Film Festival

[Anonymous]

I just watched "Street Children in Mongolia". It is part of the "What's Going On" series. This series was made for school aged students to show them what other children are going through in poverty stricken areas of the world. The film was put together by the United Nations and Zenger Media (Social Studies School Service). The film takes place in Ulanbaatar, the capitol of Mongolia. It shows the story of four young homeless children. Included is how they survive on the streets and why they left their homes. They have to deal with hunger, cold, and violence on a day-to-day basis. I chose this DVD to review to help out one of my student project groups that chose Mongolian poverty as their research topic. This DVD puts a face on poverty in Mongolia.

[Anonymous]

A movie that many students who are anime lovers or Japanophiles cite is Hotaru no hakka. This is a Ghibli (Hayao Miyazaki) Studio production form the late 80's.

It is very realistic, much like my all time favorite (can you tell by my avatar?), Tonari no Totoro. It is about two children in late WW-2 Japan. They are orphaned in a B-29 incendiary raid. Their relatives do not care much for the burden, so the children run away. They struggle to survive against increasing odds.

It is poignant, visually stunning, but very depressing. The title in English is Grave of the Fireflies.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0095327/[Edit by="vortiz on Feb 26, 10:58:35 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

A movie I have had success using in geography class and with the Japan Club I sponsor is Tampopo.

Director Juzo Itami made a movie about food, passion, and persistence agains the odds. His wry, sometimes dark, sometimes sensual humor makes it a classic.http://imdb.com/title/tt0092048/

It came out in the 80s and is dated in a visual way, but still offers many relevant societal views.

It took me a while to connect Gun, the hero Goro's sidekick, with the great samurai character, Katsumoto, in the Last Samurai. He was just starting out, but was an integral part of the story.

[Anonymous]

A Taiwanese film I have enjoyed and have thought about using is Eat Drink Man Woman. Again, the food basis keeps the movie friendly. The lives of the three daughters and the widower dad in 90s Taipei as they confront modernism and traditional roles (well, tradition takes major hits) are very easy to understand and down-to-earth.

Ang Li directs it, but the story was largely written by an American. The storyline was used by the same company in the making of the flop, Tortilla Soup. The Taiwanese story and production far outclasses the American version.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0111797/

[Anonymous]

A surprise last year on the Independent Film Channel was the Weeping Camel. It was shot in Mongolia with Mongolian actors.

Talk about stark and down-to-earth. A family must find a musician to get a mother camel to accept her colt. The movie shows traditions, family issues, contemporary Mongolian life, and is well acted and produced.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0373861/

[Anonymous]

I would like to add that since my school is Copernican schedule, I have to use clips rather than entire movies. Most of the movies I have discussed would not lend themselves to use in that manner.

I have used clips and worksheets for them with the following movies (just about Asia):
Tora, Tora, Tora,
Windtalkers (director's cut)
Gandhi
The Sand Pebbles

Where I found time to use those clips, i do not know, considering all the standards expect from us.

I am looking forward to the Chinese version of Mulan with Michelle Yeoh in 2008 (so they say).

I also heard that the version of Chushingura with Mifune Toshiro is good, and the story is mentioned in my WHAP text. http://imdb.com/title/tt0055850/

I also heard of a Chinese film on the Opium War http://imdb.com/title/tt0120538/
but I have not seen it.

My issues with films in the classroom are that
1. their dramatic emphasis distracts from the historicity.
2. foreign film makers, until recently, have not had the production support to make high quality films that would keep the students' attention.
3. The American titles center on White characters with Asians as secondary figures or just as background
4. Some of the Asian productions are not even shot in Asia (heck, the Last Samurai was shot in New Zealand and House of the Flying Daggers had scenes shot in Western Russia!).

I find the Globe Trekker episodes to be very useful for the students.

We watch a 45 minute backpack-tour of China, Japan, India, India and, outside of the host's personality, get a first-hand look at out-of-the-way experiences and places.

http://www.pilotguides.com/tv_shows/globe_trekker/index.php

Well, that's my lean on multimedia Asia.
[Edit by="vortiz on Feb 27, 12:13:17 AM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

I loved the Japanese version of Shall We Dance? too. It does a wonderful job showing the various relationships we can have with people and how those connections impact our life.

The movie makes so much more sense with the Japanese setting then with the American one. The fact that Japanese society frowns upon a man taking dance lessons is the necessary context for the fact that the main character has to keep it a secret. He goes against the norm and the result is an awakening in his own life that changes his entire outlook and perspective.

I teach a foreign film class to freshman and was going to use the film, but I thought the theme was a bit too sophisticated for 14 year-olds. After reading some of the posts I'm considering using "Spirited Away." I've never seen it and am wondering if that is a good choice to represent Asian film. Any suggestions?

The point of the class is to expose students to different countires and cultures through the medium of film (our Small Learning Community is called International Studies Academy). Any more thoughts on films I could use that are freshman appropriate?

[Anonymous]

Just wanted to add my two won on this great movie...

