East Asian Film Suggestions

[Anonymous]

After the class discussion on Japan’s push to modernization, the movie The Last Samurai came to mind because it demonstrates Japan’s push to modernize as well as the cultural conflict with the traditional Samurai Culture caused by modernization. Students could compare Japan’s modernization with China’s current push towards modernization as a way to integrate EA into the curriculum.

[Anonymous]

These are not all academic in nature, but some movies I like are:

Dancing Queen -S. Korea comedic film about politics today but is mixed with K-pop music
300 Pounds - S. Korea - shows the importance of women's beauty and weight. Many of my Chinese students have seen this as well.
Hayao Miyazaki animes like Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Nausicaa of the Wind that wrestles with deep issues such as environmental awareness and war
Grave of the Fireflies - Japanese touching anime about sibilings that must survive alone after an air raid
The Chaser - Korean violent, revenge crime thriller
I Saw the Devil - Korean violent, revenge crime thriller

[clay dube]

Hi Folks,
For discussions that might be useful to the broader audience of teachers and not just those of us in the seminar, please post to the Film Festival forum. These are great suggestions and I hope others might check them out as well. I see that Cynthia and Sarah have already started putting up reviews.

http://uschinaforum.usc.edu/forum68-film-festival.aspx

By the way, our web magazine Asia Pacific Arts is a great place to learn about films and music from Asia: http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu

[Anonymous]

Hi friends,
If you are interested in finding Chinese movies and TV shows, the following links may help you a bit. You may also find movies and TV shows from other East Asian countries too. Sometimes they do have English subtitles.
http://tv.sohu.com/movie/
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1KMZB_enUS581US581&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=tudou

[Anonymous]

I found this movie on Netflix and thought it looked like a light movie, maybe a comedy. The description says it is about a boy who gets hit in the head by a girl in an accident, and while she goes away to a psych ward, he cares for her fish. To me, that sounds like it will end up being funny or at least have some laughs. I was wrong. It is a beautiful movie that shows the innocence of childhood between two young friends, death, suicidal thoughts, symbolism with being able to move on, or the lack of being able to move on. It is beautifully interconnected and well-thought out storyline I thought. It was a bit predictable (when you watch it, you'll see what I mean), but I think overall it was very well done. I'm posting it in this thread because I'm not so sure I can personally use this film in my 8th grade class as the concepts are really deep and most likely on the "do not discuss" list for my school (the district is very protective of what is taught and how). But maybe a high school class could use it.
I highly reccommend watching it at least for your own personal pleasure It did make me tear up a bit once or twice (I'm a sap, what can I say?) so be prepared for at least some drama that will pull on your heart strings a bit.
edited by kstiles on 7/30/2014

[Anonymous]

I found several films that were featured in the Latin American Vancouver Film Festival of 2013. Among the many film, three which were presented in a series to address themes of Asian identity with a Latin American context.

The Girl from the South (La chica del sur) by Argentine director José Luis García
http://youtu.be/3r5CoL3FQnA



Inori by Mexican director Pedro González-Rubio
http://youtu.be/H7UfY574sPw


Nikkei by Venezuelan director Kaori Flores Yonekura
http://youtu.be/htnNxAu5SSI
edited by jvarko on 8/1/2014
edited by jvarko on 8/1/2014

[Anonymous]

Since I brought it up during Brian's presentation, I figured I owed everyone a follow-up. I've used this one with 7th graders and found some benefits and drawbacks. You have the usual issues with subtitles (hard for students to read and watch, especially my relatively immature middle-schoolers) and I can't really vouch for its historical accuracy (although when can you, really, knowing that filmmakers will almost always choose what's entertaining over what's factual?). It's also really complicated, especially since the events are retold from several perspectives a la Rashomon, which isn't helpful to full comprehension. So why do I think any of you could find it useful? First, from a film studies perspective, it's achingly beautiful to look at (Brian mentioned the rich color when addressing it to our class) with wonderfully choreographed fight sequences. It puts a human face on the fractured China of the pre-Dynastic era. If you're teaching a literature angle, it has some interesting ideas to offer from an unreliable-narrator standpoint - again, could pair it with Rashomon to discuss the vagaries of split perspectives. I encourage anyone to check it out if they like epic storytelling, and go from there if you think it has some academic utility.

[Anonymous]

Thanks kstiles for the infor on the movie Electric Shadows... sound interesting and something that I would like to watch. Was this movie made in the US or Asia?

[Anonymous]

It took a week but I finished tackling this Kurosawa masterpiece and found a lot of potential uses. I'll break it down to make it most useful to anyone looking for a filmic resource but maybe not having 160 spare minutes to watch it for themselves. I'm discussing this from a 7th grade medieval history standpoint but will do my best to give anyone else an idea of whether it could work for them.

Pros
* Setting during the 16th century era of civil war ties in perfectly with 7th grade curriculum
* One of the characters represents the Tokogawa clan, which eventually took control and established the military shogunate; that character is presented as honorable, respectful, and also wise and intuitive, which could be an instructive discussion for thoughtful students
* Several military meetings could be contrasted with military strategy sessions from other cultures (Europe, Middle East, etc.)
* Several scenes highlight the interconnectedness of nature and culture so important in Japan
* Battle scenes demonstrate the passing from swords/bows to guns (the less-honorable antagonist orders gunners to "shoot the horses first," right after the admirable characters have crossed swords and pledged to ride into certain death)

Cons
* Length - almost impossible to fit it into your normal curriculum
* Complex plot, including two look-alike central characters played by the same actor (the "kagemusha" of the title, which translates to "shadow warrior," is a man who is used as a double for the ruler - think Kevin Kline in Dave)
* Long, quiet shots with little action go on for extended stretches

I'll be thinking long and hard about how I could illustrate some important medieval Japanese concepts with this film, and I highly recommend you do the same if you can squeeze a viewing into your schedule. It's streaming on Netflix in high-quality picture and looks great on a big screen.

[Anonymous]

I watched IP Man 1 and 2, both centered on the lives of the master of Bruce Lee. This film will be of great interest to students since it portrays KungFu, heroism, and nationalism. Students can learn a bit about Chinese History since the movie shows the time when China was attacked by Japan and colonized by England. They will learn about some traditions and virtues adored by Chinese cultures such as paying respect to the elderly, being courteous to others, humility and serenity. Ip Man can be compared to heroes from other cultures - putting the greater good of the community or nation before individual well-being. Students can see how, even though this is a "foreign" hero, shares similar virtuous and desirable qualities of heroes they know and respect.

[Anonymous]

one movie I liked very much was called It's a Girl. I found it on Netflix a while back. I'm not really sure if it's still on Netflix, but it talks about the female infanticide in China. It is extremely saddening.

[Anonymous]

This may be a bit out of geographic area, but does anyone know of a film that depicts Vietnam history or folklore? Something prior to the Vietnam War

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

I found the the Goddess (1934) on youtube this morning.
I have not watched it online yet, so I cannot comment on its quality.

Other suggestions:

Kung Fu Hustle (China)
The Raid (Indonesia, but British director)

Can anyone else offer recommendations, especially a film that features the realities of children?

[Author]

Posts