Film Festival

[clay dube]

Adelina is right about several aspects of this movie. I think it rates as one of Zhang Yimou's worst efforts -- a great disappointment since it also represented his return to collaborating with Gong Li, one of the great actresses of our day. Chou Yun-fat also comes off badly in this flick. Ang Lee got a much better performance from him in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Zhang got his start as a cinematographer and the colors and spectacle of this film are dazzling. He's become over-reliant on CGI and gore. The Tang dynasty was a skin-filled time at the palace, though probably not in the way shown here. There was also plenty palace intrigue then and at other times. The scale of this film, though, suggests why Zhang was the perfect choice to oversee the Olympic ceremonies.

[Anonymous]

I watched the movie "Not One Less" by Zhang Yimou. It is a movie about a young schoolteacher (really a substitute) in rural China who goes searching for a student who ran away to the city. The movie is set in modern China and has a realistic, almost documentary feel to it. The plot is very basic and the movie drags on somewhat, but I am positive this movie offers a great learning experience for students when covering modern China. For one thing, the students will grow to like the movie as it progresses because it is a real emotional epic. During the climax of the movie the protagonist makes an emotional appeal on National T.V. that only the hardest of hearts would not be moved by. So the emotional tale hooks the students in, but how is this educational? This movie breaks down misconceptions of exotic China, with a look at the everyday struggles of the poor. It contrasts rural poverty with urban development, and demonstrates the disconnect and callousness of an overpopulated society. Their are also less overt suggestions of tradition and communism holding on against the tide of the times, which has given me a renewed view of Chinese society. Images such as the authoritarian government "releasing" a young girl from poverty (and family) to train her as an athlete will stick with your students, as they come to build a nuanced and tempered view of modern communism. I highly recommend this movie and I know it can add an appreciation of a contemporary culture to a classroom unit.

[Anonymous]

I really enjoyed this movie! We watched the ending with Prof. Ye, and was very interested. I wanted to incorporate this movie with my curriculum project on Shi Huangdi. I decided to make Cornell Notes as the students watch the movie. I was making the template as I watched the movie so I can specifically have the students monitor what I want them to learn about the Qin dynasty and its unification. I think its appropriate for my 6th graders however I would fast forward the one sexual scene. I will have my students do a debate after this movie, since it makes Qin look positive, on whether or not he was a tyrant etc. The movie shows some of the edicts of emperor Qin and also some things he accomplished, he also discussed his desire to standardized the language of China. It also demonstrates Qin increasing paranoia due to the assassination attempts. I liked also how you can see the geography of China etc. If anyone would like my Cornell Note handout for the movie let me know! [Edit by="mari_montes on Jan 8, 5:44:51 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

This video is great! If you need a film to go over the major details of the dynasties of China this is it. The dynasties it covers in detail are the Shang, Zhou, Qin and Han. The maps in the film are great, as well as the recreations. The recreations that they have on film are good. For example, they show oracle bone reading, casting bronze, war battles etc. They are not silly and I think show events and details well. There are a lot of facts and details that were given that are useful for classroom. This movie would only be good for the 6th grade history curriculum. I think it could also be used as a precursor to 7th grade standards to get the students prior knowledge working. The section on Qin is great as well. You can get the film through the LA public library. [Edit by="mari_montes on Jan 8, 5:57:03 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

I like to use Mulan too, however I also teach my students how to eat with chopsticks, a chinese invention, and they eat the popcorn with chopsticks only while viewing. I like to use the movie The Prince of Egypt to transition from Egypt to Hebrews. I also make my students take notes, and a lot of the times I have Cornell Notes made out already with questions they should answer through out film.

[Anonymous]

I also watched this film and agree it is useful in the classroom in short clips. THe film shows the political change in China at the time. It does not have much use for me in terms of the historical sense, but I would use it to show the culture of China. The scenes of what the Opera are very useful I think to show students what it is like. I also would use it to show attitudes of gender roles, toward the poor, actors and lower members of society. I really don't recommend it to be shown at middle school age in no more than short clips.

[Anonymous]

I chose to watch and review Zhang Yimou's epic Hero after Professor Ye showed us clips of it the "Using Films to Teach About China" session. As Professor Ye suggested this film lends itself to an introduction to early Chinese history, especially the scene he chose to show us in which the emperor and the nameless assassin dialogue on the importance of using force to maintain peace. I had heard of the movie but had never watched it. After that session in September, I went out and borrowed it and I enjoyed it. As an English teacher, however, I thought I could use this film a few different ways.

