults but the overall production quality isn’t too bad for a North Korean film (3.5/10 for adults; 6/10 for kids who can actually watch it)
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