In my opinion, a documentary that cooperates with the government and expresses the image and values of a country is generally shot like this. There are always some specific actors and deliberate scripts. It is understandable to express the "beauty" of the country, so I I don't feel anything special about those "tidbits" shots either.
However, this film still reminds me of how I felt when I traveled to North Korea in 2014. Although the title of the film is "Under the Sun", the North Korean side should have specially selected a sunny day to shoot, but if you pay attention to the feelings of the North Korean people in the film With the expressions on their faces, one can still feel the confusion and depression of most of them.
For example, the family of Zin-mi, the protagonist, is almost never seen smiling with her parents in the film. The staff in the Chaofang always have a straight face, and the workers in the factory put on a rigid face. I saw the same thing when I walked on the streets of North Korea. In North Korea, there is a very typical scene in the documentary recording the escalator in a subway station. Most of the people on the escalator are dressed in dull dark clothes, their expressions are solemn, and they are unsmiling. This is also the impression they gave me.
I used to think that North Koreans can enjoy themselves in this simple ideology even if their lives are monotonous because of their personality cult, but then I felt that their expressions betrayed them. Under the rule of the Kim family, the repression of North Koreans should be It is to make their lives dull, boring, and hopeless. Or on the other hand, they lived in too much confusion. In Barbara Demick's "We Are the Happiest", the North Koreans denounced each other's plot, which may also lead them to be habitually cautious in their words and deeds. And then reflected on that uneasy expression.
Speaking of this, we can't help but look back at the country we are in. There was also a haze of personality cult in a certain historical period. Those who wore military uniforms, armbands, and shouted slogans had dull expressions. People who are full of confusion after being deprived of educational resources are not much different from the situation in North Korea. Even today, we can still feel some almost deliberate ideological guidance made by this country. Fortunately, the general environment is much better after all. For people of insight, at least they can choose whether to listen or not. , you can also choose your own three views, and even stay away from some difficult value systems.
It's a pity that North Korea has not yet opened up to this level. I am very worried about the fate of Jin Mi after this documentary is broadcast - her interview at the end of the film is likely to cause disaster for her, and this is the only time she accepts Questions outside the script.
The person behind the camera asked her, "You are now a Young Pioneer, what do you expect most now?"
She said some clichés that the Young Pioneers should be responsible for their actions, and then shed tears in the close-up of the camera.
In order to comfort her and make her think of something happy, the outsider said, "I can't think of it." In
the end, they tried to make her read a couple of poems or sing a song.
She chose to recite the Young Pioneers' joining oath... ...
the whole documentary ends here, and all the sadness, anger, criticism and irony come together here, and I just hope she and her family are all right now.
View more about Under the Sun reviews