Film Festival

[Anonymous]

I have also had the opportunity to see the film, Memoirs of a Geisha. I truly enjoyed this film for many reasons. First and foremost, I really enjoyed having a look into what the life of a Geisha actually is like. Unfortunately, I am "one of those Americans" who thought a Geisha was something quite different. I think the art of a Geisha is truly unique and provides incredible insight into Japanese culture. I thought that this film provided a good look into the life of a Giesha from childhood through adulthood. The tremendous effort, and perhaps even torture that a Geisha must endure are amazing. It is no wonder that Geishas are held in such high esteem. This film truly portrays the life of a Geisha as an art form. And although it is quite a prestigious position in Japanese society, I found it quite sad at how much of the life and feelings a Geisha must both surrender and supress. The unrequited love story in this film was an excellent example of th fact that a Geisha's life and love are truly not her own. Another great aspect of this film were the costumes and cinematogroaphy. I felt that the costumes were beautiful and traditional, and the setting of the film highlighted the true beauty of Japan. Although, I'm sure that Japan is not all gardens and Cerry Blossom trees, why not focus upon the beauty of Japan? Afterall, I find that films are a form of entertainment and perhaps an escape from reality. As far as the actors were concerned, I felt that they were well cast. Even though the main character was played by a Chinese actress, I found her beauty an performance riveting. My opinion of this film is soley based on my enjoyment of the film, and an escape to a traditional and beautiful Japan. The film was quite entertaining, and provided me with enough insight into the life of a Geisha to reverse a former stereotype.

[Anonymous]

I decided to review the film Twilight Samurai. I will provide a brief description of the plot and then describe how scenes in the film can be used in the classroom to highlight/illustrate key ideas in Japanese feudalism and Confucius thought.

Aside from having an application in the class, I found the film engrossing and thought it did a nice job engaging the viewer with the story. The story begins by showing the main character’s life, a low-ranking samurai, who supports his two daughters and mother, who suffers from dementia, on a very meager salary. It shows that while he does not present the picture of success to wider society he seems to find contentment in taking care of his family.

The story advances by providing the main character a love interest, in which he shows his until know unknown prowess in swordsmanship by defending her honor against her abusive ex-husband. From this incident comes an order from his superiors to kill a certain samurai who has refused to commit suicide, known as seppuku. For those that have not yet seen this film I will not spoil the ending by revealing if he gets the girl and or kills his adversary.

As far as its applicability in the class, for those teaching Confucius there are many scenes that allow students to see its teachings in action. For example, the Confucius belief that one must show a strong degree of respect for their elders is shown numerous times when we see the main character taking her of his aged mother, and showing deference to his uncle, despite his sometimes abusive behavior towards him. Again, one can see Confucius thought being practiced when the love interest acquiesces and goes against her own feelings so she can show respect and obey her brother and his wife wishes (the Confucius belief society works when people act based on what their role and relationship is to others).

With regards to Japanese feudalism, one can see it in action during the scene when the Japanese lord inspects his keep’s provisions and his samurai show complete deference and obedience to him. There are other scenes that show how feudalism operated in Japanese society when the samurai are working for their lord, like record keeping and inspecting troops training, and when the samurai talk about how one who does not have a lord is basically worthless.

Finally, one more scene that shows both feudal Japan and Confucius thought at work is when the main character’s lord is talking to his samurai. He sets a good example by being kind and wise (which in Confucius thought are part of the duties of rulers) when he could have yelled at his workers, and it also reveals how powerful the lord is in this particular hierarchy when the samurai working for him don’t even make eye contact with him and don’t speak unless spoken to.

[Anonymous]

Commenting on Lost in Translation, this movie is rated R and released in 2003 by Sofia Coppola. Two Americans meet and become friends in Japan and discover a different perspective on life. The two main characters are Bob Harris (Bill Murray) and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson). Bob is a movie star shooting a commercial and Charlotte is a young wife of a photographer. They both have some experiences in Japan.

There are some nice scenes that show present day life in Japan. I'm sure they can somehow be used in classrooms.[Edit by="vhui on Jul 19, 8:39:46 AM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

I love reading these reviews!!!!

