{"id":543570,"date":"2023-01-25T22:21:48","date_gmt":"2023-01-25T19:21:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/beyond-utopia-review-an-uneven-but-gripping-doc-about-north-korean-defectors\/"},"modified":"2023-01-25T22:21:48","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T19:21:48","slug":"beyond-utopia-review-an-uneven-but-gripping-doc-about-north-korean-defectors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/beyond-utopia-review-an-uneven-but-gripping-doc-about-north-korean-defectors\/","title":{"rendered":"#\u2018Beyond Utopia\u2019 Review: An Uneven but Gripping Doc About North Korean Defectors"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3dd25fa1241\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3dd25fa1241\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/beyond-utopia-review-an-uneven-but-gripping-doc-about-north-korean-defectors\/#%E2%80%98Beyond_Utopia_Review_An_Uneven_but_Gripping_Doc_About_North_Korean_Defectors\" >\u2018Beyond Utopia\u2019 Review: An Uneven but Gripping Doc About North Korean Defectors<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/beyond-utopia-review-an-uneven-but-gripping-doc-about-north-korean-defectors\/#Beyond_Utopia\" >Beyond Utopia<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%98Beyond_Utopia_Review_An_Uneven_but_Gripping_Doc_About_North_Korean_Defectors\"><\/span>\u2018Beyond Utopia\u2019 Review: An Uneven but Gripping Doc About North Korean Defectors<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    An astonishing real-life geopolitical thriller with a very run-of-the-mill historical explainer grafted to it like a remora, Madeleine Gavin\u2019s documentary <em>Beyond Utopia<\/em> is so packed with high-stakes tension and nail-biting set-pieces that it\u2019s fairly easy, and probably even ideal, to ignore its clunky structuring and expositional choices.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    <em>Beyond Utopia<\/em> is primarily a three-pronged story about the perils of defecting from modern North Korea, as well as the nightmarish realities that make defecting such a necessity.<\/p>\n<div class=\"review-summary-card\">\n<div class=\" lrv-u-flex lrv-u-flex-direction-column@mobile-max lrv-u-padding-a-125 u-background-color-honey-light \">\n<div class=\"lrv-u-flex lrv-u-flex-direction-column u-width-275@tablet u-border-b-1@mobile-max u-border-r-1@tablet u-border-dotted lrv-u-margin-r-150 lrv-u-padding-r-150 lrv-u-margin-r-00@mobile-max lrv-u-padding-r-00@mobile-max lrv-u-padding-b-125@mobile-max lrv-u-margin-b-075@mobile-max\">\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  lrv-u-font-family-primary u-font-size-34 u-font-size-38@desktop-xl lrv-u-line-height-small lrv-u-margin-b-125 \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Beyond_Utopia\"><\/span>\n<p>                    Beyond Utopia       <\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>                    <span class=\"lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase lrv-u-font-family-accent lrv-u-font-weight-bold lrv-u-color-brand-primary lrv-u-font-size-16 lrv-u-display-block\">The Bottom Line<\/span><br \/>\n                    <span class=\"c-span  u-font-size-22@tablet u-font-style-italic lrv-u-font-family-secondary\"><\/p>\n<p>    An intimate, real-life geopolitical thriller.<br \/>\n    <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Seoul-based Pastor Seungeun Kim has spent decades putting his own life in jeopardy to coordinate and facilitate defections. He has a network of ethically compromised brokers in North Korea, China, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand, but he\u2019s more than just a guy moving strategic pieces from a distance. Motivated in part by personal trauma, Pastor Kim\u2019s own participation in these escapes has left him with broken bones and a rap sheet in several countries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Part of Pastor Kim\u2019s commitment to this cause has also involved documenting life beyond the demilitarized zone (DMZ) and the particular pathways to escape, contributing to the occasionally mind-boggling footage that Gavin has to work with.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Providing the movie\u2019s breathless spin is the escape of the five-person Ro family \u2014 two parents, a grandmother and two small daughters \u2014 who have to cross rivers, climb mountains, dodge Communist authorities and wander through darkened rainforests in search of a freedom they aren\u2019t all sure that they want. See, the \u201cutopia\u201d in the documentary\u2019s title is actually North Korea, or at least the version of North Korea that the country\u2019s leaders and propaganda machine have crafted for those tr<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ed within its borders. The Ro parents may be determined to give their family a better life, but with 80+ years of indoctrination or immersion in North Korea\u2019s heavily programmed education system, grandma and the two kids require a complete readjustment of their worldview.