First of all, Hero is a wonderful example of beautiful film-making in general, but it also serves as a beautiful sample of Chinese film-making. So it serves as a good cultural artifact. We could discuss the possible political subtexts of the film. Since the line between villain and hero blurred in the story, a good discussion of archetypes can be had.

When beginning to analyzing literature students often point out the obvious. When this occurs, I often follow up their comments with the question "To what effect?" To introduce this concept, I begin with showing students a famous or thought provoking piece of art like Edvard Munch's painting "The Scream." I then have students divide the picture into quadrants and make as many observations as possible about each quadrant. Then, I proceed to ask them, "To what effect?" after each observation they make. After using a picture, I could easily use a film, which would actually help students with understanding how to analyze a larger work like a novel or epic poem. Hero lends itself to an analysis of the aesthetic features of a film and to a discussion of "To what effect?". The cinematography is amazing as is the unconventional plot development. It can be used as an exemplar of how to critique a film for its literary or aesthetic value. For example, since the story is developed using mostly flashbacks, students can evaluate the effect of using flashbacks rather than a basic rising action-climax-falling action pattern.

Each flashback has a color theme in the film. We could divide the film into flashbacks, identify the color theme and discuss the effect of the director's decision. Afterwards we could read an interview I found on line with the director in which he discusses his use of colors (which were completely aesthetic decisions and were not meant to represent anything). This can lead to a great discussion of the meaning beyond the intended meaning of texts.

[Anonymous]

Although I have never shown Mulan to my students, I have used it as an option among a list of options when I introduce the concept of archetypes. We begin with a definition of archetype and then a presentation on the characteristics of the archetypal hero using the guiding question "What do Batman, Simba [from the Lion King], Luke Skywalker [Star Wars], and Moses all have in common?" After outlining their similarities in detail, I assign for homework an explanation of how any other character in literature, film, myth, or even history fits that pattern of character. For students who have trouble coming up with one, I give them a list in which Mulan is one option.

I use Joseph Campbell's Hero With a Thousand Faces as an outline.

[Anonymous]

I too see why Zhang was chosen to oversee the Olympic ceremonies. The stunning visuals presented in Curse of the Golden Flower are utterly amazing. I enjoy the work of Chou Yun-Fat, but agree that this was not his best performance. Gong Li is an actress that I would like to learn more about. Sheis so beautiful, her pain and suffering showed true, and I believe she carried the movie.

[clay dube]

" On the eighth day of the eighth month of 2008, 2 billion TV viewers and thousands in attendance in the now famous Bird's Nest were treated to an unforgettable spectacle at the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games.

"Behind it all was the creative genius of Chinese film director Zhang Yimou. Drawing from the depths of the cultural heritage and ingenuity of the Chinese people, showcasing ancient Chinese inventions — paper, printing, gunpowder, ceramics and the compass — that have shaped civilization and channeling the sensibility and spirit that unite his fellow 1.3 billion citizens, Zhang told China's story to a watching world. He created arguably the grandest spectacle of the new millennium, and it was viewed by nearly one-third of the world's population. With this work, Zhang obtained a stature shared by very few peers."

So begins the essay about why Zhang was named a runner up to Barack Obama for person of the year honors. Click below to read the full article:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2008/personoftheyear/article/0,31682,1861543_1865103_1865107,00.html

What is especially striking is that this essay was written by Steven Spielberg. Spielberg, of course, publicly withdrew as a member of Zhang's advisory group to protest what he described as Chinese inaction on Darfur. What is the significance of Spielberg now celebrating Zhang and the ceremonies?

You can read Spielberg's letter at:
http://china.usc.edu/ShowArticle.aspx?articleID=941

Click here to see his 2007 letter to Hu Jintao.

