Film Festival

[Anonymous]

In Bangkok, a mob shooting thwarts a suicide attempt by Japanese librarian Kenji (Tadanobu Asano) and leads him to meet a woman named Noi (Sinitta Boonyasak), whose beachside shack makes the perfect hideout and the perfect backdrop for an unlikely romance. He's a prim neat freak. She's a pot-smoking slob. As their relationship deepens, Noi learns more about how Kenji became suicidal in this offbeat, stylish film.

I was surprised by this movie. It really is offbeat. Slow at times, but well done and interesting. A bit too violent for students.[Edit by="dcolato on May 6, 6:02:15 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Star-crossed lovers Dum (Chartchai Ngamsan) and Rumpoey (Stella Malucchi) fight to be together as the world conspires to keep them apart in Thai director Wisit Sasanatieng's genre bender. Though Rumpoey's big-wig father arranges for her to wed the police chief -- who's out to take down Dum's underworld boss -- her heart belongs to gangster fugitive Dum. Hitting on all cylinders, this turbocharged tale builds to an unforgettable climax.

This movie is unique in many ways. Even for those with a casual interest in Thai cinema, this one stands out because of the Northeastern influence. The bright colors, the language is specific to this region of Thailand. If ANY Thai movie is on your list, put this on it - you won't regret it. For students, be cautious. That said, the 60's look of the film is worth a look as one can discuss with students the look of Thailand didn't jump from Ancient times to the year 2000. They too had an evolving sense of fashion, hairstyles, etc.[Edit by="dcolato on May 6, 6:01:57 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Englishman Adam (Stuart Laing) never expected to find new love in Bangkok, especially after his girlfriend dumps him on their first night in the exotic city. But into his life walks an alluring local named Em (Napakpapha M. Nakprasitte), who soon has him believing in relationships again. But in true Adam fashion, he complicates the situation, hurting Em and putting their bond to the test. Can their short-lived couplehood survive?

This not-student rated movie is interesting enough about a tourist "going native" and his decent into decadence before embracing Thai culture and looking beyond his preconceptions of relationships.[Edit by="dcolato on May 6, 6:01:37 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

In the wake of a deadly SARS outbreak that's turned ordinary people into flesh-eating zombies, Thailand stands alone as the only nation to successfully block the pandemic. But when the virus finds its way into a crowded Bangkok apartment complex, it's up to an unlikely hero to make his way into the building -- and make it out alive. Supakorn Kitsuwon and Suthep Po-ngam co-star in this outrageous horror comedy.

This is aptly described as a horror comedy. Students will enjoy it as they have the Ring, and all those other horror movies. The comedy is what keeps the gore from getting out of hand.[Edit by="dcolato on May 6, 6:01:20 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Best friends Alice (Claire Danes) and Darlene (Kate Beckinsale) journey to Thailand to celebrate their high school graduation. But after falling in with a charming con artist, they're busted at the Hong Kong airport for smuggling narcotics. Their only hope: the dazzling skills of lawyer "Yankee" Hank Green (Bill Pullman), a magician at helping defendants beat impossible odds.

I enjoyed the movie if only to get a look at a Thai prison. This isn't a women in prison movie however, and it takes a serious look at the consequences of drug smuggling in Thailand which truly does take this vice as serious as it is portrayed. [Edit by="dcolato on May 6, 6:01:01 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Oliver Stone helped bring this oft-forgotten story -- set in the 18th-century Thai village of Bang Rajan, where 11 villagers stood their ground as the Burmese army invaded -- to U.S. theaters. Armed with only machetes, the brave few were up against an army of 100,000. Providing background, the film begins with the ascension of King Mang Ra of Burma, whose invasion of Thai territory aimed to shrink the country's ruling arm.

You'd think this movie came after the movie "300." A small group of warriors defending a village from the massive invasion of a superior force, but this came out well before that. The similarities between the movies stops there of course. Here, the villagers are not well trained or well-equipped but have the inner courage to fight of their nemesis, the Burmese. The movie is well done, authentic, and Oliver Stone's cut does justice to the material that could have weighed it down here in the U.S.[Edit by="dcolato on May 6, 6:00:45 PM"][/Edit]

[clay dube]

Hi Folks,
I love all these contributions -- please keep them coming. To help those scanning the subject lines, please take a moment to put the name of the film you are discussing in the subject line. Also, please post film posts to either the film festival thread or to a thread for the particular subject (e.g., contemporary Japan) or grade level (e.g., elementary school ideas).

You can change the subject line by just deleting whatever's there and typing in your own subject.

[Anonymous]

Vice, vengeance and violence collide when a maneuvering politician hires steely hit man Tanthai (Chatchai Plengpanich) to bump off a drug lord, upsetting the precarious balance between Bangkok's crime syndicates. As an all-out turf war erupts, Tanthai finds himself with a bull's-eye on his back in this engrossing Thai thriller from director Sananjit Bangsapan. The supporting cast includes Sarunyu Wongkrachang and Santisuk Promsiri.