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Finally, there\u2019s Soyeon Lee, who left her son in North Korea 10 years earlier when she defected and now dreams of a reunion, while at the same time worrying about the consequences for her entire family if anything goes wrong.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    There\u2019s an involvement between Gavin, her crew and Pastor Kim\u2019s work that isn\u2019t really made clear. They\u2019re filming, but at the same time participating in a way that isn\u2019t your typical \u201cWe\u2019re following a mariachi team for a year\u201d version of documentary production, and there\u2019s no doubt that a documentary about the making of <em>Beyond Utopia<\/em> would be as gripping as <em>Beyond Utopia<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Notes at the beginning of the film explain that the footage comes from a variety of sources \u2014 Hyun Seok Kim is the credited cinematographer \u2014 but it\u2019s emphasized that the project contains no reenactments. It\u2019s almost refreshing that the aesthetic for most of the footage is \u201cLook, we\u2019re doing the best we can,\u201d shot in suboptimal lighting from disadvantaged positions, with glimpses of danger or atrocities that aren\u2019t always instantly clear. I\u2019m a great appreciator of Matthew Heineman\u2019s (<em>Retrograde<\/em>) docs, but they tend to leave me wondering how he got his footage \u2014 and how he got his footage so darned pretty. With <em>Beyond Utopia<\/em>, the footage looks like exactly what it is: an effort to record information first and make cinema second.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    However they did it, the im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>cy is remarkable, especially in the sequences with the escaping family, which manage to be harrowing and fraught one moment and sweetly intimate and sad the next. The parts that have the elements of an espionage adventure will keep viewers on the edge of their seats, but I was most impressed just watching the grandmother and children processing their first exposure to a world outside of the North Korean bubble \u2014 reactions that range from unabashed glee to sheer terror to understandable wariness.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    The scenes with Lee are less exciting, on a visceral level. She\u2019s mostly answering ominous phone calls. But there\u2019s so much internal conflict that plays out on her face every time she processes new information that her storyline proves equally absorbing, although the intercutting between Lee and the escaping family never fully feels aligned when it comes to pacing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Pastor Kim is the documentary\u2019s unifying force, the sort of hero you can imagine Hollywood making a movie about and then casting Mark Wahlberg. He\u2019s so interesting on so many levels that I wish the documentary had delved into a few more of those levels, from the origins of his network of brokers to his own North Korean wife.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Instead, the decision was made to ensure that audiences were given a very, very basic \u201cWhy North Korea Is Bad\u201d documentary primer that Gavin tries, with mixed results, to weave throughout <em>Beyond Utopia<\/em> in a way that doesn\u2019t drain the drama from the primary source narratives. The basic history, narrated with little affect by Gavin herself, is dry and lifeless. Several American experts of different kinds give limited background and insight that aren\u2019t bad, but definitely don\u2019t feel like a part of this specific documentary.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Much better are the stories and recollections shared by defector and author Hyeonseo Lee, whose experiences growing up in a totalitarian regime better illustrate the desperation to leave than any rudimentary details supplied by somebody who just reads intelligence briefings. Lee is personable and even \u2014 in a documentary that tends toward darkness and solemnity \u2014 funny at times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n    Mostly, this is the side of <em>Beyond Utopia<\/em> that nobody will remember, merely functioning to enhance the parts people are sure to remember vividly, probably through next year\u2019s awards season.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/plain\" class=\"optanon-category-C0004\">\n!function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {\nif (f.fbq) return;\nn = f.fbq = function() {n.callMethod ? n.callMethod.apply(n, arguments) : n.queue.push(arguments);};\nif (!f._fbq) f._fbq = n;\nn.push = n;\nn.loaded = !0;\nn.version = '2.0';\nn.queue = [];\nt = b.createElement(e);\nt.async = !0;\nt.src = v;\ns = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\ns.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s);\n}(window, document, 'script', 'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\nfbq('init', '352999048212581');\nfbq('track', 'PageView');\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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