On the Green Carpet
| On the Green Carpet | |
|---|---|
 Cover | |
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 푸른 주단우에서 |
| Revised Romanization | Pureun Judan-u-eseo |
| McCune–Reischauer | P'urŭn Jutan-u-e-sŏ |
| Directed by | Rim Chang-bom |
| Starring | Ri Gyong-hi Ri Yong-ho Ri Kum Suk |
| Cinematography | Han Ryong U |
| Music by | Jo Song Su |
Production company | Korean Film Studio |
| Distributed by | Mokran Video Korean Film Export and Import Company |
Release date |
|
Running time | 81 minutes |
| Country | North Korea |
| Language | Korean |
On the Green Carpet is a 2001 North Korean film directed by Rim Chang-bom.[1] The film's title refers to the turf of the stadium which annually hosts the May Day mass games in Pyongyang.[2]
Summary
[edit]The film is a romantic comedy, which involves a coach who is preparing a group of schoolchildren for the May Day mass games, and a former colleague who has now become his superior. She feels that he is being too demanding of his young performers, as the show he has devised requires a series of multiple somersaults. However, the children are willing to work as hard as necessary to please their leader, Kim Jong-il, and the film culminates in a lavish display of their abilities.[2]
Everyday life in North Korea is presented as being pleasant and trouble-free, with no evidence of reported food shortages and an emphasis on the people's devotion to the "Dear Leader".[2][3]
Festival screenings and critical response
[edit]On the Green Carpet was the first North Korean film to be invited to the Berlin International Film Festival, where it was screened in 2004 as a special one-off event. It had been chosen by the festival committee from a selection of ten films, and aroused a great deal of interest despite being shown without subtitles and with a German-language-only voice-over. The predominantly German audience who saw the film later criticized it for its "Nazi-style propaganda". Sheila Johnson of FIPRESCI regarded it as a "rare and fascinating curiosity", but noted: "On the Green Carpet, with its flat, high-key lighting, functional editing and over-fondness for the zoom lens, could have been made forty years ago; although the subject might be superficially similar, it was executed with none of the technical brilliance of a Leni Riefenstahl movie."[2]
On the Green Carpet has previously been screened at the 23rd Moscow International Film Festival in 2001.[4]
References
[edit]
- ^ Ri, Un Gyong (2018). Korean Film 3. Pyongyang: Korean Film Export and Import Company. p. 8.
- ^ a b c d Johnson, Sheila. "North Korean Cinematography in Berlin: Rosy Picture Of Everyday Life" Archived 2011-08-13 at the Wayback Machine. FIPRESCI, 2004. Retrieved on 27 October 2008.
- ^ Behnke, Alison. North Korea in Pictures, pp. 55. Twenty First Century Books, 2004. ISBN 978-0-8225-1908-9.
- ^ Holloway, Ron. "(1) 23rd Moscow International Film Festival 2001" Archived 2009-07-14 at the Wayback Machine. Kinema, 2002. Retrieved on 27 October 2008.