The Propaganda Game

Film maker Álvaro Longoria managed to get permission to film inside the DPRK but it was a guided tour – that was to be expected. His tour was exclusively of the cosseted capital Pyongyang. However, Longoria knew that there would be restrictions on what he could and more importantly could not film.

His guides take him on a tour of all the new shiny buildings and installations and shows us all the shiny happy North Koreans enjoying the gifts of the benevolent Kim Jong-un. Everywhere there are statues and pictures of 'The Great Leaders' who must be constantly adored as some sort of deity and the people seem to have genuine emotions about these dictators. The film also interviews experts and defectors as well as human rights activists and strives to show both sides in the ever growing propaganda war.

The attempts to be balanced are credit worthy and Longoria himself missed his calling for the diplomatic mission. I was reminded of a Benny Hill sketch where an advertising board said 'People buy Smiths Pies because they don't know any better'; and I think that is why North Koreans seem to be so content with their lot in the World – they just do not know what they are missing. He did mention the markets and the hard currency shops which the regime has had to allow to exist as it was too troublesome to uninvent 'choice' as it were.

What is left out is equally important and any one who has studied this 'hermit kingdom' will know of some of the bizarre and cruel abuses of human rights, but the whole point of the film is to redress the more extreme distortions of propaganda and try to see if there is any unvarnished truth that would help us understand them. In the end I felt he did a rather good job and as such can recommend to anyone who has an interest in modern social history.

By turns disturbing, depressing and mildly annoying. This might have been better if it focussed on 'the Spanish soldier' and his motives. There is ultimately little depth (possibly due to the fast paced cutting to talking heads) and most subjects are glossed over. With only lip service being paid to balance this film doesn't 'sit on the fence' it 'sits on the DMZ'.

The Propaganda Game is a welcome companion to Under the Sun, in which we have a cousin doc that explores the question mark that is North Korea. Asking more questions than it actually answers, one feels compelled to not only examine the North Koreans belief system but also our own which has had an unsteady philosophy of demonizing that which is contrary to our own. I'm not at the point of booking passage there but my mind is definitely on the fence as to what our great enemy really is bringing to the world's table.

With all the ongoing debacles with North Korea in the news I figured this would be a fantastic time to watch The Propaganda Game.

A Spanish made documentary with very impressive and rare access to the country it pulls back the curtain (Or at least as far back as the officials would let it go) and shows both sides of this remarkable place.

The trouble is that both the west and North Korea seem to be playing the The Propaganda Game and it's extremely hard to know what is true and what isn't. My personal opinion is that it's a combination of both, but this documentary is quite unbias and gives you a chance to decide for yourself.

US government, the Korean government, ultimately the real victims in this appear to be the citizens of Korea themselves as I find their chosen lifestyle monstrous but again how much of it is true and how much is staged? The Propaganda Game is well worth a watch and though heartbreaking it is very eye opening and a fantastic piece of documentary film making.

Always wondered why Korea didn't kick off over Team America World Police (2004) but did regarding The Interview (2014). Perhaps a leader with less sense of humour explains it?

Let's put this out of the way - everyone knows that an organised tour of the DPRK is one massive facade. For a filmmaker to gain entry and keep that much footage, the film absolutely had to showcase happy citizens, sprawling buildings and new technology. How could you expect anything else?

What makes this film brilliant is what he did with the footage.

Aptly named "The Propaganda Game", director Álvaro Longoria takes us with him on tour of North Korea's capital Pyongyang. What I really enjoyed about this film is its rawness - You get to see everything from Longoria's eyes and decide for yourself what is real and what is not. It felt like a very personal experience. The deception of the State and its effects on its people are nothing short of terrifying. How could they act so naturally if everything is staged? Could it be real? Are they really so brainwashed? Are these people suffering? How?

I think some people who have seen it are confused, judging from some other reviews. I urge you to see this film without searching for concrete answers. Longoria presents many opposing arguments but there really is no telling the extent of North Korea's deception or on the flip side, the warping of information in Western media (I mean, The Guardian is pretty ridiculous.) I suspect Longoria himself does not know what to make of it. You simply can't find that kind of information on North Korea; experts themselves do not have the full truth nor do they all agree with each other. Such is social science. There is simply too little information, and the film captures that wonderfully. Speculating would be unwise.

The film leaves you rather unsettled, but I believe that was the intended effect. How could we be comfortable when a system as oppressive as the DPRK's is still surviving to this day? Its message, if there must be one, is that the people of North Korea are suffering - and that instead of looking at them as ignorant fools living in a joke of a nation, we should be sympathising with them and condemning such cruelty.

It is a film that focuses on the people, and is a much needed take on the subject amongst all the hoo-ha surrounding North Korea.