Hana, dul, sed … gives us a subtle glim­pse of the workings of Pyongyang society and the way ideo­logy func­tions in its citi­zens’ pro­fes­sio­nal and per­so­nal lives. It is a film about four young women, their fri­end­ship, dreams, hopes, and the pas­sion for foot­ball they share. Being a mem­ber of the natio­nal team is not only a way to make a living but gives the play­ers pres­tige, popu­la­rity, and cer­tain pri­vi­le­ges, like lar­ger food rati­ons. To Ri Jong Hi, Ra Mi Ae, Jin Pyol Hi, and Ri Hyang Ok, howe­ver, the sport means more than fame or for­tune. “What is beau­tiful about foot­ball,” says one, “is that when you run onto the pitch, it’s like your heart opens up wide, like you could take on the world.”

As „play­ers of the peo­ple“ they lead North Korea to vic­tory in num­e­rous tour­na­ments, and tog­e­ther they rise to rank among the top ten women’s teams in the world. But when they fail to qua­lify for the Olympics, it is time for them to retire from com­pe­ti­tion, and each of them starts a new life. Today the fri­ends only see each other occa­sio­nally, but when they meet, they are as close as ever. They stroll along the city’s dark bou­le­vards, remi­ni­scing about their foot­ball days and tal­king about life wit­hout their bel­oved sport.

The camera fol­lows the four prot­ago­nists during their active care­ers and after reti­re­ment, unob­tru­si­vely obser­ving their ever­y­day lives against the back­drop of bom­ba­s­tic monu­ments and solemn ges­tu­res in this com­mu­nist her­mit state.