I had read the book "Memoirs of a Geisha when it first came out several,(many) years ago, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I bought the CD when it came out and watched it for the first time tonight. Although it strayed a bit from the book I appreciated the movie very much. The movie had lovely cinematography and good insights to the rights of not only women in general during pre-war Japan, but that of after as well. It clearly defined what the role of the geisha was which would be interesting to discuss with my project on Lady Murasaki. A geisha was not a prostitute, but rather an entertainer or hostess if you will. She was skilled in all the arts defining a well-rounded women, yet was denied what is really desired true love. This film was a heart-warming movie which I know I will watch again.
I agree, this movie is phenomenal and has great potential for classroom use, especially to capture the students' interest in East Asian culture. For example the cinematography accentuates the natural environment, the story line includes elements of philosophical practices, notions such as loyalty, fashion, historical practices, and of course martial arts!
This movie is definitely a must add to the library.
Hero was an exceptionally well made movie and one of Jet Li's finer works. Just to add a little to the other reviews- I immediately noticed the emphasis on calligraphy. Does movie's depiction of calligraphy as an art form, a communication tool, and as a sort of metaphysical experience accurately reflect the time period's cultural understanding of this writing medium?[Edit by="jwilhelm on Jul 27, 3:16:15 PM"][/Edit]
The film documents and tries to bring to life the efforts of George Fitch, Bob Wilson, Minnie Vautrin, and John Rabe who established a safety zone for the Chinese people who fled for their lives from the Japanese invaders. The film is an historical account of before, during, and immediately after the Nanking invasion in the early years of WWII.
The film uses actual photos, short film footage, letter, and diary accounts from the time period. An actor assumes the role of each of the aforementioned people to discuss their feelings about the situation and share the experiences.
Evaluation:
The film was very educational, especially for someone who knows little about this horrific event. Since the movie primarily is relates diary entries, it can be a bit dry at times. The overall purpose and historical relevance of this film makes it noteworthy and if possible should be incorporated into lesson plans when possible.
Classroom:
A popular thematic unit is "Man's Inhumanity to Man," which usually includes the Holocaust, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and a few others. But I have rarely heard of the Nanking invasion being included in those units.
I tasked my students to research various instances of man's inhumanity to man in order to write a comprehensive research paper. At the time I did not have knowledge of this film, but know now that it could have been and will be a great resource for students. (Copy of Historical Investigation paper attached).
Additionally the film can help students really understand how the respective parties were thinking and feeling during this event- In case the reader of tis review is not familiar with the event, here is a short summary: Japan wanted to take over China, so they headed towards Nanking (the capital at the time). The Japanese soldiers entered Nanking with the mentality of "loot all, burn all, kill all." This included women children, elderly, etc. Obviously the killing, looting, and burning were not done nicely.- The movie can be shown independently and students can write responses.
Summary:
This is a good film to show students what happened during the Nanking invasion and why it happened. [Edit by="jwilhelm on Jul 27, 3:59:55 PM"][/Edit]
There are two, if not more stories to this documentary. First, there is the Govenment's story "providing energy to the bread basket of China" and the second, with its many sub-parts, of the people displaced by the rising waters.
The Yangtze has always flooded. Some years it was worse than others. But the people returned and rebuilt and grew rice in their rice paddies and had babies and fished and watched ferries cross and boats or barges go up and down the river just as their parents had. Then came the plan to harvest the river's energy, a second dam, much larger than the first. That is the Three Gorges Dam that this documentary is about.
