Pyongyang, a city of more than three million people, had never had the opportunity to witness the daily life of ordinary people in Pyongyang before director Mansky came to Pyongyang to shoot the documentary at the request of the North Korean government. In 2012, the first year after the death of the former leader Kim Jong-il, in order to celebrate the "Day of the Sun", the anniversary of Kim Il-sung's birth, Kim Jong-un, who had just come to power, tried to show the positive aspect of North Korea to the outside world, and invited Russian director Mansky to shoot. A documentary about ordinary families in Pyongyang. North Koreans have absolutely no doubts about the director's motives, or even that his political stance is "anti-communism." In order to gain trust, Mansky ostensibly accepted all the requirements of the North Korean government and filmed the "happy life" of the North Koreans according to the script, but privately recorded a large number of scenes that were not allowed to be filmed, including the officials' command of each shot, Guide the process of each line. These behind-the-scenes shots, together with the "feature film", show a North Korea that is both real and fake. People on the outside can still distinguish between reality and illusion, but the North Koreans seem to be trapped in it and can't break free. The documentary begins with the life of a little girl, Xin Mei. Under the lens, Xin Mei is enjoying the best family life in North Korea. She goes to the highest school in Pyongyang. Her father is an engineer in a textile factory and her mother is a worker in a food factory. The camera followed her footsteps all the way, and captured her mother accompanying her at the Young Pioneers joining ceremony, her father receiving thanks from the workers in the factory, and her and her parents laying flowers for the leader. If this is the case, perhaps we can't deny that Simmy is really happy, but Mansky's lens also records the other side of things. The school where Xin Mei works has never been seen in and out of the school except for the one posing for the photoshoot. Her parents’ occupations were made up on a whim, and her enthusiastic colleagues were all performing as required. It is hard to believe that it is the daily diet of North Koreans. The "happy life" that North Korean officials have painstakingly created is unconvincing even without behind-the-scenes testimony, and we can clearly see how uncomfortable these ordinary people are when faced with unfamiliar cameras, let alone They also want them to act out a fake life under the camera. This also made the two North Korean officials constantly stress that "don't think that you are acting." I wonder how the two of them would feel if they could see the film. The movie's title is "Under the Sun," and the sun, something we're all too familiar with, has a completely different meaning in North Korea. The "sun" of North Koreans is not in the sky. The government requires the sun to exist in the subway cars, on the walls of every household, the sun is the badge on everyone's chest, and it is also a standing statue. The sun is their leader and leader. The light shines on every inch of North Korea. However, the North Korea in the camera, whether it is the streets, buildings, or even the grass and trees on the roadside, is shrouded in dark colors, while the North Koreans in it, wearing bright national costumes, dance happily under the command of the pose. Looking at the excited expressions on their faces is like telling you, "Our life is very difficult, we can't see the outside world, but we are very happy!" This is what the government wants to express. The North Korean government is trying to convince the outside world. , all North Koreans are so content with their lives. But even they couldn't deceive themselves. When the show was over, people were waiting for the old tram in the dark. The same people were expressionless at this time. The figures crowded around the tram were like walking dead. This is North Korea. real portraits of people. For North Koreans, the sun is everywhere, and it exists in every corner of their lives, so they cannot avoid it. Shadows appear behind them, and they can only be seen by turning away from the light, but now North Koreans do not see the shadows clearly chance. At the end of the film, the staff asked Xin Mei to recite the verse, but all she could remember was the content of praising the leader. Xin Mei, who shed tears, is like the epitome of all North Koreans, making people sad for her.
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