Witness the stories of four US army defectors who abandoned their homeland to seek out a new life in communist North Korea in this fascinating documentary from filmmaker Daniel Gordon. It was August of 1962 that Private First Class James Joseph Dresnok crossed the heavily fortified border from South Korea into the North. Now, more than forty-years later, the last living US Army defector known to reside in North Korea speaks with Gordon in Pyongyang about his life, experiences, and what it means
to be a member of the US military who has defected to a communist nation. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
[The] compelling story and the plentiful high-definition video images of North Korean daily life prove so fascinating that Crossing the Line is riveting.
Not exactly compelling stuff, especially if you caught the 60 Minutes segment about this traitor. The bio-pic's saving grace is that it offers a peek inside North Korea, a closed society which has previously granted the Western press limited access.
There are no absolute answers to these questions, but like a brain-tickling puzzle, Crossing the Line keeps us on our toes and digging for more information.
Crossing the Line, like its subject, remains a fascinating and frustrating enigma -- a declassified government report still marred by redacted passages.
Crossing The Line lacks the force and power of a strong point of view, but like Gordon's other work about North Korea, it succeeds in revealing what it means for individuals to give themselves over to a collective.
One commendable but far too brief section of the documentary, presents through horrific images and testimony, the gruesome atrocities visited upon the DPRK civilians which exceeded even the US mass carnage against the Vietnamese in that invasion.
Amazingly, director Daniel Gordon and his crew were allowed to film Dresnok in and around his home in Pyongyang, resulting in a canny portrait of a man as uniquely fit for a life on display as he is blindly willing to kowtow to power.
An absolutely fascinating documentary exploring the life and history of J. Joseph Dresnok, an American soldier stationed at the North-South Korean border in 1962 who defected to the Communist DPRK. This is a captivating film that really gives the viewer good insight into the daily life of a privileged North Korean.
More than that, though, it delves into what would motivate a man to desert his country and start a new life. Highly, highly recommended.
A fascinating story about a man that did the unthinkable. He crossed over into North Korea and surrendered to their ideals and way of life. We are offered a look inside North Korea, one of the most isolated and intriguing places in the world. Dresnok is obviously a supporter of where he lives, and rarely says a bad
word against it. The film does give us some interesting tidbits, such as Dresnok's troubled home life and youth, but the main focus is on a man and how he can live in a place most westerners would consider inhospitable. Their is a great emotional weight to the film, as Dresnok talks about his first failed marriage, and both of his marriages + children in North Korea. Underneath the surface is also the complex goings on between Dresnok and 3 other American GI's that defected. Dresnok may be the only one left, but the continuing battle of words between himself and Jenkins makes for one of cinemas great rivalries. It would be easy to call Dresnok brainwashed, if he didn't seem so down to earth and in control. Insightful, emotional, and never judging, this is how a documentary should be made.
No quotes approved yet for Crossing the Line. Logged in users can submit quotes.
Submit a Quote from 'Crossing the Line'
A quote can be a single line from one character or a memorable dialog between several characters. Please make your quotes accurate. Quotes will be submitted for approval by the RT staff.
Example:
Luke: Alright. I'll give it a try. Yoda: No. Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.
Top Critic
