"Crossing the Line" is one of the strangest films I've seen in a long time. It's the story about an American soldier who, inexplicably, crossed the Demilitarized Zone INTO North Korea. What makes it all the more surprising is that three others also did the same! And, even more surprising, is that the very, very closed North Korean society actually allowed filmmakers into their country to film these interviews.
James Dresnok's life before crossing this line was explored in the first portion of the film. He had a pretty sad and loveless childhood. Even worse, after serving a hitch in the US Army, he returned to find that his wife had left him. At this point, you kind of feel sorry for him--life had dealt him quite a few lemons. However, Dresnok's reaction made it easier not to feel for him. He re-enlisted and was sent to serve in South Korea--along the DMZ. There, he was an insubordinate jerk and was about to be either reprimanded or dishonorably discharged for his actions. Instead, he chose to run the heavily mined border into North Korea. His defection was not politically motivated--more the actions of a malcontent.
Now in North Korea, he and three other Americans with rather similar backgrounds were minor celebrities. They willingly let themselves be used for propaganda purposes and even later starred as evil Americans in a television mini-series! If the men truly believed in this communist paradise, I could empathize--to a degree. But what bothered me is that these men lived well--and continued living well through the famine in recent years. So, even when their countrymen were starving to death, they had plenty. And, when huge numbers were being sent to concentration camps in this most repressive of countries, they lived fairly well. In fact, it turned out that the marriages that followed for one of them was to a woman the country had kidnapped! And, it appeared that this was also probably the case in at least one or two other occasions. In other words, Dresnok lived well and the government provided a kidnapped wife (or possibly wives) to make him happy. This truly made Dresnok and his 'friends' come off as jerks.
What also made me thoroughly dislike Dresnok was his reaction to the other defectors. One died relatively early and I can't recall exactly what happened to one of the others. But the final defector was an odd case, as Dresnok truly hated the guy and talked in a manner that made this VERY clear. The bitterness of Dresnok was interesting. And, when this other defector defected back to the West, he told stories about how Dresnok (who is a huge man) beat him and mistreated him. This is all pretty weird and impossible to prove--but Dresnok's emotional reaction sure was easy to notice! His coldness and anger were striking.
The film makers managed to do something pretty interesting. They took a somewhat neutral position on Dresnok and his defection--at least in the first 3/4 of the film. This is NOT a bad thing, as they simply allowed Dresnok to talk without criticism of any sort. Towards the end, the film makers did spring a few things on Dresnok (such as the allegations from his former 'friend') but still managed to keep some objectivity. Overall, a truly fascinating film. My only reservation is that the viewer should also watch some of the other recent films about North Korean society. That's because the North Korea you see in "Crossing the Line" was all filtered and is the view of the country the government wants to promote. In other words, Dresnok and those around him were presented by North Korea in the best possible light and the city you see looks pretty nice. Films such as "Kidnapped!", "Seoul Train", "Children of the Secret State" and "National Geographic: Inside North Korea" give a much, much more harrowing view of the nation.
Well worth seeing and never dull.
James Dresnok's life before crossing this line was explored in the first portion of the film. He had a pretty sad and loveless childhood. Even worse, after serving a hitch in the US Army, he returned to find that his wife had left him. At this point, you kind of feel sorry for him--life had dealt him quite a few lemons. However, Dresnok's reaction made it easier not to feel for him. He re-enlisted and was sent to serve in South Korea--along the DMZ. There, he was an insubordinate jerk and was about to be either reprimanded or dishonorably discharged for his actions. Instead, he chose to run the heavily mined border into North Korea. His defection was not politically motivated--more the actions of a malcontent.
Now in North Korea, he and three other Americans with rather similar backgrounds were minor celebrities. They willingly let themselves be used for propaganda purposes and even later starred as evil Americans in a television mini-series! If the men truly believed in this communist paradise, I could empathize--to a degree. But what bothered me is that these men lived well--and continued living well through the famine in recent years. So, even when their countrymen were starving to death, they had plenty. And, when huge numbers were being sent to concentration camps in this most repressive of countries, they lived fairly well. In fact, it turned out that the marriages that followed for one of them was to a woman the country had kidnapped! And, it appeared that this was also probably the case in at least one or two other occasions. In other words, Dresnok lived well and the government provided a kidnapped wife (or possibly wives) to make him happy. This truly made Dresnok and his 'friends' come off as jerks.
What also made me thoroughly dislike Dresnok was his reaction to the other defectors. One died relatively early and I can't recall exactly what happened to one of the others. But the final defector was an odd case, as Dresnok truly hated the guy and talked in a manner that made this VERY clear. The bitterness of Dresnok was interesting. And, when this other defector defected back to the West, he told stories about how Dresnok (who is a huge man) beat him and mistreated him. This is all pretty weird and impossible to prove--but Dresnok's emotional reaction sure was easy to notice! His coldness and anger were striking.
The film makers managed to do something pretty interesting. They took a somewhat neutral position on Dresnok and his defection--at least in the first 3/4 of the film. This is NOT a bad thing, as they simply allowed Dresnok to talk without criticism of any sort. Towards the end, the film makers did spring a few things on Dresnok (such as the allegations from his former 'friend') but still managed to keep some objectivity. Overall, a truly fascinating film. My only reservation is that the viewer should also watch some of the other recent films about North Korean society. That's because the North Korea you see in "Crossing the Line" was all filtered and is the view of the country the government wants to promote. In other words, Dresnok and those around him were presented by North Korea in the best possible light and the city you see looks pretty nice. Films such as "Kidnapped!", "Seoul Train", "Children of the Secret State" and "National Geographic: Inside North Korea" give a much, much more harrowing view of the nation.
Well worth seeing and never dull.