Kimjongilia

At 74 tough and tragic minutes, though, Kimjongilia is not destined for monetary glory. The waiting arms of public television are the more likely destination.

The filmmaker strikes gold in her varied selection of defectors, especially the military man fed up with the myopic chain of command.

These harrowing tales are reason enough to see the movie. But Ms. Heikin wants to provide a total experience, so she adds in propaganda films, her own animated presentation of Korean history and, most noticeably, a pair of female dancers… It’s as bad an idea as it sounds.

Arguably the most dysfunctional culture of the past few centuries, North Korea is a cosmically mad movie waiting to happen. But for now, Heikin's is merely insubstantial.