To date, the river has risen to 150 meters, with 25 more to go. Signs with red letters dot all the mountainsides "175 m". Instead of displacing 10,000 people, more than 50,000 have already been relocated. Families have been separated, the elderly in their small apartments, the adult children in theirs. Other adult children have headed for the cities to find work. In Chongqing to carry the suitcases of the passengers of the cruise ships (see the video for pictures of this backbreaking, low-skill level low-paying work). If not hard labor, the men flock to the cities like Shanghai and Beijing to do day-labor jobs in the new highrises being built. They paint, plaster, carry in furniture, not unlike the day-laborers at Home Depot and U-Haul here in Southern California. At night, many sleep in lean-to's on the construction site because they do not make enough money to pay for adequate housing. Others become street hawkers, plying their souvenirs to the tourists, making more money if the tourist buys the fan for 10 yuan ($1.30) without bargaining down the price. And, perhaps making no profit, but at least moving goods, if they can get the tourist to finally part with 1 yuan ($ .07) for the fan before s/he gets on the bus and heads back to the ship for a cool shower and nice dinner.
The residents take out as much of their furnishings as they can get moved with the little resources they have, and leave the retrieval of the rest to those who remain. They may spend days or months breaking up the houses to reuse the bricks on another house further up the mountian side.
What becomes of the farmer who loses his rich field/rice paddy? What will he do further up the mountain side where the land is not rich, but rocky and untilled? What will he do if he is forced to move to a new city, like Fendu? What work can he do in a city? He is not even skilled at the backbreaking labor that city men do. All he knows is the countryside.
The cost to society is still being tallied. The final cost may never be calculated. The destruction of families is limitless. The young people will fare the best. They have been educated and can find work and the children will go to school in better schools and look forward to a new kind of future. But what of the middle-aged and the elderly. They are already paying a high price.
This documentary looks beyond the end product of energy for the masses. It forces the viewer to look at the cost in human terms.
This is not for all students, but it could be used in economics classes, in science classes in units about environmentalism and the cost of modernization, and in courses that look at the social aspects of the family and society.
I first saw this show while watching t.v. with my 11 year old son. I enjoyed the story line, which is about four distinct nations of people categorized by a specific element- earth, water, fire, or air. Well one group, the Fire nation, is taking over the world and eliminating individuals who refuse to obey their will. Some characters have super-natural abilities to manipulate and control either earth, water, fire, or air. People use these powers to fight and to help with daily life. One individual has the ability to use all of the elements, this person is called the avatar and with training is supposed to be able to save the world from the Fire Nation.
The show is intended for children, however it also appeals to adults who are able to identify the incorporation of Chinese philosophies and culture. The main character Aing is a monk who practices deep meditation and has a strong connection to the spirit world. Tea is a very popular drink among the elite. Martial arts have been modeled after multiple authentic Chinese styles.
How can this be used- there are many episodes, each conveying a particular story and aspect of Chinese culture. The episodes can be shown to support student understanding or even to bolster interest. View a couple to get the idea, or rent the whole series in order to find the right one. I will be buying the complete set so later I can update this post with the best episodes.
I watched this movie last night and enjoyed it from the perspective of learning more about Buddhism however it is definitely not a movie for children/young students. It has earned it's R-rating.
The scenery was very beautiful and the buddhist message regarding suffering: that we all do, that it causes pain, and that such pain can be addressed by following the Middle Way, is staight forward enough.
One more Kurosawa film that everyone must see. This is my third, and final, review of the greatest directer of all time's work. You all should also see Rashomon, and Dersu Uzala, as well. But before you do check out Yojimbo.
Esentially this film spawned A Fistful of Dollars, Last Man Standing, and a whole slew of films with the "man with no name" characters who come into town with maybe selfish motives, but end up doing some good by pitting all the bad guys against each other.
Great film, pays tribute to the John Ford-type westerns. The main actor Toshirō Mifune is without a doubt one of the greatest Japanese actors of all time. He gives a great performance in this film as the man without a name.
I think the benefit of many of Kurosawa's films for teaching is that he always seems to have a central theme that can be universally applied to the world we live in today. You can also use many of his films to illustrate how the Samurai became mercenaries of a sort after the industrialization of Japan.
Great film! [Edit by="jfannon on Jul 28, 4:34:41 PM"][/Edit]
Imagine my surprise when a student came to me one day to tell me that the latest Jackie Chan movie borrowed heavily from the 16th century Chinese folk novel, Monkey, by Wu Ch’eng-en. I read Monkey in college in my Classic Hero Tales course and instantly fell in love with the mad-cap Monkey, a mythological hero with superhuman (supermonkey?!) powers and a penchant for messing up banquets and relieving himself at religious shrines. I began assigning the text to my 10th grade honors for summer reading last year.
