On location: North Korean film set

Lost amid all the hype surrounding the health of it’s commander-in-chief, North Korea opened it’s biennial Pyongyang International Film Festival this week.

Far from avant garde, the North Korean film industry cranks out glorious and prolific tear jerkers - usually about the trials faced during the war of independence from Japan.

However, on one visit, I was able to screen a martial arts action film called “Pyeongyang Nalparam“.

<sarcasm>This movie was quite a bit different, because it involved fighting the Japanese in the early 1900’s instead of the mid-1900’s.  And of course, martial arts, instead of guns.</sarcasm>

The editing left a lot to be desired and I found new appreciation for the movies that make it into theaters in the west - no matter what their review/ratings.