The story is traditional - a fairytale, in effect - told to please its original audience of the lower strata of society (until the 20th century and the emerging nationalist movement, wealthier and more cultured Koreans traditionally regarded themselves as above and, to some extent, removed from the common herd - in fact, culturally more akin to the educated Chinese as a class) by putting forward the implausible notion that a poor girl, daughter of a courtesan, can rise to become the wife of the provincial governor, thanks to True Love ...

The movie begins as a pansori performance, with a single singer and accompianist on a stage in front of a large audience, and moves into a retelling of the story through cinematic action. The style of pansori singing is intense - the performer's voice is put through vocal hoops you'd hardly think possible to sustain for the customary two hour performance, and it shows on his face! I'd thought initially that the students would find it comical and react accordingly but, in fact, they very quickly appreciate the dexterity and sheer stamina of the performer, and the action of the story itself begins soon enough.

The camera returns to the stage performance at times throughout the movie and, by the end, the audience members - most of them elderly - are on their feet reacting to the singer and responding to the emotions stirred by the tale's telling.

This is an excellent intro to Korean culture, both folktales and the pansori tradition, and costume (the production values are superb, and the dress throughout is a really great window into traditional Korean costume) although there are a couple of points during the movie when the two young lovers get into some very heated action... fast-forwarding works, as it's only a minute or two of doing the wild thing. I follow up showing this movie with a handout on pansori - its history, and summaries of the most popular stories - which dovetails nicely with the handout on Biejing Opera which we discuss after the class has watched "Farewell My Concubine". It also fits in nicely with a later look at Japanese Noh, Kabuki, and Bunraku theater.

I should say that both of these movies aren't suitable for middle school (except, in the case of 'Chunhyang', with some serious editing). If you can suggest any other movies that explore East Asian musical tradition, I'd be glad to hear from you - particularly anything that showcases any of the Japanese theatrical forms

Many thanks!

Ray Robinson[Edit by="rrobinson on Mar 5, 3:33:12 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

My classes are studying Japan now. I just finished previewing "In Search of History: Samurai Warriors" made by the History Channel. It does a really good job of showing the evolution of the samurai with artwork, reenactments, and expert commentaries. There is a very short part that discusses homosexuality among samurai, but it is put into context of the times. The historical context of bushido is expained as well as its misuse during the twentieth century. What the film does not discuss was whether or not there was some sort of unwritten code of honor before bushido was formalized.

[Anonymous]

I recently saw Twilight Samurai,the film recommended by Professor Yamashita. It is a beautiful film that moves slowly (it is over two hours long), telling a very intelligent story about Seibei, a self-decribed "petty" samurai, who is raising two young daughters and caring for an aging, senile mother on a pittance of a salary. The story takes place at the end of the 19th century showing samurais who worked day to day as castle book keepers. In fact, very little fighting actually occurs. Seibei's life is not glamorous but he does try to live it with thoughtful integrity that sometimes makes him the butt of his co-workers' jokes. Seibei does battle with the drunkened ex-husband of a childhood friend (choosing not to kill the man) and has a climatic battle with a "one-sword" samurai who engages him in a discussion about the changing times. I understand this film was nominated for an Academy Award in 2002.

[Anonymous]

I watched "Tae Guk GI: Brotherhood of War," by Kang Je-Gyu, for my movie review. It is a movie from South Korea about the Korean War. I had not heard anything about the film, but I thought it would be interesting since I teach about the Korean War and my father fought in the conflict. Most importantly, I thought it would be interesting to see a South Koreans perspective of the war. When my class is covering the Korean War (more than just the three paragraphs that's in the textbook!!!), I will show the clip of what it was like to be living in Korea during this turbulent time. The movie gives a good perspective of how the civilians were treated.

The movie has both English subtitles and English voice overs, which was kinda funny because the dialogue did not exactly match the subtitles.

The story was about two brothers who are drafted into the South Korean Army after the north invades. Much of the emotional aspect of the film dealt with how their family was split up during the conflict and how they coped with the realities of war. There was a heavy focus on blaming (and hating) the "Commie bastards" of the north, to the point of being repatative and annoying. It also showed the reaction of the south Korean troops to the Chinese and Americans entering the war. However, there are a couple scenes where the south Koreans murdered suspected Communist sympithizers (civilians who took badly needed food from the Communist party) in a violent scenario that I'm not sure is historically accurate. Another unbelievable scene was when the one brother, Jin-Tae, becomes a southern war hero, gets brainwached by the North Koreans and then leads the north in an attack, only to change sides again and shoot the communists until he is killed. It was a confusing story line, but made for good drama. However, the film is not worthy of using in the classroom as an educational tool.
[Edit by="jlatimer on Jun 26, 9:48:13 AM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

My classes viewed the video, "Confucius" (History Channel). It is a detailed account of his early life and circumstances, including his family life. This is linked (in the video) to his latter choices in life. The choices that he makes are explained in light of the political situation. His quotes are interspersed throughout, with explanations and in many cases, examples. Some scenes open with a famous quote, then the scene unfolds so that the quote is explained. For example, the quote," An oppressive government is much worse than a man eating tiger" prefaces the scene that portrays political unrest. This video brings him to life and portrays him as a sympathetic character. It helped my students to relate his teachings to the person.

