Directed by N.C. Heikin • Documentary • 2009 • 75 minutes
North Korea is one of the world’s most isolated nations. For sixty years, North Koreans have been governed by a totalitarian regime that controls all information entering and leaving the country. A cult of personality surrounds its two recent leaders: first, Kim Il Sung, and now his son, Kim Jong Il. For Kim Jong Il’s 46th birthday, a hybrid red begonia named kimjongilia was created, symbolizing wisdom, love, justice, and peace. The film draws its name from the rarefied flower and reveals the extraordinary stories told by survivors of North Korea’s vast prison camps, of devastating famine, and of every kind of repression. All of the interviews featured took place in South Korea, where the defectors now live.
Kimjongilia examines the mass illusion possible under totalitarianism and the human rights abuses required to maintain that illusion. Ultimately, the defectors are inspiring, for despite the extremes they have suffered, they still hold out hope for a better future.
"A visually striking, inventively constructed documentary that intercuts grim testimony from North Korean defectors with a wide variety of unusual footage." —Los Angeles Times
Up Next in Across Asia
-
Wrath of Silence
Directed by Yukun Xin • Drama • With Wu Jiang, Yang Song • 2017 • 119 minutes
Searching for his missing son in the rough mountains of Northern China, Zhang Baomin (Yang Song), a mute miner with a brutal past, confronts a world of corruption led by the villainous Chang Wannian (Wu Jiang), a cross...
-
Johnnie To's Office
Directed by Johnnie To • Drama • With Sylvia Chang, Chow Yun-Fat, Eason Chan, Tang Wei, Lang Yueting, Wang Ziyi • 2015 • 120 minutes
Based on the hit play 'Design for Living' by star and producer Sylvia Chang, Office is a movie musical spectacular revolving around corporate maneuvering and roman...
-
The Hole (Tsai Ming-liang)
Directed by Tsai Ming-liang • Drama • With Lee Kang-Sheng; Yang Kuei-Mei • 1998 • 89 minutes
Set just prior to the start of the 21st century, this vaguely futuristic story follows two residents of a quickly crumbling building who refuse to leave their homes in spite of a virus that has forced th...