There are many hints to Monkey in the opening credits—a poster which appears to feature Pigsy, Monkey’s snout-nosed sidekick, and other images of a superhuman monkey, played, surprisingly, by the ultra-serious action star, Jet Li. As I watched, I was excited by the depiction of Monkey’s crashing the peach banquet where immortals only are invited. His destruction of the banquet and drinking of the elixir is the beginning of his problems that set him on his quest in the text; however, in the movie, his punishment is to be literally set in stone for hundreds of years, only to be released by some weird Brooklynese teenybopper kid who apparently is the hero of the movie, even though, hello! I’m sure 99% of the audience was absolutely ready for Jackie or Jet to play the lead.
I would recommend showing the 5 minutes of the peach banquet scene, otherwise the rest of the movie is pretty tawdry. The fight scenes aren’t very good, and aside from that quick scene, not much else borrows from the book. I wish Jackie Chan’s and Jet Li’s first collaboration was a bit more interesting, but at least I can show something contemporary and relevant in conjunction with an “old book.” :-D
Movie: Warriors of Heaven and Earth Year: 2003 Starring: Jiang Wen, Nakai Kiichi, Zhao Wei, Wang Xueqi
SUMMARY: This complicated story can not be summarized in few enough words for this forum...but here's a brief overview!
"Warriors of Heaven and Earth" is about Lai Xi, an Imperial agent for the Tang government, who has been sent to eliminate Lt Li, a fugitive wanted for disobeying orders to kill Turkish refugees because they were mostly women and children. Li, who had become known as "Butcher Li", had been living on the outskirts of civilization, working with his gang of soldiers as guards for camel trains along the Silk Road for a time. However, by the time Lai Xi was sent to kill him, they had all given up their violent lifestyle to settle as farmers in a small commune-style village. Li was caught in a violent sandstorm and feels indebted to a soldier who saved him. The warrior was guarding a Buddhist monk, and Li agrees to help him bring the monk safely along the rest of the route to his destination.
The plot thickens when Li and Lai Xi battle and come to the agreement that Li will be allowed to bring th monk (who is carrying valuable sacred texts and a pagoda) to the capital, where they will fight to the death, and Lai Xi ends up traveling with Li and his men.
Throw in amazing sword-fight scenes, an overlord working for the Mongols, Li's one-eyed right hand man, a young orphan, and the daughter of a general who acts as the narrator, and you have quite the complex movie.
MY REVIEW: One thing is for sure: you must pay close attention to figure out all that is going on in this movie! I think that the plot itself needed either less going on or more explanation of certain characters, but overall I did enjoy it. If you like the type of movie where you have to rewind several times to figure it all out, I believe that it is certainly worth renting!
The movie has a lot of deep and intricate plays on the themes of loyalty, honor, and duty. Each of the main characters struggles with the confusing combination of these themes and what it means to them. I enjoyed the fact that is no clear "good" guy...each of the characters shows that few decisions in life are easy, and none are black and white.
IN THE CLASSROOM: I would not show this movie in my middle school classes, and I believe it has too much violence for even high school, but there are definitely scenes that I would use to show scenes of the Silk Road and the time period. The cinematography is amazing, and I couldn't help but write down the scenes I may show to supplement my unit on the Silk Road. Here are a few:
9 mins- great desert scene with camels 35 mins- desert scene with horses 36 mins- camel caravan in desert 49 mins- camel caravan in desert 52 mins- rocky terrain and mountains (through 60 mins, though there is a fight scene you would have to omit)
There are others, but these clips are a great start. I am not sure if it was shot on location, but I believe that it is certainly a good collection of clips to show students a little bit of what it was like to travel the Silk Road.
