Comrade Kim Goes Flying | |
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![]() Film poster | |
Hangul | 김동무는 하늘을 난다 |
McCune–Reischauer | Kimdongmunŭn hanŭrŭl nanda |
Directed by |
Kim Gwang-Hun Nicholas Bonner Anja Daelemans |
Written by | Sin Myong Sik Kim Chol |
Produced by | Anja Daelemans Nicholas Bonner Ryom Mi Hwa |
Starring | Han Jong Sim Pak Chung Guk |
Edited by | Alain Dessauvage |
Release date |
|
Running time | 81 minutes |
Countries | United Kingdom Belgium North Korea |
Language | Korean |
Comrade Kim Goes Flying is a 2012 North Korean romantic comedy feature film, [1] set and filmed in Pyongyang, North Korea. [2]
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]
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]
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]
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 Day– Rock 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]
Comrade Kim Goes Flying | |
---|---|
![]() Film poster | |
Hangul | 김동무는 하늘을 난다 |
McCune–Reischauer | Kimdongmunŭn hanŭrŭl nanda |
Directed by |
Kim Gwang-Hun Nicholas Bonner Anja Daelemans |
Written by | Sin Myong Sik Kim Chol |
Produced by | Anja Daelemans Nicholas Bonner Ryom Mi Hwa |
Starring | Han Jong Sim Pak Chung Guk |
Edited by | Alain Dessauvage |
Release date |
|
Running time | 81 minutes |
Countries | United Kingdom Belgium North Korea |
Language | Korean |
Comrade Kim Goes Flying is a 2012 North Korean romantic comedy feature film, [1] set and filmed in Pyongyang, North Korea. [2]
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]
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]
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]
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 Day– Rock 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]