In the 1970's and 80's, Kim Jong-il, son of North Korea's leader Kim Il-Sung, led the DPRK's film industry. He picked the subjects and led the productions personally. "Kotpanum chonio" (The Flower Girl, 1972) is often viewed to be the country's "Citizen Kane", though it too is made to serve the national Juche ideology. This was the only North Korean film to win a prize outside the country, and it was an audience hit in many Asian countries. The film is said to be based on a play by the leader Kim Il-Sung himself, no less.
Set during the Japanese occupation, "The Flower Girl" tells the story of Kotpun, a young girl who is forced to sell flowers in order to make enough money to buy medicine for her sick mother. She also has to take care of her younger sister, which is not easy in a country run by the brutal Japanese imperial forces. The film is a melodrama, though in the usual North Korean fashion, every now and then we get a song that describes the plot to us, though it really needn't. This is part of the reason why the film feels slow and goes on for two hours. Halfway through, we find out about the existence of a spoken-word narrator, which is just bad film-making.
DPRK cinema is a hobby of mine. I have seen about 50 films from North Korea. Though it is enormously beloved in its home country, "The Flower Girl" is not one of their best, at least in my opinion. It is less straightforward in its propaganda, which is good, but the film-makers should have toned down the melodramatic elements. The film is loud, and there is crying in nearly every scene. The plot is not half bad, and for once the nationalist flavor of a DPRK production stems from actually showing, how bad things used to be for the poor people. This could be a good film, had it been made better.
For me, "The Flower Girl" is more comedic than it is moving. It tries to make every scene into a climax by always picking the plot continuation, that has the biggest emotional impact. That's not how good movies work and it also makes the film very predictable for anyone who loves to watch better melodramas, like I do.
"The Flower Girl" is a good introduction to DPRK film industry. It is an interesting curiosity, but not a classic of world cinema.
Set during the Japanese occupation, "The Flower Girl" tells the story of Kotpun, a young girl who is forced to sell flowers in order to make enough money to buy medicine for her sick mother. She also has to take care of her younger sister, which is not easy in a country run by the brutal Japanese imperial forces. The film is a melodrama, though in the usual North Korean fashion, every now and then we get a song that describes the plot to us, though it really needn't. This is part of the reason why the film feels slow and goes on for two hours. Halfway through, we find out about the existence of a spoken-word narrator, which is just bad film-making.
DPRK cinema is a hobby of mine. I have seen about 50 films from North Korea. Though it is enormously beloved in its home country, "The Flower Girl" is not one of their best, at least in my opinion. It is less straightforward in its propaganda, which is good, but the film-makers should have toned down the melodramatic elements. The film is loud, and there is crying in nearly every scene. The plot is not half bad, and for once the nationalist flavor of a DPRK production stems from actually showing, how bad things used to be for the poor people. This could be a good film, had it been made better.
For me, "The Flower Girl" is more comedic than it is moving. It tries to make every scene into a climax by always picking the plot continuation, that has the biggest emotional impact. That's not how good movies work and it also makes the film very predictable for anyone who loves to watch better melodramas, like I do.
"The Flower Girl" is a good introduction to DPRK film industry. It is an interesting curiosity, but not a classic of world cinema.