So many of them are films I have seen or heard of but would have never thought of showing it class. You guys have really shown me a new way of seeing a lot of movies. I think I'm going to rent "Twilight..." If I can find it. The idea of a the Samurai is very interesting to students even if they don't completely get the whole scope of the Samurai class. In fact, I wonder how many students know that the Samurai were a whole of people. I doubt a lot did.

Film clips are a mixed blessing, though. I have a friend who one showed 5 or 6 clips in one period. After each class he had to review the videos and that took up the entire passing period.

However, I doubt that we could show as many films as we want. In order to really get the most out of a film shown in class, you have to either stop it periodically and discuss certain scenes or have a long discussion/review/connect the film to our class.

[Anonymous]

I think the story is not great but there are a lot of nice shots that show the current trends or culture.

[Anonymous]

I think students will like it but I couldn't get over the way it was drawn to appreciate the story.

[Anonymous]

Country Teachers (1993); China

Country Teachers is about a young woman who accepts a position teaching in a poor rural mountain school in China. She lives in the country with her parents, but she has failed her college entrance exams twice. Since she has limited opportunities, she asks her uncle (who has important connections) to get her a job. She is disappointed that the only thing he can offer her is a teaching position at a country school with minimal resources, but since she lacks proper certification, she is not qualified for a position in an urban school, where she feels she would have a better chance of succeeding.

Upon arriving at the school, she meets her three male colleagues, all of whom also lack proper certification but have many years of teaching experience. After observing her colleagues’ classes, she is entrusted with her own pupils, and she shows great promise as a teacher, although she and her colleagues do not know if or when they will be paid for their service, as they must wait for a visit from the government. She helps prepare the children for the government’s visit, but she is shocked when she hears her colleagues falsify their educational statistics to secure funding and salaries. After telling the government the truth, she is shunned by her colleagues. Finally, she is able to save face and they even nominate her for certification when the opportunity arises.

This movie is a great companion to a recent NPR broadcast on rural teachers (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5413877). It would be a great resource to show students how a good education can help people escape poverty. All of the children who attend the mountain school in the movie come from poor families, and many have to stop attending in order to go to work in the fields to help their families. Many students in LAUSD can relate to this, and it would be a great tool to show the struggles of children everywhere to get educated. The young teacher in the movie also illustrates this quite well, as she comes from a poor family who pushes her to excel. They are very disappointed that she has not passed her exams after two tries, and they reinforce the idea that education is the key to escaping poverty. The movie also shows how much many of these parents and teachers must sacrifice in order to educate these children properly. The teachers pass up opportunities to teach in the city where they could earn a better income, because they have become attached the cause of educating the poorer children. This demonstrates how education becomes more of a community endeavor if people are truly going to be “educated.” In addition, the movie explores government involvement and the struggle to fully fund education.

[Anonymous]

Hello

Can you tell us where you found the movie COUNTRY TEACHER?
I would appreciate it.

[Anonymous]

I found this movie at my local Blockbuster, of all places. I'm not sure if all Blockbusters stock it, but I found it at the one at Overland and National in West L.A.

[Anonymous]

One place for travellers to tie in the Miyazaki films you see with how they are made can visit Studio Ghibli Museum in Tokyo, Japan. My relatives have a hard time finding tickets to get in, but foreign travellers can buy tickets through JTB (Japan Tourism Bureau and other similar org.) before departing for Japan. I always wished Disney had similar things here without the Theme Park or the old, mighty dollar... An animation backround tour without the glitz and glam of Universal Tours... Fun, Colorful, Educational, Inspirational....

Ghibli Museum
English reference site
Another English reference

Last year when I visited, "Howl's Castle" was the biggest hit in Japan, and in a shoppin center in Japan, they had a promotional booth and display that people were waiting hours for... If you ever see kids run to Mickey Mouse at Disneyland, you should see the full-grown adult fans of anime run up to Miyazaki characters. I personally like magical-reality of his films. The same reasons why we watched cartoons by shutting off our sense of reality for worries and insecurities, we adults sometimes forget what it means to enjoy life, much like an innocent child in all of us...

[Anonymous]

I recently saw The Twilight Samurai and thought it an excellent movie. I will not summarize it in detail since so many others have already done such a fine job.

I am planning to use the movie with my modern literature class. The movie explores themes that I feel are relevant to modern literature such as making meaning of ones existence in a seemingly absurd society. The protagonist has trouble coming to terms with the death of his wife and his inability to care for his two daughters and senile mother on a meager petty samurai salary. He is trained in sword fighting and yet hides the fact allowing those around him to think of him as unkempt and unmotivated.

