Sundance Film #1: Crossing the Line

Crossing The Line
In 1962, Private James Dresnok, a 19-year-old American border guard in the notorious Korean DMZ, deserted the U.S. Army by crossing over into communist North Korea. As one of only four American soldiers who defected to North Korea during the height of the Cold War, he was noticeably a stranger in a strange land. Although Dresnok was unsure about his future in the highly secretive communist country, the North Korean government found they could use his unusual circumstances in their propaganda campaign against the United States. Dresnok soon became a film star, playing the evil American again and again.

Crossing the Line expertly provides an in-depth portrait of the last American defector still residing in North Korea after 40 years. Director Daniel Gordon skillfully counterpoints Dresnok's own testimony against stark archival footage of the People's Republic and a haunting soundtrack. Further historical context is provided through interviews with his former commander and fellow soldiers, as well as a childhood friend who still awaits his return.

Crossing the Line is the unprecedented and complex story of a man who left the native country he felt unconnected to and found himself living in an alien nation he came to call home.
(Lisa Viola: 2007 Sundance Film Festival catalog)

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I have to admit, this movie was a little slow to get started. We are treated to many shots of Joe Dresnok leading his normal life in North Korea (which he refers to throughout as "DPRK") - taking the bus, shopping, fishing. He appears happy, although his smile shows a mouthful of gold teeth.

We go back to the beginning of Joe's life - his start with parents who didn't like each other and didn't want him, a feeling that no one truly cared about him. After his parents abandoned him, he was left on his own and eventually ended up in a foster home. At 17, he joined the Army and before he was sent to Germany for 2 years, married. When he came back from Germany, his wife had found someone else, and Joe was once again abandoned. His luck was no better once he shipped out to Korea. Joe fell for a local prostitute, and one day, after his commander told him that he couldn't have leave to go into the village to see her, he forged a pass and went anyway. When the commander found out about it and told him to report in for disciplinary measures, Joe decided that enough was too much. He defected to North Korea that day and what happened to him was a complete Cinderella story.

He defected to the North, where he made his career doing propaganda for North Korea. First, he did the Miss America circuit - showing up at events and large gatherings to wave, smile and receive flowers and applause. Later, he showed up in Kim Jong Il's 30-part movie series "Nameless Heroes," a serial about the noble cause of the war of liberation. Dresnok and his fellow-defectors all have recurring roles as evil American characters. At the end of the film, Dresnok is shown greeting some old men who call him "Arthur," the name of his character.

Joe did not shy away from some of the flaws of North Korea, saying that "everyone has to adapt to his own life," but said that he'd been treated exceptionally well. Even during the famines (the "Long March of Austerity") where hundreds of thousands of North Koreans died of starvation in part because of Western aid embargoes, he said that he continued to get full rations. He seemed both baffled and extremely grateful that even though Korean citizens were dying, the government continued to care for him - an "American bastard."

Joe's own words paint a picture of a man who had been looking for love, dignity and a measure of respect all his life, but had been denied that in a democratic society. He found all of those things in Korea, where he married and had two sons who are now attending college. He rightly pointed out that if he were living in America as a worker with his education, he wouldn't be able to send his sons to a prestigious college - it's not impossible, but it's highly unlikely. I walked out of the movie feeling like Joe was the very kind of man that communism was made for - the kind of man who's willing to work, who doesn't want his past held against him, who wants to be valued for what he can do, not shamed for what he can't.

In the Q&A later, Daniel Gordon said that he and his British film crew were granted "unprecedented access" to North Korea, partly thanks to his producer who has lived in Beijing and traveling regularly to North Korea on business for 13 years. I was pleased that despite the many "How do you feel about..." questions afterward, Gordon was able to focus on "I want you to draw your own conclusions." Afterward, I was moved enough to feel almost schmoozy and talk to someone! I told Gordon "great job!" He was becomingly grateful for the compliment.

My conclusion is that I feel lucky to live in a world where everyone, even Comrade Joe, is able to find what makes them really happy.

The Pirates view: It's a darned fine movie. Everyone should run out and see it.

My score: 5
The Pirate's score: 5