The Defector: Escape from North Korea

The Defector: Escape from North Korea

2012•1h 11m•6.2/10

Documentary

Ratings

🎬TMDb

6.2/10(4)

Dragon smuggles North Korean defectors across borders for a living, and his latest undercover trip with Sook-Ja and Yong-hee takes an unexpected turn when they are left stranded in China. This is just the start of an extraordinary 5,000 km journey.

Open in PickFlick

Production

Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund, Fathom Film Group

Language

EN

Status

Released

Release Date

Cast

Dragon

Himself

Sook-ja

Herself

Yong-hee

Herself

Recommended

Beyond Utopia

Beyond Utopia

A courageous pastor uses his underground network to rescue and aid North Korean families as they risk their lives to embrace freedom.

Beyond Utopia

2023

7.7

The Mole: Undercover in North Korea

The Mole: Undercover in North Korea

A real-life undercover thriller about two ordinary men who embark on an outrageously dangerous ten-year mission to penetrate the world's most secretive and brutal dictatorship: North Korea.

The Mole: Undercover in North Korea

2020

7.1

In the Realms of the Unreal

In the Realms of the Unreal

In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.

In the Realms of the Unreal

2004

7.2

To Be Takei

To Be Takei

Over seven decades, actor and activist George Takei journeyed from a World War II internment camp to the helm of the Starship Enterprise, and then to the daily news feeds of five million Facebook fans. Join George and his husband, Brad, on a wacky and profound trek for life, liberty, and love.

To Be Takei

2014

7.2

Love, Marilyn

Love, Marilyn

Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.

Love, Marilyn

2013

6.6

Rich Hill

Rich Hill

If you ever find yourself traveling down Interstate 49 through Missouri, try not to blink—you may miss Rich Hill, population 1,396. Rich Hill is easy to overlook, but its inhabitants are as woven into the fabric of America as those living in any small town in the country. This movie intimately chronicles the turbulent lives of three boys living in said Midwestern town and the fragile family bonds that sustain them.

Rich Hill

2014

6.9

The Last Lions

The Last Lions

In Botswana's Okavango Delta, an ostracized lioness and her two cubs must fight alone to survive - overcoming all manner of hazards. Their only defense is to escape to Duba Island -- and with that, an unknown future. The setting for this epic tale is one of the last regions where lions can live in the wild. Faced with dwindling land and increasing pressure from hunting, lions - like our lone lioness and her cubs - are approaching the brink of extinction.

The Last Lions

2011

7.2

Shirkers

Shirkers

In 1992, teenager Sandi Tan shot Singapore's first indie road movie with her enigmatic American mentor Georges – who then vanished with all the footage. Twenty years later, the 16mm film is recovered, sending Tan, now a novelist in Los Angeles, on a personal odyssey in search of Georges' vanishing footprints.

Shirkers

2018

7.2

Halftime

Halftime

Global superstar Jennifer Lopez reflects on her multifaceted career and the pressure of life in the spotlight in this intimate documentary.

Halftime

2022

6.8

Katy Perry: Part of Me

Katy Perry: Part of Me

Giving fans unprecedented access to the real life of the music sensation, Katy Perry: Part of Me exposes the hard work, dedication and phenomenal talent of a girl who remained true to herself and her vision in order to achieve her dreams. Featuring rare behind-the-scenes interviews, personal moments between Katy and her friends, and all-access footage of rehearsals, choreography, Katy’s signature style and more, Katy Perry: Part of Me reveals the singer’s unwavering belief that if you can be yourself, then you can be anything.

Katy Perry: Part of Me

2012

7.2

Iverson

Iverson

Iverson is the ultimate legacy of NBA legend Allen Iverson, who rose from a childhood of crushing poverty in Hampton, Virginia, to become an 11-time NBA All-Star and universally recognized icon of his sport. Off the court, his audacious rejection of conservative NBA convention and unapologetic embrace of hip hop culture sent shockwaves throughout the league and influenced an entire generation. Told largely in Iverson's own words, the film charts the career highs and lows of one of the most distinctive and accomplished figures the sport of basketball has ever seen.

Iverson

2014

7.1

Citizenfour

Citizenfour

In June 2013, Laura Poitras and reporter Glenn Greenwald flew to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden. She brought her camera with her.

Citizenfour

2014

7.7

Similar Movies

Itinerary of Jean Bricard

Itinerary of Jean Bricard

The film is a commemoration of the lost livelihood of the earth, the lost lives of the War and to the work of two of the cinema’s greatest artists.

Itinerary of Jean Bricard

2008

5.8

The Vanquishing of the Witch Baba Yaga

The Vanquishing of the Witch Baba Yaga

A descent into Eastern Europe's haunted woodlands uncovers the secrets, fairy tales, and bloody histories that shape our understanding of man's place in nature.

