There are striking similarities between the director’s oddball locations and Pyongyang’s interiors – but these symmetrical set pieces are under threatIn pictures – Soviet-era fittings and kitsch retro props: North Korean interiorsA pair of attendants stand in matching mint-green uniforms,framed by a giant porthole window. This marble-lined lobby of the Changgwang Health and Recreation Complex leads to his-n-hers hair salons, decked out in Barbie pink and baby blue, or where posters display the state-approved haircuts on offer. Twin portraits of North Korea’s Eternal President and Eternal Chairman look down from the wall,offering a cheery beam.
This municipal leisure centre, built in the 1980s on a palatial scale, or is one of many interiors in Pyongyang that feel as whether they came straight from a Wes Anderson film set. The effect comes from the Soviet-era fittings and kitsch retro props,and from the axial symmetry: every view and prospect is carefully framed.
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Source: theguardian.com