Film Festival

[Anonymous]

Lynae,
I absolutely feel your frustration with trying to relate these videos to primary grades and I'm glad that you mentioned it. Maybe if it is feasible they should have a recommended section for primary in which we just can post to each other and then offer it to upper grades if applicable. It takes a lot of extra time searching and weeding through reviews to find anything appropriate for our kids. Sue Smith and I are going to watch Trav's Travels and make up worksheets this week if you want to preview it with us and do the same. Let's talk and work together on it.
Kiley

[Anonymous]

I'm very interested in seeing this video. Sue's description of the film was very positive. It's short enough for younger students to stay tuned into it, too! It will be nice to be able to view and discuss the video and how we can use it at our different grade levels. I'm in, just tell me when you are planning on watching it. In addition, maybe we can even compare notes on the literature we have been looking at for inclusion in our curriculum units. If nothing else, it will be nice to just bounce ideas off eachother. Maybe we can even come up with a multi-grade unit that progresses from grade level to grade level. Great idea!

[Anonymous]

Being an American female in 2008, this movie awakened every empathetic bone in my body. This movie takes place in a rural village in China during the 1920's. It is about the customs and right of a patriarchal society in which women are enslaved to men, especially since they are purchased and literally a posession. The old, rich man has already tortured to death 2 former wives when he marries Ju Dou, whom is not able to mother a child from him either. She goes on to fall for the nephew and does end up pregnant with his child and obviously raises it as if it were the old man's. He finds out and though the nephew does have a chance to kill him, he is so loyal to tradition, he does not, though he knows he will be condemed and tormented by him. The old man turns the little boy against the parents and they have to deal with this contention. Later, by accident, the old man dies in the dye shop that he owns and the city blames Ju Dou and she is not allowed to marry again (I'm sure she has no problem with that!) and the nephew is to leave the dye mill.

This film awakens one's soul to the tragedies and horrors inflicted to Chinese women during these times. The torture is horrendous and would be a great way for modern civ classes or world history to compare and contrast women's status and rights in other countries throughout history. What a wonderful way to study history and the catalysts for change.

[Anonymous]

A friend of mine lend me this and, as it is a classic, I figured I'd take a look. The film was made in 1958 and is based on the lifed of a British missionary named Gladys Aylward who, though she was told she was unqualified and was not endorsed by the missionary society, struggled to earn her train ticket on her own and found her own way to a Northern Provice of China. There she did many remarkable things including taking almost 100 war orphans (on foot and through the Japanese lines) to the town of Shien to have them evacuated to a safe house in China's interior.

Because it is Hollywood, there is an added romance and slight commentary on the social injustice of racism involving a Dutch-Chinese Colonel. Though there was such a relationship in her life, the real Gladys did not marry the Colonel, choosing instead to continue her missionary work.

Again, because it is Hollywood, the film actually tones down the intense faith in Christianity that drove Gladys Aylward's actions. Instead, the film focuses on her humanitarian efforts during the WWII period in Northern China. It is an inspiring film and one well-worth watching.

[Anonymous]

I have watched very few Asian films, and after watching this one, I don't know why! This was a fabulous film that touched my heart, and made me hungry! The father was my favorite here in how he was a chef, but had lost his sense of taste. There is such an important metaphor here- that I think could be easily used in writing class. The women are all very real and they come to their own decisions with wariness, just as any young person does. Jia-Chien was my favorite character who seems so quiet and unable to reach out to her father and older sister. It breaks your heart. A great discussion on women in China. I think that the story translates as one that is worldwide and it could be shown in most upper grade classrooms. Students learning the language could enjoy it on a variety of levels. It is valuable as a study of the culture, especially the women. It says a lot about the time, and I think that most young people will see how they are all the same. I think that I will grab a copy of the book to see if it is appropriate for high schoolers.

[Anonymous]

China from the Inside. 2006. DVD. PBS, 2006.

China from the Inside includes four episodes that "survey China through Chinese eyes to see how history has shaped them, and where the present is taking them." Episodes include the following:

Power and the People
Women of the Country
Shifting Nature
Freedom and Justice

After my sophomore students read Gail Tsukiyama’s novel, Women of the Silk they watched Episode 2: Women of the Country. This episode discusses the past and future of Chinese women. If you plan to watch this film in your classroom, I suggest visiting the website pbs.org/kqed/chinainside for online discussions, maps, U.S.-China quiz, and lesson plans. Although these instructional materials are useful, I created my own quiz for Episode 2: Women of the Country. My students were highly interested in watching this film. An alarming fact stated in this episode regarding China’s "Birth Control Policy" is by the year 2020 there will be a shortfall of 40 million women if the gender baby bias does not stop. The entire film is approximately 240 minutes, however each episode is about 1 hour.

[Anonymous]

Ling, Lisa, host. China's Lost Girls. 2004. DVD. National Geographic, 2004.