The protagonist Seibei Iguchi is a classic underachiever who is very capable of but has no will to rise in social rank. We are led to believe that the death of his wife has resulted in some sort of death in himself. This death of self debilitates him and he seems to only have enough energy to make it through one day at a time.

That is until he reunites with an old childhood friend, the beautiful and recently divorced Tomoe Iinuma. When Seibei defends Tomoe against her violent ex-husband the bond between the two is sealed and Seibie’s life takes on new meaning. This rupture in his daily routine seems to shake him from his depression and he is motivated to act again.

We see so many of our students experience similar scenarios of loss and death that leave them shattered and immobile. I have spoken to numerous students who seem unmotivated and unwillingly and yet through conversation I have found some loss to be at the root of the problem.

I also feel that Seibei Iguchi’s abililty to walk away from a fight and show mercy to his enemies is a very good lesson for our kids. When Tomoe’s ex-husband challenges Seibei to a duel, Seibei shows mercy to the man and does not kill him. He fights him and wins and spares his life. The movie ends with a similar scenario in which Seibei does all he can to spare the life of the man he is supposed to kill.

Recently at VeniceHigh there was a shooting that resulted in the death of a student. And as teachers we all know that this is not an uncommon event. Maybe if these kids see that a skilled fighter is unwillingly to fight and even shows mercy to his enemies, they themselves won’t feel the need to stand so tall and not back down form a fight. Maybe they will look for alternatives that will allow them to save face and/or simply walk away.

[Anonymous]

I recently saw The Black Rider—Robert Wilson, Tom Waits and William Burroughs. An excellent musical play based on an old German folktale. (I will tie this into Asia soon.) The story is about a young man who sells his soul to the devil to win the heart of the girl he loves. He is given magic bullets that will hit anything he aims at. Unfortunately when time comes for the devil to collect his due another deal is struck resulting in the death of his girl and his confinement to an asylum for the insane. Sad story. So what does it have to do with Asia?

The costumes and the make-up were obviously Chinese militant and Noh/Kabuki/Butoh Theater influenced. Very simple lines, heavy fabrics, military style boots, mask-like white paint on the face with black lines to highlight various features such as long black silky hair, etc. The play has a skewed feeling meaning that everything is off center and not quite balanced. This lends itself well to the whole supernatural motif. I read that Kabuki actually derives form a verb that means “to lean” and that kabuki can be interpreted as bizarre or avant-garde. This is an excellent description of The Black Rider.

The body movements were also very stylized, simple and direct, slow and very reminiscent of Noh Theater. Of course the Beats were heavy into eastern philosophy and Burroughs coming from that probably had some input into the overall look and feel of the thing.

As for the music: Waits chose a jazzy lounge style that often clashed with itself. He employed chromatic lines and diminished phrasing to create an eerie soundtrack for the play. If you have ever heard any of the traditional Chinese and/or Japanese music (maybe in Memoirs of a Geisha?), you might argue that certain styles of Asian music seem to have preceded Stravinsky and the whole 12-tone school just a little bit.

I find it interesting that whenever we want to take a weird postmodern approach on something in contemporary theater we borrow elements of the Chinese and Japanese past. WB Yeats in fact seems to have borrowed somewhat from the Eastern aesthetic in many of his “odd” avant-garde plays and early poems. Could this have been due to his friendship with Ezra Pound?

Anyhow, there are so many more similarities between The Black Rider and ancient forms of Asian theater that I could spend ten pages here, but I won’t. Rather I will strongly suggest that you see it the next time it is in town.

[Anonymous]

I've had numerous debates regarding the movie Lost in Translation. Many of my Asian American friends found the movie a bit racist. They argued that Bill Murray's character was an arrogant bigot who disrespected the Japanese culture with his horrible jokes and his disregard for cultural norms and customs. They didn't buy into the scenario of two Americans in Japan connecting and conspiring against the Japanese and their version of the English language. I think they missed the point that once Murray's character let his guard down and found a second he actually did enjoy the cultural by way of running around with Charlie Brown and the gang.

