Learning to make a North Korean propaganda film

NOV 17 2015

An Australian filmmaker travels to Pyongyang to be trained by North Korean directors, and reports back on the rules they teach - the heroic protagonist, the emotional crescendo, music cued to instruct the viewer how to feel. Taking the craft seriously reveals a formal system rather than mere crudeness, which is why the exercise works better than mockery. The segment keeps the regime's claims at arm's length while studying its methods.