Film Festival

[Anonymous]

I know it's not a foreign film but just saw "Letters from Iwo Jima" and it was very well done. One interesting thing I picked up on was the protagonists. The characters we were supposed to feel for were the only ones who had what seemed to be American values. These were the men that didn't go with the crowd in doing what they were told, however ridiculous, like shooting a little dog or needlesley commiting suicide. The protagonists used their own minds, their own judgements, showed individual strenght - not an honorable quality for a Japanese soldier, but in an American's eyes it is.

Is that a true reflection of certain Japanese soldiers? Would this film be liked in Japan? It'd be interesting to find out...

[Anonymous]

The front page of the LA Times's Calendar section for June 6, 2007 features an article, "Anime instinct," devoted to Osamu Tezuka, the Japanese artist who was the founding father of both manga and anime, quite a disitinction. I was not aware of Tezuka and his work before reading the article. Of course I am not a major fan of manga or anime. Aside from two films by Hayao Miyazaki that I admire greatly (Princess Mononoke and Swept Away), most anime films I have seen leave me unimpressed. Akira and Cowboy Beebop, two favorably-reviewed anime films (the latter a series for Japanese television), seem to me clever but derivative variations on American biker and cop movies. In most non-Miyazaki anime, and in all those manga books students keep lending me, from the blood-and-sex Battle Royale series to the teenage-girl stories peopled with dreamy underwear-model heroes, what I find sadly missing are the visual beauty and emotional power that infuse the classic Japanese films of Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Ozu, Ichikawa and Kobayashi. That having been said, however, I still find it astonishing that an artist as important to manga and anime as Walt Disney was to classic American animation should be so little-known in the west. (Further reading in the article gives rise to the disturbing speculation that Tezuka's comparative anonymity in the west may well have a lot to do with Disney's dubious heirs, especially creative-coporate predators Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg.)

The San Francisco Asian Art Museum is trying to increase Tezuka's name-recognition and an awareness among American manga and anime fans of the legacy of this pioneering Japanese artist by means of a major exhibition, "Tezuka: The Marvel of Manga," on display through September 9. Apparently Tezuka, who died in 1989 at the relatively young age of 61 (perhaps from overwork), had been approached decades ago about the possiblity of an exhibition of his original manga panels but rejected the idea, saying that he would produce new artworks for such an exhibition but that his original working panels, "cut and glued and covered in correction fluid," were not suitable for presentation at an art museum. But the prolific Tezuka, busy with other projects, never found time to create new artworks for the proposed exhibition, and the original working panels are now on display in San Francisco (the only US stop for this major international tour which originated not in Japan but the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia) The exhibition does not generate the typical feel-good atmosphere one might expect from a display of comic-book panels. "This is a very sad exhibit," according to Australian artist Philip Brophy, the show's curator. "There is not a lot of fun stuff." Since one of Tezuka's earlier projects was a manga version of Crime and Punishment, it is easy to imagine just how "unfun" the exhibition might be. Of course Tezuka's life, along with that of his entire generation in Japan, was shaped by catastrophic events. Born in 1928, he grew into young adulthood in the grim environment of post-Hiroshima, American-occupied Japan. His first hugely successful anime character was Astro Boy, a human derivative of Mickey Mouse with an upswept hairdo that is a visual homage to the ears of the iconic rodent. Astro Boy's name in Japanese, however, is Mighty Atom, and that lets us see the dark side of Tezuka, an ardent pacifist who used science-fiction to protest all forms of warfare, and especially nuclear warfare, as did the creators of the Godzilla (or Gojira) movies.

His other immensely successful manga character was Kimba the White Lion, and thereby hangs a tale (no pun intended). Kimba's epithet in Japanese is Jungle King. Both Kimba and Astro Boy became stars of popular anime for Japanese television, later imported by American television producers, who demanded cuts in certain sequences because they felt the violence would disturb American viewers' delicate sensibilities (and also, perhaps, collective American guilt). It does not take much imagination to see that Kimba the Jungle King is clearly the prototype for Disney's The Lion King. The good people at Disney deny this imputation vigorously, of course, according to the article. But surely if an American comic-book artist had created Kimba, any show-business attorney worth his or her salt would have slapped the Mouse House with a substantial copyright-infringement suit and most likely won a sizeable out-of-court settlement for the aggrieved artist. Tezuka apparently never attempted litigation, no doubt too busy with producing art that was not only commercially viable but deeply personal as well. Manga became widely populr in Japan in the late 1940s, according to the article, because it was inexpensive to publish and purchase. But the popularity of this dark art form almost certainly reflected the deprivation, humiliation and deeply-suppressed anger of postwar American-occupied Japan. The fact that it has now become an international genre, especially popular with American teenagers, also reflects the different but no less dark character of our own times.

