Return to the Border

Director Zhao Liang was born in southern China on the border with North Korea. Until the 1990s, these two socialist states were allies and both dictatorships actively cooperated with each other across their borders. But then China concluded a trade treaty with South Korea. The people on opposites sides of the Yalu River suddenly became enemies. Trade and cooperation was terminated and a difficult battle for subsistence began. This film chooses the specific personal story of someone from the given region who becomes an off-screen commentator. A direct comparison of past and present is drawn through this subjective perspective, and we are presented with a rich mosaic of personal problems and attitudes to the newly established situation. The film shows how it is possible for similar people and destinies to be forcibly plunged into opposite camps. In view of how extremely difficult it is to shoot in this country and how hard it is to make films about this state where the harshest form of dictatorship reigns, Return to the Border is an invaluable contribution to the debate on North Korea.