Should you watch Under the Sun?
Who it’s good for, who it isn’t, and what’s in it. No ratings, no scores.
Under the Sun
Documentary · 2015
Over the course of one year, this film follows the life of an ordinary Pyongyang family whose daughter was chosen to take part in Day of the Shining Star (Kim Jong-il's birthday) celebration. While North Korean government wanted a propaganda film, the director kept on filming between the scripted scenes. The ritualized explosions of color and joy contrast sharply with pale everyday reality, which is not particularly terrible, but rather quite surreal.
The sides of Under the Sun
- A Pyongyang family filmed for a year
- Officials directing every scene
- What happens between the takes
Under the Sun is good for you if…
- you like everyday life that feels staged and surreal.
- you want to see how a regime scripts its own people.
- you're curious about a real family in North Korea.
Under the Sun is bad for you if…
- you need momentum and long silent shots wear you out.
- you won't read subtitles for a film in Korean.
About: propaganda · control · childhood
Closest to Under the Sun
More like this
Return 2023Good for you if you want to see a persecution the news rarely shows.
Five Broken Cameras 2011Good for you if you want to see Bil'in through the eyes of a man who lives there.
Mr. Nobody Against Putin 2025Good for you if you want to see what Russian schools did after the invasion of Ukraine.
The Propaganda Game 2015Good for you if you're curious what a visitor is allowed to see in North Korea.
The Edge of Democracy 2019Good for you if you like watching who really holds power in a country fall apart in real time.
One Child Nation 2019Good for you if you want to hear the people who lived the policy, in their own words.