Crossing the Line.

"Crossing the Line tells of four American servicemen who defected to North Korea, with an emphasis on James Joseph Dresnok, a k a Comrade Joe, who became a privileged North Korean citizen and appeared in propaganda extolling Communism," opens Matt Zoller Seitz in the New York Times. "[H]is compelling story and the plentiful high-definition video images of North Korean daily life" make the doc "riveting."

State of Mind director Daniel Gordon "relishes divulging this largely unknown scandal, delving into North Korea's demonization of the United States during the Cold War and our country's vigilance to downplay the defection of Dresnok and three other American soldiers," writes Ed Gonzalez at Slant.

Updated through 8/14.

"Using archival footage (including fascinating clips of Nameless Heroes, a Kim Jong Il production that starred all of the defectors as evil Americans) and staged re-creations for dramatic punctuation, the reflective sequences veer between stylishly effective and drearily overstated," writes Michelle Orange in the Voice.

Updates, 8/11: "The issue of access raises some troubling questions in Daniel Gordon's Crossing The Line, for subject and filmmaker alike," writes Scott Tobias at the AV Club. "How much can a filmmaker challenge the dubious elements of Dresnok's story? At what point can the film be considered an unwitting propaganda tool for an oppressive, totalitarian system? Gordon's solution - really the only one available - is to work hard at playing a neutral party, which in this case means giving Dresnok a lot of rope and letting viewers decide whether he's hung himself with it."

Online listening tip. Gordon's a guest on the Leonard Lopate Show.

Update, 8/14: "Much of what's compelling about Crossing the Line is our increasing suspicion that Dresnok is not telling the truth - a suspicion about his character we're led to by his overslick storytelling and unconvincing emotional displays, as well as the gossipy way he backstabs erstwhile fellow defectors," writes Dennis Harvey at SF360. "Is he anything more than a me-first exploiter who found a unique luxury niche (which sustained him even during North Korea's ruinous famine several years back) as professional traitor? Or is he the happily re-settled, largely assimilated traveler he presents himself as?"

Posted by dwhudson at August 10, 2007 6:23 AM