The Mole: Undercover in North Korea
An audacious undercover documentary follows an unlikely team infiltrating North Korea’s alleged weapons-and-drugs network while the line between investigation and reckless entrapment grows perilously thin.
Overview
An undercover mission into the heart of darkness reveals shocking truths about a brutal regime.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- nerve-racking
- absurd
- paranoid
- documentary night
- political thriller night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the documentary as extraordinarily brave, nerve-racking, entertaining, and potentially consequential, while some questioned its dangerous methods and documentary boundaries.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The Mole and Mr. James pose as intermediaries while using hidden cameras and microphones to document North Korean dealings.
The ten-year infiltration develops through clandestine meetings, signed contracts, criminal proposals, and the threat of exposure.
The investigation seeks evidence that North Korea is circumventing UN sanctions through drugs, weapons, and overseas infrastructure.
An ordinary Danish family man and a former cocaine trafficker enter a seemingly implausible weapons-and-drugs operation that is nevertheless presented as real.
Films like The Mole: Undercover in North Korea, and why
Citizenfour
shares undercover investigation, geopolitical danger, hidden-camera documentation, and escalating real-world stakes
The Dissident
shares investigative documentary suspense, covert recording, and exposure of state-linked wrongdoing
Where to Invade Next
shares audacious undercover access, political corruption, and an entertaining thriller-like documentary style
Seymour Hersh: The Price of Truth
shares dangerous infiltration, international criminal networks, and documentary tension built from real events
Movie Details
- Director
- Mads Brügger
- Release Date
- 2020-10-11
- Runtime
- 123 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (122)
Cast
- Mads Brügger
- Alejandro Cao de Benos de Les y Pérez
- Ulrich Løvenskjold Larsen
- Jim Latrache-Qvortrup
- Annie Machon
- Hisham Al-Dasouqi
- Kim Ryong Chol
- Anders Kristensen
- Otto Warmbier
- Ri Won-Guk
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Kino Film Collection
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Mole: Undercover in North Korea about?
- An audacious undercover documentary follows an unlikely team infiltrating North Korea’s alleged weapons-and-drugs network while the line between investigation and reckless entrapment grows perilously thin.
- What is The Mole: Undercover in North Korea like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Mole: Undercover in North Korea as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Mole: Undercover in North Korea violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Mole: Undercover in North Korea as mild.
- What did critics think of The Mole: Undercover in North Korea?
- Critics broadly praised the documentary as extraordinarily brave, nerve-racking, entertaining, and potentially consequential, while some questioned its dangerous methods and documentary boundaries.
- Which films are like The Mole: Undercover in North Korea?
- Films with a similar feel include Citizenfour, The Dissident, Where to Invade Next, and Seymour Hersh: The Price of Truth.
- How long is The Mole: Undercover in North Korea?
- The Mole: Undercover in North Korea runs 123 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Mole: Undercover in North Korea?
- In United States, The Mole: Undercover in North Korea streams on Kino Film Collection.
