DPRK AT
Agence France-Presse,
provides a rare look at the fortress nation seen through teenage eyes.
"The Schoolgirl's Diary," one of only two films produced by
last year, chronicles a girl's life through her school years,
grappling with peer pressure and family problems much the same as
those the world over.
"It is not pure propaganda," said James Velaise of Pretty Pictures,
who snapped up distribution rights at the
September, a two-yearly event barred to US movie types but open to a
handful of European and Communist nations. "It's the first time North
The film, which reportedly saw eight million admissions at home last
year, or roughly one out of three North Koreans, will be released in
Variety as "well-lensed," debuts unexpectedly with schoolgirls in
uniform carrying Mickey Mouse bags.
Just as surprising is the heroine's - Su Ryeon, played by 18-year-old
Pak Mi Hyang -- early confession of yearning to live in a modern
apartment building, rather than a house. Computers, TV sets, good
food, football matches, quiet Sunday picnics at the park, and students
with a smattering of English -- suggest a comfortable lifestyle in the
world's secretive communist bastion.
The plot sees Su Ryeon, younger daughter of a researcher and a science
librarian, complaining of the absence of her work-obsessive father.
The mother too spends little time with her and soccer-playing sister
Su Ok, working through the nights at home translating scientific
documents -- by hand -- for the husband. But after the mother falls
ill of cancer and the father cracks a computer conundrum, Su Ryeon
finally comes to realise she's been selfish and self-centred all
along -- love and sacrifice can go a long way to helping the nation,
as does the "Dear General." North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, a film
buff said to own thousands of movies, contributed to the script and
editing, Velaise said. The lead actress however had never seen a
foreign movie before last year's
starred the original "Mr Bean," Velaise said.
