Rather than downplaying observations that raisequestions about his well-being, the 110-minute film, titledThe Great Year of Victory, 2021, paints a picture of a leader who has “suffered” for the North Korean people and his country as it faced its “worst-ever hardships,“according to NK News, an independent outlet based outside of North Korea that dissected the film.
Observerspredicted at the timethat Kim’s weight loss would be used as cover to encourage sympathy for the leader and show that he was making sacrifices and overworking himself.
One North Korean experttold Reuters last year, “It is hard to say what caused Kim’s weight loss, or what his health conditions are, but right now they are using it for propaganda purposes, specifically to highlight his hard work and sacrifice to improve the people’s living standards.”
Another experttold the BBCthat the country “would never allow negative news” about Kim to be released.
The new film repeatedly acknowledges “hardships” and “challenges” facing the country, including mentioning a “food crisis,” while only ever suggesting that Kim has it all under control.
At one point, the narrator says the North Korean leader brought to a June meeting his “important policy ideas in order to urgently stabilize the people’s lives and the tense food distribution situation and overcome the current food crisis with an emergency policy,” according to NK News.
The film also contains images of missile tests throughout the year, footage of construction projects, including a first look at the exterior of an 80-story skyscraper and several scenes of Kim riding horseback.
In one of those scenes, Kim is seen in the saddle on a white horse at a beach watching the sun set.
source: people.com
