Why did he defect - actually to escape being court martialed for forging a signature on a "leave pass". But his past was very troubled. He never finished High School and apparently was abandoned by his father to a "home" (orphanage type place) in Virginia at a young age. To escape that life he joined the Army at age 17.
After he defected - there were sad twists and turns. Three other American soldiers also "defected" to North Korea. Of course there were the usual months of "interrogation" (probably torture as well, but the North Korean censors would have never allowed that to be said). In 1965 all four Americans decided they really didn't want to live in North Korea after all....so they went to the Russian Embassy to try to defect to the then Soviet Union....the Russians not only turned them down, but also reported them to the North Korean authorities. One has to assume that they were treated very badly after that incident, but again, not much was said on that subject.
James married a woman from Romania (and how she ended up in North Korea was not explained very well); they had two very handsome sons. She died of lung cancer. James went on to make propaganda films for the North Koreans often portraying a cruel American Imperialist named Arthur. He became fluent in Korean.
But the sad twists kept turning up. Firstly, he smokes cigarettes like a chimney and drinks like a fish - the doctors tell him he will die of either smoking or drinking, but he continues to smoke and drink. He remarried a woman of Korean and Togolese heritage and has (around the time of the film he was in his late 60's) a very young son by her.....the son appears to be a toddler. Selfishly, he continues to smoke and drink - not thinking who will care for his little son (or even his wife) when he dies. North Korea is an extremely homogeneous state.....anyone who doesn't look Korean is avoided. His wife (being half-African) does not look Korean, nor does his youngest son, nor do his two older sons by the Romanian wife. The eldest son goes to University of Foreign Studies in Pyongyang. He speaks English fluently, but with a definite Korean accent. He looks European. He says he considers himself Korean (but later adds that he would not wish to marry a Korean).
There is a scene in a Pyongyang bowling alley that is especially sad. You realize at that point that he and his family have NO FRIENDS - no Koreans go out with them. They can only go out as a family. It is not only that their looks betray them as not being "Korean" but the North Koreans must have terribly resented that during the famine years in the 1990's while North Korean children were starving of hunger - James and his family were living in a Pyongyang apartments with a monthly stipend, eating well, drinking Jack Daniels (James was).
It is clear that James is going to die soon as he will not quit smoking or drinking. He will leave behind four individuals who (without a "film star" status) will probably end up being treated quite badly because of the way they look. Also, although James is a Party Member.....once he dies, he may be spoken of in a not-so-nice way. There is a North Korean tradition that if one member of the family does something against the State, the "sin" is not forgiven for three generations. We learned from other documentaries that the "sin" might be opening a newspaper that had a photo of Kim Il-Sung or Kim Jong-il or current leader Kim Jong-un.....and if that newspaper with the photo is placed down on the ground.....it is considered "disrespecting" the Great Father. It is enough of a crime to be arrested for (and three generations of the arrested person's family will PAY for that crime as well).
You can come to your own conclusions after watching the film. But, to me it was very sad and open-ended.
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