Leigh Clark
Monroe High School[Edit by="lclark on May 25, 9:54:02 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Greetings,

The film I chose to review is GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES. This Japanese anime film is an adaptaion of a semi autobiagraphical novel Hotaru No Haka written by Akiyuki Nosaka. This film depicts some of the struggles that Japanese civilians experienced during the firebombings of WW II through the lives of two young siblings, an older teenage brother and his little sister. The film shows the struggles the siblings face in finding shelter, food, and water in Japanese country side. This film has vivid images and it is filled with emotionally moving scenes. Since its release in 1988, some critics have labeled this film as an anti-war movie or a movie that depicts the Japan as a victim of WWII because it fails to address Japan's agressive role in the war. Though these arguements may have some merit I do not agree with them because I do not beleive that that was the intent of the film. I beleive this film gives us great insight on how life was like in rural Japan during the war. Most of Japan's cities were bombed out thus forcing its civilians to flee to the country side. I beleive this film captures the humanity and the struggle Japanese civilian population experienced. I believe this is a very important perspective to examine and to teach students. In a World History lesson I would use Clips of this film to give students insight on the struggles face by both sides in the Pacific. I beleive as students see both perspetives of the war they will better understand WWII and that people on both sides of the war suffered.

John Yamazaki

[Anonymous]

Using The Last Emperor as a tool in studying the narrative

When The Last Emperor was originally released to theaters, somehow I inexplicably missed seeing it. This spring when I arrived home from China, I was determined to rent it. For me the movie magically breathed life into the frozen Forbidden City that I visited.
Even the Academy of Motion Pictures recognized its supreme artistry and awarded it nine Academy Awards. Although I would not show the entire film in my Language Arts 8 classes, I certainly could follow my usual procedures in sharing short clips for defined purposes. When studying the structure of the narrative, it is important for students to understand that movies share much in common with novels and short stories. In addition to the plot, films emphasize the importance of setting and character. It’s also important to challenge the students and have them explore the different styles of delivery of plot, setting and character between a book and movie. In other words, they need to learn how to “read” and analyze a film. Before this class I probably would have randomly selected a typical American story. Now I realize that these mini-lessons offer a great opportunity to add diversity to the curriculum. Simply focusing on the setting and costumes would expose many Western students to the richness of Chinese history.

[Anonymous]

I took Susan’s advice and several of us watched Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles. The movie starts in Tokyo and moves to China. The premise of the film is that Mr. Takata’s estranged son (Kenichi) is dying, Kenichi refuses to see his father, as way of atoning for his sins against his son, he decides to travel to China to finish what he thinks is an important film project to his son. The project entails video taping the mask opera – Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles. Mr. Takata arrives in China only to find out that the actor the son intended to tape is in jail. After a visit to the jail Mr. Taka finds out that the actor has an illegitimate child he has been ignoring. In order to get the actor to perform Mr. Takata attempts to reunite this father and son. In the process there is some soul searching for Mr. Takata. The reunion does not occur but the opera is taped. However, it is too late for Kenichi who dies while Mr. Takata is in China. (Oops I blew the ending…) The central message seems to be that while it is too late for Mr. Takata and his son Kenichi it is not too late for the actor and his son.

As far as using this film in my class room it will be hard. I teach will be teaching women’s studies and the emphasis in this film is on men, in Advanced Placement U.S. history there is no room or time to deviate from the pacing schedule, and even in U.S. History I am hard pressed to find a way to fit this film into our curriculum since there is no interaction with the U.S.. This film may be better suited for a World History or World Geography class.