[clay dube]

How can it be that no one has commented yet on this magnificent and now award-winning film? I saw it only a couple of weeks ago and found the plot line ludicrous, but the bigger story mesmerizing. It is not a documentary and it misrepresents locations and so on, but offers larger truths and does so in a compelling way. I encourage you to click on the link below to read a recent op-ed about the film:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/21/opinion/21srivastava.html?_r=3

In their essay, Matias Echanove and Rahul Srivastava begin,

"IT does not take much to galvanize protest against a movie in India, but few thought the word “slumdog” would cause so much anger — especially as hundreds of Bollywood titles translate into much worse slurs. We had to pay attention, though, when friends from Mumbai’s sprawling Dharavi area joined hands with those demonstrating against the Oscar-nominated film “Slumdog Millionaire.” The Indian media widely reported that the outrage was over the word “dog.” But what we heard from Manju Keny, a college student living in Dharavi, was something else. She was upset at the word “slum.” We could not agree more.

"In truth, the movie never claims to be a portrait of Dharavi, though some of the most spectacular scenes were shot there, including depictions of the anti-Muslim riots of 1992. The director, Danny Boyle, constructs a cinematic slum out of many pockets around Mumbai. The opening sequence has children playing near the airport, being chased by policemen and ending up — in a moment of pure Hollywood magic — a few miles away in Dharavi.

"The imagery represents what most middle-class residents of Mumbai (and now all over the world) imagine Dharavi to be. The urban legend of its squalor has taken root because few Mumbaikers have ever been there — just as most Manhattanites still avoid stepping anywhere near Bedford-Stuyvesant, that beautiful neighborhood in Brooklyn. Times may have changed since the mid-’70s, when the community worker Barry Stein described Bed-Stuy as the “largest ghetto in the country,” but prejudices die hard, in New York and India.

"Its depiction as a slum does little justice to the reality of Dharavi. Well over a million “eyes on the street,” to use Jane Jacobs’s phrase, keep Dharavi perhaps safer than most American cities.

The rest of the essay is equally interesting.

Here's the movie's official Fox Searchlight website:
http://www.foxsearchlight.com/slumdogmillionaire/

[Anonymous]

In regard to my posting for viewing an Asian film, "Mishyma" (spelling may not be accurate)
depicts the life of the famous, award winning Japanese writer, whose life eventually spirals out of control - culminating in "kari Kiri."

Although this is a visually stunning and compelling film, it must be heavily edited for viewing by students (after the necessary parental forms and administrator permission slips have been
obtained).

Consequently, only brief 5 - 10 minute excerpts can
be used in the classroom to show how one's obsession can spiral out of control.

Educators can use this to show that one's emotional I.Q. is more important than
one's intellectual I.Q. This film can lend itself to critical thinking skills.

[clay dube]

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art will screen KUROSAWA Kiyoshi's Tokyo Sonata at 7:30 pm on Monday, March 9, 2009. The director will attend and speak following the film.

The film takes inside a middle class Japanese family at a moment of great stress: the salaryman father loses his job. He tries to keep this a secret. The film has garnered a number of awards.

http://www.lacma.org/programs/FilmSeriesSchedule.aspx

[Anonymous]

I found the op-ed very interesting, perhaps because it left me thinking, "So?" While I can understand the irritation that some residents may have over their community apparently being misrepresented as a slum, focusing on this issue seems so fruitless and trivial when one stops to consider the larger problems that the film challenges us with. I spent a semester of college in 2003 in India and visited Mumbai twice. Admittedly, I experienced the country from an outsider's perspective. Still, I will never forget the image of the seemingly endless sprawl of tin houses and garbage that I saw as my bus approached the city. I first saw the city at dawn and remember the sidewalks being covered with people sleeping everywhere there was space. In most cities, any time I walked around there were instantly child beggars following, aften holding infants exactly as the film depicted. The issues of poverty, child abuse, religious prejudice, and social (caste) inequalities are what drive the movie. So maybe the writer or director gave the community depicted in the film the wrong name, but is that what really matters?

[Anonymous]

The award-winning film "Wings of Defeat" will make its U.S. broadcast debut on May 5, 2009 on the PBS program "Independent Lens." Please check your local PBS station's listings for more information.

From the "Wings of Defeat" website:

"'Wings of Defeat' brings viewers behind the scenes of World War II’s Pacific theater to reveal the truth about the Kamikaze—the “suicide bombers” of their day. Interviews with surviving kamikaze, rare battle footage and Japanese propaganda reveal a side of WWII never before shown on film. American vets from the greatest generation tell harrowing tales of how they survived attacks. Wings of Defeat shatters the myth of the fanatical kamikaze to reveal a generation of men forced to pay for an empire’s pride with their lives."

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