The Vanquishing of the Witch Baba Yaga

2014

10.0

Jesus Camp

Jesus Camp

Despite what the documentary suggests, the group featured in Jesus Camp does not represent mainstream evangelical Christianity. Becky Fischer and her “Kids on Fire” camp come out of a narrow Charismatic stream that pushes children into extreme emotional experiences, overemphasizes tongues, demons, and political “dominion,” and puts a crushing spiritual burden on young kids to “take back America for God.” This is not healthy, biblical Christianity; it is a troubling distortion. Bible‑believing Christians should not treat this film as the definition of our faith or of Christian camps in general. Most evangelical churches and camps focus on clear teaching of Scripture, the gospel of grace in Christ, age‑appropriate discipleship, and normal spiritual growth—not the kind of excesses and manipulation shown in this documentary.

Jesus Camp

2006

7.0

The Korean Wedding Chest

The Korean Wedding Chest

Ulrike Ottinger’s provocative mélange of ethnography, stunning tableaux and baroque vignettes was inspired by what she calls the “well-stocked miracle” of Korean wedding chests, assembled according to time-honored customs. This exploration of love and marriage in South Korea looks closely at ancient and present-day rituals, revealing what is old in the new and new in the old. Her inquiry leads us from shamans, temples and priests, to the enchanted maze of 21st-century Seoul, where vendors of medicinal herbs co-exist with high-tech beauty salons for wedding couples and secular marriage palaces. Using film much like a canvas, Ottinger creates a modern fairytale flush with mythological heroes, traditional rites, ancestral symbolism, dreams of eternal love, and a whole lot of Western kitsch. One of her most acclaimed documentaries, it captures the amazing phenomenon of new mega-cities and their contradictory societies caught in a balancing act.

The Korean Wedding Chest

2009

5.0

Ulysse

Ulysse

At the sea shore, a goat, a child, and a naked man. This is a photograph taken in 1954 by Agnès Varda. The goat was dead, the child was named Ulysses, and the man was naked. Starting from this frozen image, the film explores the real and the imaginary.

Ulysse

1986

6.9

Dream Land

Dream Land

There are places that we don’t want to know anything about, places that we would rather pretend don’t exist at all. One such place is a dumpsite. From the humans’ point of view, it is a ghastly place, a stinking desert of trash. But it’s a desert that is teaming with life.

Dream Land

2004

6.6

My Own Breathing

My Own Breathing

"My Own Breathing" is the final documentary of the trilogy, The Murmuring about comfort women during the World War II directed by BYUN Young-joo. This is the completion of her seven years work. BYUN's first and second documentaries spoke of grandmothers' everyday life through the origin of their torment, while My Own Breathing goes back to their past from their everyday life. Deleting any device of narration or music, the camera lets grandmothers talk about themselves. Finally, the film revives their deep voices trampled by harsh history.

My Own Breathing

2000

5.5

The Hooping Life

The Hooping Life

Learn the origins and rise of modern day hula-hooping through eight extraordinary stories of hoop devotees who have embraced it as an art form, a teaching aid, and even an instrument of redemption. From the streets, to intimate clubs, to giant arenas, we alternate between self-filmed video diaries, verité documentary footage, and spectacularly filmed performances in an attempt to celebrate the healing power of movement and the spirit of human inventiveness.

The Hooping Life

2014

8.7

When the Mountains Tremble

When the Mountains Tremble

A documentary on the war between the Guatemalan military and the Mayan population, with first hand accounts by Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú.

When the Mountains Tremble

1983

9.0

Du gehörst mir! Das Muster der Frauenmorde

Du gehörst mir! Das Muster der Frauenmorde

Chahinez in Merignac was burned to death. Rebeccah stabbed to death in Berlin. Vanessa in Hanover doused with acid. In Barcelona, 5-year-old Leo was suffocated by his father. He wanted to kill his mother emotionally. The men who did this to the women were once very close to them, as husbands or partners. And the women had one thing in common - they had wanted to separate from their partners.

Du gehörst mir! Das Muster der Frauenmorde

2022

Kurosawa's Way

Kurosawa's Way

Eleven major film makers from Europe, America and Asia talk about Akira Kurosawa and discover surprising influences on their own work.

Kurosawa's Way

2011

5.8

Angano... Angano... Tales from Madagascar

Venerable storytellers recount for the camera and their listeners the founding myths of Malagasy culture.

Angano... Angano... Tales from Madagascar

1989

5.6

PickFlick Assistant

Hi! I'm your PickFlick Assistant. Ask me about movies, TV shows, OTT sources, or anything about PickFlick.

Powered by CopilotKit