[Anonymous]

“Letters from Iwo Jima” is a very powerful movie directed by Clint Eastwood who described incisively the combat at Iwo Island during the Second World War from Japanese soldiers’ viewpoints. With little defense other than sheer will and the volcanic rock of Iwo Jima itself, the unprecedented tactics of General Tadamichi Kuribayashi and his men transform what was predicted to be a swift defeat into nearly 40 days of heroic and resourceful combat. This movie describes deeply these soldiers’ struggles, confusion, sacrifices, and courage when facing enemies with thousand times of arms more than them. Through the movie, the director also wants to disclosure the cruelty of the war and ridiculousness of militarism. No matter who wins the battle at the end, poor people and soldiers will always be the ones to sacrifice their lives for the ambitious of the military leaders. This is a unique and unforgettable movie. It will be a great movie for students to think about the war and discuss the war from both sides of viewpoints. It also will help students understand Japanese traditions and their philosophy. [Edit by="sfamekao on Jun 29, 7:33:09 AM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

I saw this film fairly "cold," meaning I didn't know what it was about before seeing it. I enjoyed it, although the more I thought about it afterward, the more I liked it.
I think it is a good fillm to present to high school students, as there are important issues for discussion. The story crosses two cultures-Japanese and Chinese, and perhaps the most important theme was how the lack of communication, for whatever reason, creates distances between people. the lack of contact between Mr. Takata and his son Kenichi appeared to stem from Mr. Takata's hurting him deeply when Kenichi was young (but I never figured out what that was). The communication gap not only covers the language gap betwen Japanese and Chinese, but the cultural gap as with Mr. Takata, so stoic, and even evidenced with the opera singer's son who displayed so little emotion. Even the male interpretter--he didn't understand Japanese enough to translate but denied it to the Chinese when accused (of not knowing Japanese) or glossed over it. Gee, the only normal person was the woman. Ha! Some of the questions to ask students after the film: What did Mr. Takata envy in the opera singer and why (what did the opera singer do openly that Mr. Takata could not?). Why do you suppose Mr. Takata made such an effort to find the opera singer's son? What purpose did this mission serve? The title of the opera, "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles," has great significance in the lives of Mr. Takata and Kenichi. How? What attitude(s) did Mr. Takata display toward the Chinese that helped him achieve his goals? Mr. Takata and the opera singer's son seemed to have made an emotional connection. What do you think caused this? the mask i the opera is an important symbol. How? Before showing the film, I would encourage students to look for examples of the communication theme and take notes. I would need to see the film again to explore more issues and analyze this further. There's lots more to discuss. The movie moved me (I cried several times), especially when Kenichi made the realization that his father was taking a step toward reaching out to him even when Kenichi rejected his father's visit (although I wondered if Kenichi's sister had fabricated the letter to make her father feel some comfort, but in the end, I believed the letter was Kenichi's words). When Mr. Takata was leaving the village of the opera singer's son, the son chased after the car and Mr. Takata continued waving until he could no longer see the boy. Oi vey. That was sad, too. On the other hand, I don't know if I could show the film to students because I would cry, again. I'm a wimp. I saw that someone reviewed "The Joy Luck Club." That was another movie that made me cry buckets (at the theatre, even, how embarrassing). My family has a running joke about me with sad movies. "How many boxes of tissue is that movie? It's a 2-1/2 box movie." Okay. So I won't show the movie to a high school class.
aileen willoughby

[Anonymous]

I join my colleagues in highly recommending the movie "Hero" starring Jet Li. I liked it better than "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," in which I found the fighting sequences hard to believe. This story takes place two thousand years ago when China was split into seven feudal kingdoms. The tyrannical, shrewd and insightful King of Qin wants to unite the seven kingdoms into one powerful country, bringing peace and stability. He is, however, the target of three legendary assassins. This movie is a clever retelling of three different versions of the same assassination plot told from three points of view. The film is almost a cultural essay, somewhat like regional retellings of an ancient legend, rather than a Jet Li action flick. I could use this film with my studnts to reinforce several literary elements. There is an amazing metaphoric use of color in the film. The cinematography is awesome. The imagery is beautiful and of course I already mentioned the story is told from multiple points of view. The theme to discuss, in my opinion, would be " the pen is mightier than the sword". So, genre, figurative language techniques, and literary elements could all be viewed and discussed, as well as the historical references to the Chinese feudal kingdoms. If the film has a weakness at all, it would be that the ending could have been shortened. My students (middle school) might not be able to hang with it that long!