Happy Times Happy Times is a delightful movie about a man who is retired and has no source of income. He falls in love. In order to marry the woman of his dreams he has to prove that he is financially stable. So, he lies and tells her that he is the owner of a hotel. With the help of some of his friends he is able to pull it off. Happy Times is a great movie. The movie has all of the elements of a great story. It is the type of movie that you can watch several times. I enjoyed this movie very much and I have already recommended it to many of my family members and friends. I would love for my students to see it just because it's a good movie but I can't seem to fit it into the curriculum.
I saw this movie in the theater and absolutely loved it! A stirring story of a father of a violin prodigy son who move to Beijing to find success. The film deals with the relationship between father and son, showing the love, tension and sometime embarrassment that go along. At one point in the film, the son becomes distraught and mean regarding the father's peasant lifestyle, perhaps not realizing the sacrifices he has made to bolster the son's musical success. There's great music, too. Could be shown in its entirety or show clips to highlight the different settings or rural versus urban.
Also recommended: -"Tears of the Black Tiger" -"In the Mood for Love"
I recommend this film for contemporary Chinese history.
Xiao cai feng (2002) - Plot summaryXiao cai feng on IMDb: Movies, TV, Celebs, and more... www.imdb.com/title/tt0291032/plotsummary - 32k - Cached - Similar pages More results from www.imdb.com »
The setting has beautiful scenery around Three Gorges of Yangtze River before the Dam was built. The time is during cultural revolution. Two young men were sent to the location. Both re-educate a beautiful young girl who is a seamstress for the village.
"Metamorphosis, A Rock Fantasia" Director and Writer, Takashi Masunaga, Producers San Rio Films, Circa, late 70s. Is anyone familiar with this film, I had some envolvement in it back when I worked in the animation industry in Hollywood. It would be fun to communicate with anyone who worked on this film or has seen it. It incorporated Greek mythology along with music by Joan Biez, etc. I am now signing off due to experiencing an earth quake in a high rise building.
China's Stolen Children is a documentary about how babies and young children (under the age of five) are bought and sold in China. This documentary was on HBO Sunday and is available on Showtime.
Taped in secret, and at risk of the director and crew being deported and the Chinese with who they spoke and filmed being jailed, the director Jezza Newumann explored three story lines.
The first was of a couple (late twenties) whose son, aged five, was kidnapped while in the care of his maternal grandmother. A neighbor lured the boy away to buy an ice cream. The police have not done much because they say there is not enough evidence to pursue the case. The couple seek help from a private detective who retired from the police force in order to help people like this couple. The angst they feel is palpable. They must admit that they will never se their son again. The husband speaks straightforwardly of his shame that he cannot live up to his father's expectation of a good son, one who produces a male heir. He and his wife do not blame her mother. The grandmother, a rice farmer, prays to the gods daily and burns offerings while crying out to them to bring the boy home.
The second story is that of a young girl and boy, underage to get the permit for marriage, and therefore, also unable to get the required permission to have a baby. They chose not to abort. If they keep the child, they must pay a heavy fine. If they keep the baby a "secret" from the State, the child will be "paperless" will have no ID and will not be able to go to school. The only solution they find is to sell their daughter. They will get about $500 for her. What is interesting is that they face this dilemma together and have plans to get married when they reach legal age.
The third story line is of a trafficker. He agrees to be filmed as he brokers a deal between a woman who has sold several of her children and a wealthy couple who cannot have a baby. The trafficker is just doing business, the only work that he is skilled enough to do. After his own wife died, he sold his youngest son because he could no afford to keep both sons. He is a callous man. He sees himself providing a service.
There is a problem with the one child policy. Many girls are aborted, sold, abandoned, or placed for adoption by women from the West/USA. When these children reach marriage age in the next decade or two, men will outnumber women by more than 40 million.
This documentary unearths a problematic situation for China that will not be easily solved. The narative is kept objecive but alarming frank. I do not think this video is appropriate for viewing in any social studies class. It will be difficult for many adults to view. That being said, I do recommend it to those of you who are interested in the problems related to family planning/marriage laws in contemporary China.
