''Crossing the Line'' (

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

: 푸른 눈의 평양시민, ''A Blue-Eyed Pyongyang Citizen'' in

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

) is a 2006 British documentary film by Daniel Gordon and Nicholas Bonner. Gordon also wrote the script and produced the documentary.

Synopsis

The film is about a former

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

soldier, James J. Dresnok, who

defected In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, ca ...

on 15 August 1962. It was directed and produced by British filmmakers Daniel Gordon and Nicholas Bonner, and was shown at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. ''Crossing the Line'', which was narrated by actor

Christian Slater Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor. He made his film debut with a leading role in '' The Legend of Billie Jean'' (1985) and gained wider recognition for his breakout role as Jason "J.D." Dean, a sociopath ...

, was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the festival.

Production

It was first screened in 2007 on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. The film centred on Dresnok's history, highlighting his unhappiness in America, and particularly his desertion from the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in 1962 to the

DPRK North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu (Amnok) and Tumen rivers, a ...

. It showed Dresnok in present-day in

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

(where he lived to his death), interacting with his North Korean family and friends. Dresnok spoke exclusively to the filmmakers about his childhood, his desertion, his life in a country completely foreign and quite hostile to his own, his fellow defectors, and his wife and children. Dresnok is shown with fellow defectors, including

Charles Robert Jenkins Charles Robert Jenkins () was a United States Army desertion, deserter, North Korean prisoner, and voice for North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens, Japanese abductees in North Korea. Driven by fear of combat and possible service in th ...

, who returned to Japan to be with his wife, Hitomi Soga (a victim of kidnapping by the North Koreans), while filming was taking place. Dresnok seemed hurt by Jenkins' allegations of physical abuse by Dresnok and the North Korean regime and angrily denied them. Towards the end of ''Crossing the Line'', a North Korean doctor discloses to the BBC that Dresnok is in failing health, mainly due to heavy drinking and smoking.

Cast

James Joseph Dresnok James Joseph Dresnok (, November 24, 1941 – November 2016) was an American defector to North Korea, one of seven U.S. soldiers to defect after the Korean War. After defecting, Dresnok worked as an actor in propaganda films, some directed by ...

as narrator

Reception

The movie had mostly positive reception.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0473181, title=Crossing the Line *
Crossing the Line
' on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

2006 films British documentary films Documentary films about North Korea 2006 documentary films 2000s English-language films 2000s British films English-language documentary films