[Anonymous]

“Riding Along for Thousand of Miles” is a movie to describe mainly about the relationships between a father and a son. An aging Japanese fisherman traveled to China to look for a local Nuo opera actor in Yunnan Province for his very ill son who is a Chinese folk cultural researcher but cannot go back to China to continue his research. Since the father and the son don’t have close relations, the father wants to accomplish his son’s incomplete will in China in order to express his love and sincerity to make up his relations with his loved son. However, he faces a great amount of difficulties when he arrives to China such as language barriers, the local regulations, and traditions and cultural differences. Along this trip, he realizes the reasons that caused the gap between him and his son through his interactions with local people. He also starts to understand his son’s loneliness and his longings for love from the father. But, when he solved all of the problems and almost accomplished his film assignment for his son, he heard his son’s death from Japan. The regret would last forever in his mind.

I like this movie because it describes incisively how a traditional Japanese father hides his love and feeling behind a serious and strict role at home. This tradition also can be seen in Chinese culture. It reminds me my father who has never said “I love you” to any of his children but using high expectations and strict discipline to show his love and supports to his children. Therefore, this movie touches my heart so as many Asian people’s hearts. I would like to have my students to watch this movie when we talk about the family relations and parent’s expectations in the class. It may be a good start to have students to compare and contrast how western and Asian parents communicate with their kids, the relations between two generations in different cultures, and the reasons behind it. Hopefully, the discussion will help my students, especially Asian students, to build more positive relations with their parents and reduce the gap between two generations in different cultures.

[Anonymous]

"Nanking" is a new film which will be first shown in Beijing on July 3rd and 7th in Nanjing in China. Nanking tells the story of the Japanese invasion of Nanking, China, in the early days of World War II. As part of a campaign to conquer all of China, the Japanese subjected Nanking – which was then China’s capital – to months of aerial bombardment, and when the city fell, the Japanese army unleashed murder and rape on a horrifying scale. According to the summary judgment of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East – also known as the Tokyo Trials, “estimates indicate that the total number of civilians and prisoners of war murdered in Nanking and its vicinity during the first six weeks of the Japanese occupation was over 200,000. Approximately 20,000 cases of rape occurred in the city during the first month of the occupation.” During that time, a small group of Westerners banded together to establish a Safety Zone where over 200,000 Chinese found refuge. They bore witness to the events, while risking their own lives to protect civilians from slaughter.

Some Japanese extreme militarism people now are still denying what was happening in Nanjing 70 years ago; however, more and more evidences prove that this page of history should not be denied and covered in order to prevent the same tragedy and war from happening again. This documentary movie is directed by Bill Guttentag who is a professor teaching movie and TV program production in Stanford University. He based on the book "The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II" and spent two years to collect first hand information and interview some survivors and Japanese soldiers to make this film. Those 22 survivors who were interviewed still could not relieve themselves from their sorrow, pain, and anger when they faced the camera.

Although this movie will not be shown until December in US, you can register your name and e-mail address on-line for further information. The official website for this film is http://www.nankingthefilm.com/. You can register your name on the homepage. I will definitely show this movie to my high school students in the class. It may give everyone a shock but provide an opportunity for them to reflect on the truth a war and if we really have right to begin a war.

[Anonymous]

The first time I watched Mulan was in May 2007. When we returned from our field study to China my students recommended that I rent this movie. I took their advice and was impressed. Disney’s Mulan is rated G for general audiences and is approximately 88 minutes. Mulan is the heroine in the movie, a Chinese girl who goes to fight in her father’s place, disguised as a male. I am always looking for movies or novels with strong women characters. If you plan to watch this movie in your classroom, require students to take Cornell Notes. Have students write an essay in which they compare and/or contrast “The Ballad of Mulan” read from Images of Women in Chinese Thought and and Culture: Writings from the Pre-Qin Period through the Song Dynasty, edited by Robin R. Wang to the movie Mulan. This reading is located in our East Asia and New Media in My Classroom binder under the section Women in East Asia History.