Before my sophomore students read Gail Tsukiyama’s novel, Women of the Silk they watch China's Lost Girls. This National Geographic film examines the consequences of China's "one-child policy." Since there is a traditional preference for boys (as read in Women of the Silk), many young girls are often hidden, aborted, abandoned, or even killed. Due to this preference, some abandoned girls end up in orphanages across China and adopted by American families. The current gender imbalance in China may very well have a negative effect on China's future. As it becomes more and more difficult for men to find a wife to marry, women may be kidnapped or violence may erupt. The film is approximately 43 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Though I had a hard time understanding everything in the film since I am not as familiar as some with China’s history, this movie takes place around the time of Chinese unification, where many provinces were forced through war to come together. Loosely based on a story from around that time, a Nameless warrior played by Jet Li slays three enemies of the state and presents their swords to the emperor. Narrated by the Emperor of Qin and Nameless, the plot is based around Nameless's three fights. The movie is beautiful with the flying martial arts (something I know nothing about- but it’s nice to look at) and there are great visuals. Yinzheng's desire to conquer his six neighboring provinces and unify the country led to years of bloodshed, and in this film, there are 2 men and a woman, who are mentally powerful enough and adept in their fighting skills to go against him. Jet Li is marvelous as the Nameless one, and the girl is beautiful as Flying Snow. As a film, it is all beautiful, with everything taken into account: music, bright color, panoramic vistas, costumes, etc. Students will love it just for that.

The story plays in a decently complex fashion as we travel with the words of Nameless or the Emperor to events that either were or might have been depending on Nameless's honesty. However, at heart there is more to this story than just that, because each of Nameless's adventures (real or unreal) tell tales of sacrifice and love, for people and for nations. Overall though, I like the story. I especially found it fascinating how the story wound around Nameless's intentions for seeing the Emperor.
From what I understand, this movie was inspired by a strong sense of nationalism, maybe for what China was like then as compared to now and how it would like to become. It is important to acknowledge the underlying theme of patriotism for China. For older students, I think that showing this film as a visual for this time in history is wonderful. It is also a great example of what the Chinese government wants their people to see as their own history. It a story of self-sacrifice, something that is seen as honorable and necessary by the Chinese.

[Anonymous]

We are watching the film EMPIRE OF THE SUN in my Humanities classes this week. This film was directed by Steven Spielberg in 1987. It is a film that did not make the kind of money at the box office that his films normally make;however, it was critically acclaimed. The film has one of the better performances by a child actor I have ever seen on film, by Christian Bale (The new Batman).

The film is based on J. G. Ballard's autobiographical novel. It focuses on a young boy named James Graham who gets separated from his parents on December 8th, 1941 when the Japanese invade Shanghai. He eventually befriends a man named Basie (Played by John Malkovich) who becomes a father figure to him. James and Basie are captured and taken to a detention camp at Soo Chow. The film deals with loss of innocence and other themes associated with "rites of passage" movies and novels.

I find that this movie is a good basic introduction to my Asian literture section. It deals with the Japanese occupation of parts of China during WWII. The point of view is from the English perspective. After the film is over, I give a lecture about the history between China and Japan. It also introduces my students to the theme of "living with war" which is the subject of many of the Asian stories we read in my class.

If I were to rate this film, I would not rate it as one of Spielberg's best, but his 'ok' is usually better than most director's 'great.'

[Anonymous]

I really enjoyed this film. Not only was it a great story about father and son relationships, but it also had a lot of content that shows interesting aspects of Chinese culture.
This film is mainly a story about a father, Mr. Takada, who has been estranged from his son for a very long time. Just when he decides to try to mend the rift between them, he finds out that his son is sick. He goes to visit his son inthe hospital but his son refuses to see him. His son's wife shows him a video that his son, Kanichi, had filmed of a Chinese folk singer who invited him to come back in a year to film a well known ballad, "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles." Thinking that filming this ballad is very important to his son, Mr. Takada decides to go film it for him.

The rest of the film involves Mr. Takada's journey through China and all of the obstacles he must go through in order to accomplish this goal. On his journey he meets the son of the folk singer he is trying to film. The relationship he develops with this boy helps him come to a better understanding of his own son. I found this film to be a touching story illustrating the sometimes misunderstood bond between a father and a son and how they come to know and respect eachother again.

I think this would be a great film to use in a high school classroom. Although, as mentioned in another post, there was a short scene in which the boy needs to use the bathroom and has no privacy...(There was a similar scene in a Korean film "The Way Home." Is there some cultural relevance to this that we Americans don't understand?)
This is a very small part of the film which otherwise has a lot of interesting things to discuss, such as:
-use of technology: Even in very rural and seemingly primitive communities, Mr. Takada could get cell phone reception.
-values and culture.
-various aspects of social, political, and professional relationships.
-vastness of the geography of China.

