| Beyond Utopia | |
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| Directed by | Madeleine Gavin |
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| Cinematography | Kim Hyun-seok |
| Edited by | Madeleine Gavin |
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Running time | 107 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
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| Box office | $52,859[2] |
Beyond Utopia is a 2023 American documentary film directed by Madeleine Gavin. Debuted at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, the documentary largely centers around Pastor Seungeun Kim, a South Korean human rights activist and director of the Caleb Mission, which has rescued over 1,000 North Korean defectors since 2000. The film also shows amateur footage from inside the DPRK as well as interviews Hyeonseo Lee and other defectors.
Beyond Utopia debuted at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2023.[3] The film was screened at the 28th Busan International Film Festival in the "Documentary Showcase" section on October 8, 2023.[4] In the United States Roadside Attractions and Fathom Events acquired distribution rights and released the film on a two-day screening on October 23 and October 24, 2023.[5] Independent Lens acquired broadcast television rights to the film, setting a January 9, 2024, broadcast.[6][7]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 58 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "A documentary that feels like a thriller, Beyond Utopia is a gripping—and frightening—glimpse of life under oppression."[8] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 85 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[9]
Writing for /Film, Ben Pearson gave the film a score of 9 out of 10 and found the handheld footage to be "nothing short of extraordinary."[10] Variety's Owen Gleiberman praised the film for showing audiences the "forgotten" tragedy of North Korea through its use of impressive first-hand camerawork.[11] In a more mixed review, Daniel Fienberg, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, found the film to have a tension-filled and emotional story while following the defecting families, but derided the inclusion of a "dry and lifeless" history lesson on North Korea that didn't fit alongside the compelling first-hand accounts.[12]
