Sunday, July 11, 2010
Crossing the Line movie (American defector in North Korea)
I just watched this documentary last night. It's a fascinating look into the mind of an American GI who defected to North Korea in the 1960s. I am surprised at how much leeway the North Korean government allowed in interviewing and following this guy throughout Pyongyang. It is more about the man and what makes him tick than politics and ideology. James Dresnok had a rough childhood in Virginia. He was in foster homes and dropped out of high school. He deserted when his marriage failed. He was lauded as a hero in North Korea but tried to defect again by approaching the Soviet embassy (he failed). He has a blond haired adult son with a kidnapped Romanian woman (who passed away). He is now married and has a young son with the illegitimate daughter of a Korean woman and Togolese diplomat. The story is strange and I've barely touched on the truly bizarre parts.
Thank you for finding this documentary. I had a chance to watch it via Netflix and it is utterly fascinating, disturbing, and complex. In a weird way, I do feel that Dresnok is strangly content. Dresnok seems to be a simple man, but learned Korean proficiently (not an easy task) and hardily followed/follows the DPRK complany line. The wives subplot is a story all by itself
ReplyDelete@MattC: I am so glad you enjoyed it. It's a really great story. I also think he feels obligated to stay because the North Koreans gave up so much during the famine while he kept on living the (relatively) high life. But his drinking and smoking are definitely a result of deep psychological issues.
ReplyDeleteIf I find anything else on Netflix (Watch Instantly function) worth sharing, I'll let you know. I just watched Bulletproof Salesman. It's not nearly as good as Crossing the Line, but it's got a car angle. A German dude makes millions selling armored Mercs and Land Cruisers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Very amoral guy.
Thanks for the recommendation, it was fantastic.
ReplyDeleteI love all the criteria collection films they've been adding lately.
Have you seen Fog of War?
@Alan. I saw Fog of War a long time ago but I don't remember if I liked it or not.
ReplyDeleteWhat is your icon/avatar supposed to show?
@kashgar216:
ReplyDeleteI also saw Bulletproof Salesman and found it very interesting. I watched it thinking that the salesman would be some opportunistic charlatan. However, he seemed to be a very articulate saleman who was passionate about quality and safety. It showed real character about his company leaving Iraq, because his company refused to lower their safety standards.
I bet you liked it. My favorite doc of all time.
ReplyDeleteIt's just a strange, alcohol-induced p-shop melange of some Quasimoto album artwork and an Orwellian propaganda poster featuring yours truly in a facebook app'd photo - something along the lines of "your yearbook photo circa 1960".
Oh yeah and my cat Frank.
You asked.