This show has been nominated for and Oscar (HBO) and has won awards in Great Britain (imdb.com).
[Edit by="jchristensen on Jul 29, 3:06:13 PM"][/Edit]
The Way Home Rated PG In the movie, The Way Home a young boy is sent to live with his grandmother. The boy is from the city and his grandmother lives in the countryside. Throughout the movie the boy struggles to adapt to his new home. There is a generation gap, cultural gap and simply trying to communicate becomes a challenge. I think my students would enjoy this movie. Even though the movie is in Korean you can follow it without reading the subtitles. One of the main characters in the movie is not able to speak and uses gestures to communicate so there is not much dialogue. Students can follow the movie easily. I believe many of the students will be able to relate to the boy in the story. I don't think any of them would survive a day without their phones, mp3 players or other hand held devices. So this could be a conversation we could have as a class.
Plot: Wang Bianlian is an aging street performer known as the King of Mask for his mastery of Sichuan Change Art in a true story. His wife left him with and infant son over 30 years ago. The son died from i...
This feature film can be used partially in the class to illustrate the art of "Changing Faces", or the whole movie illustrating different views of Chinese society. The idea of "being a girl" can be quite a "put down" in Chinese society.
Wow, I really liked watching this movie and I think most everyone else this evening did, too. I concur that our students would find it difficult to live even a day without the modern conveniences that they love. It would be an interesting exercise: go a week without TV / iPod / computer / cell phone, etc. Or pick one to abstain from for a week. My students freak out when I tell them I don't own a cell phone...
Isn't that interesting, how far they have come into the technological age and away from the normal subsistence that humans have dealt with for hundreds of thousands of years? When we look into the gatherer-hunter lifestyle we see that it was the main pattern of living for so long, why? Because it worked!
I think that your idea for an exercise into the average American/industrialized dependence upon technology would be a great adventure into the depths of the human spirit and the capacity of our creativity. What are you going to do with yourself when you can not escape into the digital realm or the attention of another person? You have to find happiness within yourself and try to practice self-actualization, what is that? It must be some foreign eastern concept....
Speaking of foreign eastern concepts...not at all related to the Film Festival, but to print media, is an article I read and found exceptionally useful into an introduction of the Buddhist philosophy was the article published by the SPICE digest in fall of 2007 entitled, "An Introduction to Buddhism".
That was out of left wing, but important and purposeful. The article is attached.
NOTE: I also posted this address under the "Movies and Books" thread but wated more people to gain access to it, so I posted it here, too...
To the asianfims.org poster...your web address did not work. I did a little research ad founf the same name at the following link: http://www.asianfilms.org/. Hopefully this will work for everyone. If you try to google or internet search the website, type in iFilm Connections: Asia and Pacific and it should lead you right to the link.
As they say on their website: "iFilm Connections: Asia & Pacific seeks to create a deeper awareness and understanding of Asian and Pacific Island film cultures by providing immediate and comprehensive information about contemporary feature films from these areas.
Building upon the success of www.asianfilms.org, our team of film scholars, critics, and curators promise to revolutionize access and understanding of culturally significant independent films from Asia and the Pacific Islands. We offer faculty, students, film leaders, and the interested public a way to stream a selection of carefully selected feature films that can be used with original materials on this site to intelligently analyze the impact of globalization on the diverse cultures of Asia and the Pacific."
The website is designed to highlight and encourage the film makers and film productions of the Asian and Pacific cultures. some of the films now playing include:
Nostalgia for the Countryland Thuong nho dong que, Vietnam (1995)
Death on a Full Moon Day Pura Handa Kaluwara, Sri Lanka (1997)
Dark Night of the Soul Anantha Rathriya, Sri Lanka (1996)
Sandy Lives Doi Cat, Vietnam (1999)
Girl from Hunan, A Xiangnu xiaoxiao, China (1986)
Black Snow Ben ming nian, China (1990)
Song of Tibet, The Yeshe Dolma, China (2000)
Land Has Eyes, The Pear ta ma 'on maf, Fiji (Rotuma) (2004)
Ok, now many of our students have a serious love affair with anime. To deny it would eb wrong and to ignore it would be fatal. I say, look on and let the animation and cartoon fcator guide you into a slight inderstanding of the eastern cultures. Does the program serve as an educational resource? No! Couls yo use it in the classroom?No! But you can watch it at home and/or provide the information online on a teacher webiste or blog!
