The director paints North Korea in strangely positive broad brush strokes. It's about the most non-documentary documentary possible. He barely touches on the serious issues facing North Korea, but rather,focuses on the most mundane social norms and daily activities of North Koreans. Which I guess is his point. He proposes that North Korea is becoming prosperous, their grocery stores are well-stocked, and their bars and nightlife is just like the rest of Asia. This attempt mostly fails by showing a practically empty and dreary piano bar. He films almost none of rural North Korea where life is very different than in Pyongyang. Somehow he makes images of marching children seem innocuous and normal. He doesn't mention that the reason people are gathering in the City Square in subzero weather to watch a sitcom on the giant TV is not because it is a social time- but because they don't have TVs in their homes. It feels more like propaganda than a documentary. So I guess if you want an hour and a half of very strange images of North Korea and A narrator who extols the "New" version of North Korea this is for you.

A documentary made by frenchmen, take a broadangled view in a , at times mocumentary documentary style, an honest try to show and explain ,often with a witty tounge, why north korea is what it is. its not a full graded behind the cxarpet production, and not pointing against the sinister political vibes that weighs out other productions.

the grumpy old man had a nice experience and warmly recommends

Very colorful and fun documentary. But since it's North Korea we never really meet real people. Much of it is buildings, soldiers, talk about war and patriots. We also don't really see the poor country side. But what we see of the capital is very interesting. I frankly wouldn't hate to live there if I had a family there and a job in the capital. Seems very fun and relaxed. Just missing Western media.

It's basically the most positive North Korea documentary you can find. The communist regime is still a fascist state but the tourist areas have clearly developed into 80's China style areas but with much less freedom. You cannot dislike North Korean people. Instead this documentary confirms that the problem is the ideology in the country and the promise of a utopia that's only there for the leading class of the country.