''The Red Chapel'' ( da, Det Røde Kapel) is a 2009 Danish
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
directed by
Mads Brügger
Mads Brügger (; born 24 June 1972) is a Danish filmmaker and TV host.
Career Film
Brügger's first two projects, the documentary series '' Danes for Bush'' and the feature ''The Red Chapel'', filmed in the United States and North Korea, respec ...
. It chronicles the visit of Brügger and two Danish comedians who were adopted from South Korea, Jacob Nossell and Simon Jul, to
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
under the pretense of a small theatre troupe on a cultural exchange. This is also the first time the two comedians have ever visited North Korea.
[ The entire trip is a ruse: the trio are actually trying to get a chance to portray the absurdity of the pantomime life they are forced to lead in the ]DPRK
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
. The film turns deeply emotional as Jacob Nossell has spastic paralysis
Spasticity () is a feature of altered skeletal muscle performance with a combination of paralysis, increased tendon reflex activity, and hypertonia. It is also colloquially referred to as an unusual "tightness", stiffness, or "pull" of muscles ...
and North Korea has been accused of disposing of the disabled. The film won Best Nordic Documentary at Nordisk Panorama
Nordisk Panorama Film Festival is an annual film festival for Nordic short and documentary films, founded in 1990 and organized by Nordisk Panorama. From 1990 to 2012, the festival rotated between different cities in the five Nordic countries. S ...
2009 and Best Foreign Documentary at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival
The 26th annual Sundance Film Festival was held from January 21, 2010 until January 31, 2010 in Park City, Utah.
Award winners
*Grand Jury Prize: Documentary - '' Restrepo''
*Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic - ''Winter's Bone''
*World Cinema Jury Prize: ...
where it was included in the Official Selection. It is filmed and edited by René Sascha Johannsen.
The film features roughly the same contents as the 4-part documentary series '' Det Røde Kapel''.
Synopsis
The authorities demand much control over the performance of the theatre troupe, and try to use it for propaganda purposes. The film crew plays along, but among themselves and in the voice-over they are critical of the regime.
Reception
''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' reviewer Mark Olson called it "shocking, funny and wildly outrageous" and "a real find".
Kyle Smith from the ''New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'' described it as "a clear-eyed and inspired documentary".
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' reviewer Neil Genzlinger found it sloppy and thought it had "no revelations to offer".
See also
* Disability in North Korea
*''The Idiots
''The Idiots'' ( da, Idioterne) is a 1998 Danish dark comedy-drama film written and directed by Lars von Trier. It is his first film made in compliance with the Dogme 95 Manifesto, and is also known as Dogme #2. It is the second film in von Tr ...
'', another Danish film playing on social discomfort with disability
*''On the Art of the Cinema
''On the Art of the Cinema'' () is a 1973 treatise by the North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. It is considered the most authoritative work on North Korean filmmaking.
The book sets forth several original theories, which can be applied to the ...
'', Kim Jong-il's art manifesto featured in the film
Footnotes
External links
*
*
''The Red Chapel''
at the Sundance Film Festival website, including trailer
Review
from ''The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
''
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Red Chapel
2009 documentary films
2009 films
Danish documentary films
Documentary films about people with disability
Documentary films about North Korea
Propaganda in North Korea
Zentropa films
Sundance Film Festival award winners
2000s Danish-language films