[Anonymous]

I thoroughly enjoyed Spirited Away. I would have loved to show this film in my class, but it is not rated "G" (darn elementary school rules). So, for those of you that have lesser restrictions, i highly recommend this movie if you'd like your students to learn about Japanese religious beliefs and culture.

The movie is about a Japanese girl (Shihiro) that gets trapped in the spirit world. The majority of the film takes place in a bath house for spirits where Shihiro is forced to work. The movie is rich in symbolism, spirits, underlying messages about manners and work ethic, and visually stunning as well.

I wish I had more knowledge of the spirits that come to life in this movie. I think that would have allowed me to better understand the movie. One scene I loved is when a horrible, stinky muck-covered blob enters the bath house and Shihiro, because she is the low woman on the totem pole is forced to attend to it. All the bath house attendants think it is a stink spirit, for obvious reasons. Shihiro slips into the tub with it and realizes that he has a thorn in its side and she thinks that he will be more comfortable if she removes it. Finally, after tugging and tugging, the thorn comes out along with a huge wave of muck: dirty water, an old bicycle, bowling pins, a refrigerator and tons of other odd trash. When all is released, the real spirit is revealed; she wasn't taking care of a stink spirit, but rather a rich and powerful river spirit. The trash of course that was released was a reminder of all the pollution that had ruined it.

This is one small scene in a rich and intriguing movie; definitely worth the rental fee.

[Anonymous]

I reviewed the educational video, "Asia's Global Influence" (Discovery School). It is divided up into 5 sections (subtopics):
1. Kublai Khan's promotion of the merchant class in the 13th century
2. The growing desertification problem in China and what China is doing to offset desertification.
3. A tour of Hong Kong by the film star, Jackie Chan in which he points out all of the wonderful attractions, customs, and cultural blending between east and west in Hong Kong.
4. An explanation of why Korea is divided up into North and South and how their economies developed.
5. The extended family in Vietnam and the important role that filial piety plays in society, even as people move away from the country and into the city.

This is a very middle school friendly video that can be used as an introduction to Asian studies or within the study of different parts and aspects of Asia.

Before each segment, the viewer sees middle school aged young people discussing what they know about the subtopics. For example, before the China section, you listen to kids discussing what they remember learning about China.

I think that students will be especially drawn to the Hong Kong section, guided by Jackie Chan. He does a really nice job of explaining how Hong Kong is a blend between ancient Chinese traditions and new western ideas. The wet markets where people choose their food while its still living would fascinate students.

The section on China's "Green Wall" was the most interesting to me. I think it would also be interesting to students because they hear about deforestation, but not desertification.

Anyway, this is a great resource for 7th World History. It extends what is found in the textbook, while providing more information. It's on sale at Discoveryschool.com for $9.95 (while supplies last!)

[Anonymous]

Excellent review of Spirited Away and comparisons with the Odyssey. I agree with Kyle Moody that Chihiro must learn and grow like Telemachus and Haku indeed acts with the attributes and timely interventions of an Olympian god like Athena. Another major allusion (or reference or borrowing) is Circe's transformation of Odysseus's men into swine in Book 10, reflected, of course, in the fate of Chihiro's parents after they eat improvidently of the food of the gods (very much the way Odysseus's men become transformed after having eaten of the food provided for them by the deceptive witch-god Circe). Also Chihiro must use her intelligence and boldness to outwit more powerful beings than herself, much as Odysseus does in his conflict with the Cyclops and the Laestrygonians and with Circe herself. As Odysseus was dressed in rags and disguised as an old man by Athena in Book 13 and told by her that he must undergo blows and humiliation in silence, so Chihiro, disguised as Sen, a lowly bath-house attendant, must learn humility and other forms of self-abasement as she struggles to free her parents from their enchanted metamorphosis and, in the process, acquires wisdom, initiative, courage, self-reliance (in the full Emersonian sense) and an understanding of life far more complex and profound than that possessed by her thoroughly bourgeois parents before and after their porcine transformation.

I liked especially the scene with the "stink god" revealed, after his combative cleansing by Chihiro, to be not a stink god at all but a river god, made loathsome and mephitic by pollution (a theme central to Miyazaki's The Princess Mononoke). This is an allusion to the battle of Menelaus and his men with the slippery and mutable Proteus, the old man of the sea, as recounted to Telemachus in Book 4. I agree that Spirited Away could be used to supplement the Odyssey and increase student engagement, particularly as Miyazaki's film is far more imaginative than the pedestrian attempts made so far to film bits and pieces of Homer's epic. Chihiro's adventure is also, at heart, a story about the centrality of family in our lives, a theme Miyazaki illustrates vividly and unforgettably, just as Homer does.

Leigh Clark
Monroe High School[Edit by="lclark on Jun 11, 10:54:51 PM"][/Edit]

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