This Netflix feature was a typical shoot 'em up with characters trying for redemption and the bad influences that pull them back in. The editing in the middle was somewhat choppy so there are scenes that just don't add up. No particular value for students, but watchable for those wanting to spend an hour or so.

[Anonymous]

The Japanese film Totoro My Neighbor or Tonari no Totoro is a sweet and nostalgic film about magical creatures and spirits who live in rural Japan. These Totoros come in many shapes and sizes, and befriend two young children who move to the countryside with their father.
There are some themes in the film that reflect certain aspects of Japanese culture. First, the father is hard working, but is a good caregiver for his children. He allows them to explore their surroundings, but comforts them when they are scared. This character shows us the Japanese ideal of fatherhood. The film also expresses Shinto themes. At one point the father formally thanks a tree that is in the yard of the families home for protecting his child. There are also numerous images of shrines in the film. I suppose that these are Shinto or Buddhist shrines. As an American it is funny to think that as a child in Japan you could be walking around in the woods and discover an ancient shrine!
To me this film is about the magic and imaginings of childhood. Only children seem to be able to se Totoro, and when you see him, he does magical things for you. It shows that it is important to stay “young at heart”. I am not sure if this is a Japanese value, but it seems universal.
This film is a great example of Japanese anime because it is sweet and innocent without any of the sex and violence that is prevalent in some cartoons in this genre. It would be a great film to show a class before reading something in the genre of magical realism. The story takes place in a real time and setting, but uses magical elements to express some aspects of the plot.

[Anonymous]

House of Flying Daggers

another Zhang Yimou film (Hero, Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, To Live) this film was released in 2004, two years after Hero. Although there's feminist and political undertones, I have to recall Professor Ye's reminder that sometimes we try so hard to find meaning in works of art, that we fail to appreciate the beauty and creativity behind it. I followed his suggestion to focus on form more so than content in watching this film. This movie is so colorful and vibrant- it has many parallels to Hero:

1. there are many scenes where color is used to show transition in location, political alliance, deceit and truth
2. weaved throughout the story is a perpetual chase, always running to rescue a lover
3. alliance twist- characters are not really who or what they claim to be/ zoom out into the bigger picture
4. fighting- slow motion, exaggerated, flying
5. loving self sacrifice/ angry or betrayed lover causing death of loved one
6. political dissent/cause much greater than relationships between individuals

I was curious about the feminism depicted. The film does not reveal whether the "old leader" was male or female. The current leader of one of the most powerful rebel groups is Nia, a woman, and all of the members of the house of flying daggers, with the exception of the mole, Leo, are women. Being mindful of the fact that the power of women in China depended on the social/political position of the men in their lives- the House of Flying Daggers stands apart from that in that the leader and members are not tied to or rely on any male figure. Furthermore, throughout the movie, when any male characters try to assert their power, they are unsuccessful. Was Yimou being creative/ feminist- or did this really happen?

Can anybody direct me to find more information about this group, if it really existed?

[Anonymous]

Shanghai Express is a Hollywood studio product from MGM in 1932. Directed by Josef Von Sternberg and starring Marlene Dietrich it reflects Western stereotypes and a limited knowledge of Eastern culture. I use film in my classroom as a way to study attitudes and values of the times in which they were made as well as other things. This movie struck me as a good one to look at how the West and more specifically America viewed China at the time. The China of the movie is one focussed on foreigners or in our case Westerners (whom we can understand) caught in a very different country from their own trying to make sense of it all. They are insulated from it and allowed to study and watch it go by while they are on the moving train but when it stops they must interract and survive in tyhe brutal alien world of China where according to one of the main characters of the film (Henry Chang) is a place where "time and life mean nothing." The viewer doesn't know it at the time of his quote but Chang ends up being the leader of a rebel movement involved in a civil war against the Chinese government forces. He is self described in the film as having a "mother who was Chinese and a father who was white." he says he is "not proud of his white blood". This character, played by an American actor (Warner Oland) symbolizes the Western view of China and of the world at the time. As leader of the rebel force he s trying to help his people against tyranny but his Chinese half uses brutal tactics and torture to achieve his ends. In other words the "white" in him represents good and the Chinese part, evil.
Another dopleganger situation in the movie is presented in the form of two characters, Shaghai Lilly as played by Marlene Dietrich and Hui Fei played by Anna May Wong. It is interesting to note that although Marlene Dietrch was born and raised in Berlin and worked there for over a decade, not coming to the U.S. until she was almost thirty that she is thought of as an American actress. Anna May Wong on the other hand although a native American born in Los Angeles is historiclly referred to as a Chinese-American actress. Marlene Dietrich even though she was an important part of the German Expressionist movement in Germany in the twenties is usually considered for her American body of work whereas Native American Anna May Wong only starred as an Asian character and is always thought of historically as part of Asian American filmmaking. In Shanghai Express Dietrich (Shanghghi Lilly) and Wong (Hui Fei) share a compartment on the train. In the film Shaghai Lilly is described as a "Coaster" "A woman who lives by her wits".Both are probably prostitutes as coaster is understood to be a woman who goes back and forth fromPeking to Shaghai taking advantage of men along the way. The two characters however have been described differently by reviewers through the years. Shaghai Lilly is a "Woman of casual affairs", an "Adventuress", a "Temptress", and a "Lady of questionable means". Wong's character on the other hand has been described by film historians and reviewers as a "Chinese prostitute" or a "Chinese girl of the town". They both listen to popular music and smoke alot but Wong wears easilly accesable 'slinky' Eastern robes while Dietrich dresses like European royalty with furs. Dietrich's character is the original "hooker with a heart of gold" her tough callous exterior covering her real and coomitted love for one man, "Doc" who is portrayed in the movie as one of her "ex lovers". At one point she trades herself to the rebel leader in exchange for his not torturing "Doc". It is Wong's character who really saves the day by killing the rebel leader thus saving everyone. Of course the reason this character kills the bad guy is not as altruistic as Shaghai Lilly's selfless behavior. She kills him as revenge for his having raped her. Taken together as one composite character however Lilly and Wong foreshadow at least a hope of a more "civilized" China, at least from the Western perspective in the future.