A few of my friends from Japan, one guy in particular, loved the movie and thought it was a very accurate depiction of an American actor forced to makes some money in Japan via advertising. My friend made the excellent point that when foreign travelers are here in America they make many of the same jokes as a defense mechanism. It is highly stressful to be inundated with a new language and a new culture while being all alone in a foreign country. He also commented on the practice of Japanese advertisers using American faces to sell Japanese products (e.g. Brad Pitt). He raised the question that if something is equitable for all involved, then who is exploiting whom?

Personally I think the movie is a great lesson in culture shock and an excellent look at the inability of a man to deal with aging, displacement, etc. I think it is a great love story, an excellent travel log, and a wonderful way of addressing ethnocentrism and the ability to have fun and laugh at ones own culture.

As for appropriate content, I teach seniors so the rating is not necessarily relevant. There is a scene in a bar though that I would definitely fast forward through.

And finally, if not a fan of Sofia Coppola or the genre, watch the movie anyway simply for the beautiful shots of Tokyo and Kyoto in particular.

[Anonymous]

I wanted to review the opera Madama Butterfly. First of all I think it is great that it is the story of a Japanese woman who is married to an American soldier who leaves her, and that it is written by an Italian, Puccini. Talk about multiculturalism.

I saw the LA Opera’s minimalist production of the opera a few months back and I thought it as wonderful. Of course the stage and costume design was highly influenced by Traditional Japanese Noh and Kabuki Theater. The costumes were monochromatic. The make up was white, red, and black and mask-like. The movements were very slow and stylized and quite striking. This of course in contrast to the American costumes which were G.I. chic. When the soldier returns to Japan with his American bride, she is dressed in the classic white wedding gown which is gaudy and bulky compared to the clean lines Butterfly wears.

Plot: Nagasaki. Butterfly is a teenage bride purchased for 100 yen by the American naval officer Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton. He is proud that he can bow out of the marriage anytime, which he does. He returns home to America to marry an American woman and leaves butterfly with child. Also, Butterfly converted to Christianity thinking that her husband was true and faithful to her.

Eventually, three years later, Pinkerton returns with his new wife and wants his child to return to America with his wife and him. Butterfly decides that she will commit suicide and she stabs herself with the same dagger her father used to kill himself with.

Teaching potential: There are so many aspects to discuss—Imperialism, war brides, WW history, elements of tragedy. And of course Memoirs of a Geisha can be discussed and viewed.

[Anonymous]

With the recent passing of Mako, the Asian-American community has lost an irreplaceable leader among the rising artistic voices of contemporary American. I when I was in high school back in the late 80's, many Asian-Americans seemed so distant from American theater. I think for some, theater was for the older immigrant generations, with their Chinese operas and Japanese Kabuki theater. For an Asian-American student aspiring to attend an acting school was a rare event, and even a rare discussion of possibility among dinner tables at their homes. But I think similar to the reactions to Blaxploitation movies and how African-American artists sought their own path to their visions, Asian-Americans did the same in the late 80's and 90's. For some of you, remember how "Boyz in the Hood" changed perceptions about "ethic" filmmakers. Just like Jackie Robinson in baseball, although perhaps for a smaller community for some, Mako created the first step in colorblind art for some Asian-Am artists. If you look beyond the race of the performer/creator, them people should see the true commonalities in life, not trivial differences. Emotion expressed in a play is no different than any other forms of expression. The artistic living life you create, permanently on the silver screen/TV, is to be seen and perhaps judged countless generations that follow... It is with this understanding that key figures in history demonstrate 'silent fortitude' that create the backbone for future generations. I can't say one film work stands out of Mako-san's performances. Although as a youth, I did enjoy his action-film role in Conan the Barbarian series.

I think the great thing about freedom of art in this country is that we have a bounce back effect on the art of the world. I see art on the continent of Asia becoming bolder and expressive in non-traditional ways. For example, if the Canadian Cirque de Soleil could continually expand and do for stage shows that generate revenue to the awes of many, then imagine a Chinese acrobat/martial arts type show recreated for American tastes. Can you imagine a play such as "Hair" playing live in conservative China, Japan, or Muslim SEAsia?!?... You can't attribute all the progress in society and art to one person. But it is when you can't see the hard work done by that one person, and we revel in the fruits of their work, then we truly live in a society where art can transcend cultural baggage and superficial judgment.

LA TIMES article by DHWang[Edit by="ssaito on Jul 29, 4:20:47 PM"][/Edit]

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