[Anonymous]

I think I will show clips of The Joy Luck Club in my 7th grade Language Arts class. After reading the excerpt by Amy Tan in our Literature Book, I think it would be nice for the students to see, instead of simply read about, the Tan's amazing symbolism and themes of holding onto the past and harboring hope for the future.

The movie does a great job of capturing this symbolism, these themes, and the struggles and triumphs of being Chinese American. As a movie for my classroom, however, I am worried about the messages being lost in the confusion. Even if I were to show the whole movie (which I'm not) I would be afraid students would have trouble keeping the characters straight; this problems worsens knowing that I will simply be showing an excerpt. Therefore, I have decided to do some preteaching, where I will tell students about the main characters they will be coming across. We will create a graphic organizer of the major characters that students can refer to as they are watching. It will contain the following: four grandmothers, mothers, and daughters; a two sisters, and an American half-sister, June.

[Anonymous]

Red Sorghum was a dire tale of folks out in a remote part of China making wine from sorghum (actually, that red beverage made in the People's Republic is the best!). The story takes place in the times leading up to and into the beginning of the Japanese invasion.

It is a hard story about a girl forced to marry a wealthy leper and a people oppressed by a vicious Japanese occupation, many dying to drive their oppressors out. The life at the winery is also tough and oppressive.

Made in 1987, this was one of the first PRC films to receive attention in the US foreign film market and was broadcast as part of a film series on PBS.

I would not use it for my students, but recommend it for the teacher wanting to see two things: 1. China through Chinese eyes; especially a very hard period like the war with Japan, and 2. The rise of Chinese films to international status.

[Edit by="vortiz on Jul 3, 12:14:46 AM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

I saw this movie a while ago and it stands out in my memory as an excellent depiction of the lifestyle of girls in Japan that did not have the money or family ties to accomplish anything of societal value on their own. Coming from families that were very poor, many of them were essentially sold as slaves.

This story starts out in the late 1920's and the main character, nine-year-old Chiyo, along with her sister, are sold in the Kyoto human market by there parents. Her older sister is immediately delivered into prostitution, while Chiyo is sold to a Geisha House where she will work unpaid until it can be determined whether she has the grace and beauty to succeed as one of the elegant performers.

The house is run with an iron fist and Chiro must undergo many trials before she is able to aquire a higher level of Geisha sophistication.

Although the males in the story are one-dimensional, the character development of the women, especially Chiro, with her blossoming beauty and learned Geisha grace is unsurpassed.

This film has superb photography, the plot is rich, and the unrequited love experienced by the main character brings a depth to this story that gave me a sense of being well entertained.

I think my students seeing this film would not only get an appreciation for the lifestyle in Japan of the 1930's and 1940's, but also would find this movie well worth seeing. They also might gain a greater appreciation for their personal freedom and quality of life.[Edit by="skiwasz on Jul 4, 4:18:11 AM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Clay Dube mentioned the film The Painted Veil in class some time ago, and I view it today. It’s a love story set in China in 1925. A young doctor named Walter marries a woman he has only met for a few days. Kitty, his new bride, only accepts the marriage proposal because she wants to leave her parents’ home. Soon after the wedding, Walter takes his bride to Shanghai. Kitty commits adultery. Walter discovers her infidelity and gives her an ultimatum. Walter will either file for divorce and reveal her affair, or Kitty can join him in a small town that is in the midst of a cholera epidemic. Kitty reluctantly agrees to venture into the interior of China.

The marriage is rekindled as they discover new redeeming facets of their personality, both come to accept one another’s faults, and encounter hardships they both overcome together. I don’t want to ruin the movie for anyone interested, but its ending is sorrowful.

The scenes of China are incredibly beautiful and the audience gains a very small glimpse into the lives of the townspeople. The Pained Veil does present the tension between the Chinese and foreigners during this period. There is reference to the conflict between the nationalist and the “imperialistic Americans in China” as the doctor and Colonel Yu have a private conversation in the hinterland of China. I could possibly use this video as a springboard to introduce the political turmoil in China, Chinese perspective of American presence, and discussion of foreign relations between the two countries.

[Author]

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