Crossing the Line

Name: Crossing the Line
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2007-08-10
Duration: 1 h 34 min
Rating: 7.4
Cast: Damion Cruzz, Bruce Cumings, James Joseph Dresnok

20062006
Not RatedNot Rated
1h 34min

7.4/10

808

Documentary

A British documentary about US Army defector James Dresnok currently living in North Korea after having defected during the 60s.A British documentary about US Army defector James Dresnok currently living in North Korea after having defected during the 60s.A British documentary about US Army defector James Dresnok currently living in North Korea after having defected during the 60s.

7.4/10

808

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Awards
- 1 nomination

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Crossing the Line

In 1962, a U.S. soldier sent to guard the peace in South Korea deserted his unit, walked across the most heavily fortified area on earth and defected to the Cold War enemy, the communist state of North Korea. He became a star of the North Korean propaganda machine, but then disappeared from the face of the earth. Now, after 45 years, the story of James Dresnok, the last American defector in North Korea, is being told for the first time. Crossing the Line follows Dresnok as he recalls his childhood, desertion, and life in the DPRK.

defector north korea foreigner american soldier 2000s 13 more

Genre
- Documentary
Certificate
- Not Rated
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Quotes
[Dresnok and a friend converse while fishing]
Fisherman: If you only have sons, they must get into a lot of mischief.
James Dresnok: Oh, don't even talk about it. They're like cats and dogs!
[they laugh]
Fisherman: Where does the twenty-two year old go?
James Dresnok: The Foreign Studies Institute.
Fisherman: What language is he learning?
James Dresnok: English.
Fisherman: [pause] You don't seem to enjoy fishing.
James Dresnok: Oh, well... I don't know. If not... this is just to pass the time.

Top review

7/10

A Bizarre Defection

A British documentary about US Army defector James Joseph Dresnok (born 1941) currently living in North Korea after having defected during the 60s.

This is a very strange story. Americans defecting to Nazi Germany is strange, but somewhat understandable. Americans sympathizing with terrorists and moving to Afghanistan is hard to understand, but it makes sense on a certain level. This one is stranger still... defecting to a country that not only speaks a foreign tongue and has different views, but restricts freedom? Who purposely wants to live in a prison? And the man does not comes across as mistreated or brainwashed in any way. Clearly something very odd happened, and he may not be completely truthful (the tale of his first wife being a kidnap victim is a story in itself)... who is James Dresnok?

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