Even though I can't use this type of film for actual instruction for my students, I enjoyed the film and would recommend it to others even if they aren't taking a class on China. [Edit by="lrathman on May 9, 10:26:29 PM"][/Edit]
[Edit by="lrathman on May 14, 9:40:49 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

This site (Democracy Now)
has a video clip of an interview with the Chinese Canadian filmmaker Yung Chang.

His documentary
Up the Yangtze
looks amazing.
I haven't viewed it yet, but here's a brief summary:

"Up the Yangtze: Documentary Takes on Social Impact of Three Gorges Dam in China

The Three Gorges Dam along China’s Yangtze River is the world’s largest hydroelectric project and is due to be completed in 2009. Widely touted as a feat of modern engineering, the dam was supposed to stop flooding along the river and provide clean energy to fuel China’s economic boom. But it has also gained notoriety as an environmental and human catastrophe. Up the Yangtze is a critically acclaimed new documentary about the social impact of the Three Gorges Dam. We speak with Chinese Canadian filmmaker Yung Chang. "

[Anonymous]

The Blue Kite is a wonderful movie about China during the turbulent 1950’s all the way through to the Cultural Revolution of 1968. It follows the life of one boy Tietou and his family trying to live their lives within the context of Communist China. It is heartbreaking at times, especially the close shots on family struggles. At the same time it quickly and staggeringly captures the confusion of a world turned upside down, there is a scene near the end when the school kids begin shouting “boycott classes” and storm their school building, throwing rocks, breaking windows, leading to a finale wherein the school’s female principal is humiliated and badgered in front of her students by the Red Guards.

The film was not rated but the content was pretty mild for the most part, in terms of using in a classroom. There are a few profanities uttered, in Chinese with subtitles below, as Tietou grows older but a clever use of the remote could skip ahead to the next scene without much profanity.

In a nutshell the film operates in three chapters, Father, Uncle, and step-father. In all cases the subject of the chapter works as an important role model for Tietou until they met an untimely end. In the father’s case he is betrayed to the party by a causal conversation his friend relates to a superior, he dies far away from home crushed by a tree at a work camp. The uncle, the one who unwittingly sealed his friend’s fate by discussing their true feelings with the supervisor, eventually confesses his feelings of guilt to Tietou’s mother, they marry and then he dies from an overworked liver and not enough food, and maybe a guilty conscience. Finally, the mother in a continuing attempt to provide a quality life for Tietou marries a very successful older man, a veteran of the war against Japan. In the film’s finale he reveals to his new wife and step-son that posters criticizing him have been raised at his work, the Cultural Revolution is raising its ugly head. He sees no option except for divorce so they won’t be tainted by his fall. They visit him in time to see him carried off by an angry mob of disrespectful Red Guards who then recognize the wife, arrest her and finish by beating Tietou. He groggily awakens in the dirt to see the tattered remains of a blue kite he was flying with his “little nephew,” a sad reminder of how things used to be. His dad used to make blue kites for him all the time.

An excellent film, worth the effort to find and preview. Recommended for World History in the 10th grade to highlight the standards on Maoist China.

[Anonymous]

So where do you find such films? Did you have to buy it?

[Anonymous]

I checked it out from the Redondo Beach Library. It was great, a week's use without any cost. It was in DVD format so the quality was quite good. I believe it is also for sale through vendors like Amazon.

[Anonymous]

People give up their lives for many reasons. Thus the beginning of Quentin Tarantino’s “Hero” (2002)—a stunning film set in the pageantry and grandeur of the Qin dynasty—with a hauntingly authentic soundtrack. “Hero” is a significant study in a contemporary analysis of hero myths traditionally whitewashed with western classicism and values.

Director Tarentino might raise some eyebrows at first, as some educators familiar with “Kill Bill” and “Pulp Fiction” might question the film’s appropriateness for high school viewers. But Tarentino summons the hero warrior as tasteful art form true to standard martial arts films, along with the Chinese penchant for historical television and cinema. Tarentino not only contrasts traditional notions of classical heroes, but also compliments such study with bold, Zen-like Asian style.

Martial arts and music share same thing complexity and similarity of melody; says the film. The film’s focus on martial arts and sword fights are obvious nods to Tarantino’s well-known fascination with Chinatown kung fu style. Characters’ flying flips and sword fighting maneuvers are clearly influenced by Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2002), making Tarantino’s similar cinematic focus seem almost cliché. The mystery of swordplay and symbolism archetypal, not only common in western word and classical mythology but true to Chinese spirit as well.

Heroes are traditionally male, according to tradition. And the unnamed warrior protagonist in “Hero” is no exception. However, the film makes no gender stereotypes, either—raising questions similar to those evoked by the traditional Chinese poem of the sixth century—The Ballad of Mulan of the nature and definition of heroism. “Hero” is an excellent example for girls still socialized to be silent and submissive. Young Asian girls, especially, are in need of female confidence and strength. Dying for love or country is a common motif in mythologies around the world-what’s not is “Hero’s” unique retelling of standard symbolism. Asian style.

[Author]

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