MOVIES - Nov. 25, 1988

If Ronald Reagan segued from film to politics, why can’t the exiled former leader of Cambodia, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, do just the reverse? No reason, apparently, for Sihanouk has written and directed a film called “The Mysterious City,” described by the prince as a Cambodian tragedy set in the 1950s. The film was shot in May and June in North Korea, where Sihanouk has spent some of his time in exile. “The Mysterious City” is performed by North Korean actors in Korean with English subtitles. Sihanouk ruled Cambodia for 30 years, first as king and later as president, before he was toppled in a coup in 1970 by pro-U.S. Gen. Lon Nol.