Comrade Kim Goes Flying

Comrade Kim Goes Flying is a 2012 North Korean romantic comedy feature film,[1] set and filmed in Pyongyang, North Korea.[2]

Comrade Kim Goes Flying
Film poster
Hangul
김동무는 하늘을 난다
McCune–ReischauerKimdongmunŭn hanŭrŭl nanda
Directed byKim Gwang-Hun
Nicholas Bonner
Anja Daelemans
Written bySin Myong Sik
Kim Chol
Produced byAnja Daelemans
Nicholas Bonner
Ryom Mi Hwa
StarringHan Jong Sim
Pak Chung Guk
Edited byAlain Dessauvage
Release date
  • 9 September 2012 (2012-09-09) (Toronto Film Festival)
Running time
81 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
Belgium
North Korea
LanguageKorean

Plot

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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".[3] 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".[1] The three producers reportedly "steered [the North Korean writers] toward comedy and away from the more predictable propaganda line of triumph through hard work".[1]

Cast

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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.[4][3]

The main cast is as follows:[4]

  • 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

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It is a coproduction of Belgian production company Another Dimension of an Idea, the Korea Film Export & Import Corporation, and British travel company Koryo Group.[4][3] It is the fourth film produced by Koryo Group in collaboration with North Korea. The previous three films The Game of Their Lives (2002), A State of Mind (2004) and Crossing the Line (2006) were documentaries. Comrade Kim Goes Flying was shot in Pyongyang, with a North Korean cast and crew.[2]

Reception

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Comrade Kim Goes Flying premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2012.[4] The film also showed at the 2012 Pyongyang International Film Festival.[2][5] In October, it was shown at the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea.[6] In March 2013 it played in the United States, with the Wall Street Journal calling it a "feel-good style of a Doris DayRock Hudson picture".[7] The film was screened at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in July 2018.[8]

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".[9]

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".[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Filming a northern Korea Dream", The New York Times, 30 July 2012
  2. ^ a b c Koryo Quarterly newsletter Archived 16 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, August 2008
  3. ^ a b c "Comrade Kim Goes Flying", Toronto Film Festival
  4. ^ a b c d "Official website". Comradekimgoesflying.com. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  5. ^ "News and Media" Archived 23 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Pyongyang International Film Festival, 22 March 2012
  6. ^ "Le camarade Kim, invité posthume du Festival de Busan", Le Monde, 12 October 2012
  7. ^ Romantic North Korea 20 March 2013. The Wall Street Journal
  8. ^ "S. Korea approves rare screening of N. Korea films". AFP. 10 July 2018. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  9. ^ Films and schedules Archived 24 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Toronto International Film Festival
  10. ^ "Film Review: ‘Comrade Kim Goes Flying’", Variety, 9 March 2013
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