''Comrade Kim Goes Flying'' is a 2012
North Korean romantic comedy feature film,
["Filming a North Korean Dream"](_blank)
''The New York Times'', 30 July 2012 set and filmed in
Pyongyang, North Korea.
[Koryo Quarterly newsletter](_blank)
, August 2008
Plot
Comrade Kim Yong Mi is a North Korean coal miner. Her dream of becoming a
trapeze artist is crushed by the arrogant trapeze star Pak Jang Phil, who believes that "miners belong underground and not in the air".
Co-director Nicholas Bonner described it as a "
girl-power fairy tale about dreaming to fly", adding that his hope was "for Korean audiences to see the film on both sides of the border and be entertained".
The three producers reportedly "steered
he North Korean writerstoward comedy and away from the more predictable propaganda line of triumph through hard work".
Cast
The film is directed by Kim Gwang Hun, Nicholas Bonner and Anja Daelemans; produced by Anja Daelemans, Nicholas Bonner and Ryom Mi Hwa; and written by Sin Myong Sik and Kim Chol.
The main cast is as follows:
*Han Jong Sim as Kim Yong Mi ("Comrade Kim")
*Pak Chung Guk as Pak Jang Phil
*Ri Yong Ho as Commander Sok Gun
*Kim Son Nam as Yong Mi's father
*Ri Ik Sung as the coal mine manager
*Kim Un Yong as Ri Su Yon (trapeze artist)
*Han Kil Myong as Yong Mi's Grandmother
*An Chang Sun as Jang Phil's mother
Production
It is a coproduction between Belgian production company
Another Dimension of an Idea, the
Korea Film Export & Import Corporation, and British travel company
Koryo Group.
["Comrade Kim Goes Flying"](_blank)
Toronto Film Festival It is the fourth film produced by Koryo Group in co-operation with North Korea. The previous three films ''
The Game of Their Lives'' (2002), ''
A State of Mind
''A State of Mind'' is a 2004 documentary film directed by Daniel Gordon and produced by Nicholas Bonner.Justin Corfield, ''Historical Dictionary of Pyongyang 2013'', page 16 "Nick Bonner has also been involved in the production of a number o ...
'' (2004) and ''
Crossing the Line
Crossing the Line may refer to:
Films
* ''Crossing the Line'', an alternate US title for the film '' The Big Man'', by David Leland
* ''Crossing the Line'', an alternate UK title for the film '' Little Woods'', by Nia DaCosta
* ''Crossing the ...
'' (2006) were documentaries. ''Comrade Kim Goes Flying'' was shot in Pyongyang, with a North Korean cast and crew.
Reception
''Comrade Kim Goes Flying'' premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
in September 2012.
The film also showed at the 2012
Pyongyang International Film Festival
The Pyongyang International Film Festival is a biennial cultural exhibition held in Pyongyang, North Korea. Until 2002, the film festival was reserved to "non-aligned and other developing countries".
History
The event originated in 1987 as the P ...
.
In October, it was shown at the
Busan International Film Festival
The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first fest ...
in South Korea. In March 2013 it played in the United States, with the ''
Wall Street Journal'' calling it a "feel-good style of a
Doris Day–
Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Gold ...
picture". The film was screened at the
Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival
The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (), or BiFan, is an international film festival held annually in July in Bucheon, South Korea. Prior to 2015, it was known as the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival or PiFan. Inaugurate ...
in July 2018.
The programmer for Toronto described the film in these terms: "A winning, life-affirming fable about a young coal miner's pursuit of her dream to become an acrobat, ''Comrade Kim Goes Flying'' is the first Western-financed fiction feature made entirely in North Korea".
Reviewing the film for ''
Variety'', Jay Weissberg wrote: "''Comrade Kim Goes Flying'' proves that cooperation with the West really is possible, at least in cinema. A candy-hued throwback to a chirpy Technicolor time when pluck wins out and '
postmodern' wasn't yet invented, this 'let's put on a show!' tale of a young woman miner's dream of becoming an acrobat has been winning hearts since preeming at Toronto".
"Film Review: ‘Comrade Kim Goes Flying’"
''Variety'', 9 March 2013
References
External links
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* {{Rotten Tomatoes
About Koryo Group films
2012 films
Foreign relations of North Korea
British romantic comedy films
Belgian romantic comedy films
North Korean comedy films
Films set in North Korea
Films shot in North Korea
2010s British films