I enjoyed the movie and greatly appreciated the messages contained within, however it did move a bit slow and I'm sure some people might have to be in the right frame of mind before they can fully appreciate such a film. I'm not sure how I could use such a film with my 7th and 8th graders, but I like the idea that someone mentioned about challenging the kids to do without some device for a week. Maybe just showing the clip where the kid's video game dies and have them write about what they would do in such a circumstance. Also many kids do experience going without these tech devices when the go to Camp KEEP and other places. They usually have fun and don't complain. Unfortunately those experiences usually don't continue for many of them, however at least they know it can be done and it can also be fun.
Does anyone know an easy way to put together a DVD with only video clips?
"To Live,"directed by Zhang YiMo, is a great film about how Cultural Revolution's impact on ordinary people in China. I found the film at Thousand Oaks Public Library. Professor Ye also mentioned about it yesterday.
For teaching ideas on this film, there are plenty of satires and ironies. This film also covered a great spectrum of other events, such as the Great Leap Forward, along with Cultural Revolution.
I liked the movie. I grew up in Korea, and I was fully aware how much tension the North and the South holds. My parents lived through the Korean War. I appreciate the brotherhood the movie portrays. I also sympathizes how much guilt the South soldier suffered which eventually caused his suicide. I am not sure how much possibility the same kind of incident could occur, but non the less it is possible to build some kind of relationship over the long term if they have the chance to encounter each other face-to-face.
The Los Angeles Times said, "One of the most beautiful films imaginable." It was also nominated for a 2005 Golden Globe for best foreign film. I also read that it was the largest budget film in China at the time. My expectations and hopes were pretty high when I started the film. All in all it seemed like a hokey "B" movie, and I do not understand why it was nominated. Many other Chinese films I have seen are far better. The movie itself seems to be based upon Chinese mythology, and not any particular historical event, not that that is bad. I did a little googling about Chinese mythology and I didn't seem to find a goddess that fit the goddess in the movie. The action scenes were not up to par with that of "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon," "House of Flying Daggers," or "Hero." There appears to be some symbolism in the movie, many images of cherry blossoms or peach blossom trees. I have a feeling that this movie might have been better fit for a Chinese audience and the mythological and symbolism is missed from the Western perspective. [Edit by="mburditt on Aug 6, 9:59:34 PM"][/Edit]
An effective movie leaves its audience puzzling out apparent inconsistencies or narrative holes. The Way Home incites such questions. Where is the (grand)father? Why is the daughter so different from her selfless mother?
In a movie of 88 minutes, the first question could easily have been answered in one comment by the daughter; therefore, the filmmaker has deliberately left it unanswered, and left the audience to wonder. Perhaps this ambiguity is of great importance in understanding this movie, especially in Korea’s patriarchal, hierarchical culture. In fact, I suspect that the crux of this movie is that when the pinnacle of society has been upended, deposed, replaced by a child, the culture suffers.
The grandmother is the living image of an ancestor – so old she walks with her torso horizontal to the ground, so weathered her face is brown and furrowed, so removed from modern technology that she beats clothes with a stick to wash them, carries water from the stream with two buckets suspended upon a yoke, and defecates into a porcelain pot. And, most significantly, she is silent. In this tale, the ancestors and their traditional wisdom are mute.
If children could learn wholly by example, then the daughter would possess the wisdom of her mother. But, as Dr. Dube commented, “It must have skipped a generation.” The daughter looks ridiculous in her urban sheath and high heels as she stumbles along the dusty, rocky path to her mother’s rustic hut, especially when juxtaposed to the grandmother simple grace as she slowly climbs the same path. The daughter’s gifts of underwear and “nourishing food for old age” have little practical value; although, the grandmother treasures them as if they were thoughtful symbols of honor. The daughter has no patience with her bratty child, alternately ignoring him, then ineffectively slapping at him. She has not learned wisdom from the example of her mother.