Post Script:

The most famous Chinese character in the Golden Age of American Cinema and maybe even still today is American actor Warner Oland as Charlie Chan. I guess he passed the test as being an acceptable and not too foreign kind of Chinese character in "Shaghai Express" as the Chan series started soon after the relaese of that movie.

Gary Goldstein

[Anonymous]

I just saw Slumdog Millionaire, and I really enjoyed it. As Clay says the bigger story does a great job addressing larger truths. I also read the New York Times Op-ed where the authors object to the movie's depiction of Dharavi as a slum. I agree with the poster who says, "The issues of poverty, child abuse, religious prejudice, and social (caste) inequalities are what drive [Slumdog Millionaire]. So maybe the writer or director gave the community depicted in the film the wrong name, but is that what really matters?" It seems that what really matters is that countless children and families live in devastating poverty as a result of these inequalities, and it makes me wonder if people are just objecting to seeing these realities on the big screen.
As I watched the movie I couldn't help making connections between the main characters and my students; I teach in a rough part of South Los Angeles, and while my students' lives aren't anywhere near as challenging as Jamal's life, I think it would shock many Americans to see the challenges they struggle with on a daily basis in a movie.
-Karen

[Anonymous]

Ignoring his grandmother's warning that he'll grow a tail if he moves to Bangkok, Pod leaves the safety of his village for a job in a big-city factory that produces canned sardines. He accidentally loses his finger, but he ultimately finds true love. Wisit Sasanatieng directs this surrealistic Thai romance with fanciful visuals and elaborate special effects that has drawn comparisons to the French film Amélie.

In the same vein as Japan's 1985's Tampopo, this movie is a series of vigenettes a la Four Rooms, with the Tarantino-esque quirkyness of Moulin Rouge. Cute movie with a smoking teddy bear to boot.

[Anonymous]

After highlighting films that sounded particularly interesting during Professor Ye's lecture, I chose to watch To Live. The film basically follows one particular family over several decades of the 20th century in China. Directed by Zhang Yimou, the cinematography is beautiful and the acting is never overdone. To me, what made the film truly masterful was the way in which it told a very authentic family story that made me truly care about the characters while setting this story against dramatic political events. Too often a film can either be about "real" people OR about a historic event. This film does both extremely well.

As for using the film in the classroom, two ideas immediately came to mind. First, I have taught the novel Animal Farm to my tenth graders in the past. Pairing this novel with clips from To Live would perhaps help students better understand Orwell's critique of communism. For my older students, I thought it could also be interesting to pair the film with a dystopian novel. The film basically shows how a seemingly good idea can tragically impact the lives of citizens, which is a less extreme version of what many dystopian novels do.

Great film, highly recommended.

[Anonymous]

Directed by Ang Lee, this is a wonderful film about a modern family in Tawain. The father in the family cooks a traditional meal each Sunday for his three (very different) daughters. The film chronicles a period in which all of their lives are changing signficantly. For the viewer, these changes are sometimes humorous, sometimes sad, and always genuine.

In school I could pair clips from this film with short stories about family communication. The film uses food as a metaphor for the love of the father for his children. Similar metaphors can be found in stories such as "Everyday Use," which uses the symbol of a quilt.

[Author]

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