Aim High in Creation

I really liked this movie! The Australian filmmaker, Anna, goes to North Korea to learn how to make an inspirational film to protect her local park from the power company that wants to extract natural gas from underneath it. This unusual documentary definitely held my interest by showing apparently unconnected vignettes from Australia and North Korea, while outlining the rules of cinematic technique from a primer written by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. I didn't see how these things were connected, but, by the end, the melodramatic North Korean propaganda clips, the zany, half-baked actors, and the bizarre, potentially dangerous practice of fracking all coalesced into a beautiful, short film that galvanized the community and saved the park. Using the example of the much-invaded country of North Korea, the documentary gives hope to embattled people who stand together to protect their homes from invasion. Slapstick zany, deadly serious culture shock with a message.