Children are the embodiment of potential, and the boy, Sang-Woo, does show that potential. He tries to teach his grandmother to write so that he can come to her if she is sick – the traditional duty of the devoted child. He seems to long for the grounding that, literally, comes from a strong foundation, a foundation that modern society has upended. Sang-Woo has begun to hear the silent messages of past generations, but his education is interrupted by the return of his mother. As he leaves his grandmother, this child who whines and cries at the slightest discomfort, shows little emotion or gratitude until the last moment when he hands her a treasured card with a message she cannot read. The chasm between the generations remains unbridged, with only a tenuous thread between them.
Reviewers proclaim, “…after seeing all the sacrifices the gentle old woman makes for him, he [Sang-Woo] soon learns some important lessons about love, kindness, selflessness and humility” (http://www.seoulstyle.com/). But perhaps this movie is more about the consequences of the silencing of those traditional lessons. Sang-Woo’s journey towards wisdom is interrupted; he is returning to the isolating environment that spawned his unbearable narcissism. Perhaps, instead, as Anthony Leong suggests, "The Way Home could also be considered an examination of the gap between South Korea's older generation, which has witnessed the painful emergence of the country's democracy, and its youth, who have grown up in a world of cell phones, Internet access, and music videos. Like Sang-woo, it is sometimes easy to forget that today's Take Care of My Cat generation owes much of their liberties and luxuries to the sacrifices made by their Peppermint Candy predecessors” (Korean Cinema Edition http://www.cinekorea.com/). Rather than reducing this movie to a tear-jerking tribute to the selfless kindness of grandmothers, perhaps we need to examine the society that produces arm-jerking parents of selfish brats.
So, if you accept my previous proposition that The Way Home represents the potential for disorder when the young are left without wise guidance and can only learn civilized behavior by attending to their progenitors, then the grandson's behavior mirrors that of the boys stranded on a Pacific island during WWII. Without the strong hand of a wise sage, disrespect and chaos prevail.[Edit by="skelly on Aug 4, 8:34:51 AM"][/Edit]
I will start by saying I loved this movie. My impression from the title and the picture on the cover of the DVD was that there was going to be a lot more action. This movie was a pleasing surprise, since it showed the subtle side to how the samurai lived. One part love story and another part showing the decline of the samurai and the code of Bushido. This film could be used to show the decline of the warrior class along with the honor that the leading character shows at being a samurai, even though others clearly do not. It also shows how the Japanese felt about marrying into different classes. [Edit by="mburditt on Aug 5, 10:33:18 PM"][/Edit] [Edit by="mburditt on Aug 6, 10:02:17 PM"][/Edit]
This movie came out last year, it starred Edward Norton, and was a sort of dry little story about a missionary to China who took his wife, who cheated on him with a cad, then he died, (the missionary, not the cad) but not before he and the wife have a reconciliation, whereupon she returns to England and bears his child, conceived during said reconciliation.
That being said, the acting was pretty good. The real value of the film, to me, included the shots of China, the depictions of the activities and the settings. It is like a travelog for China. The set director was so good, in the scenes during the summer, you almost sweat watching the humidity. If you rent it, you can ff through most of the people scenes because it's pretty predictable, but the shots of China are incredible.
" Journey to the West" produced by Steven Harding, and directed by Peter MacDonald, is a full of humor and is just the movie to show kids in a classroom environment. When teaching how one philosophy can undermine the other so that the new one can be accepted, "Journey to the West" is the film that does that. It undermines Confucianism by making Confucius look like the bad guy. The plot is about restoring Chinese traditions and values and not allowing outside influence. Its characters, Nick (protagonist) is convinced to save an ancient book , Journey to the West, written by Master Wu. Piggsy, Friar Sand, and Monkey help Nick fight off the evil Master Shu Chung Tzu and the other 4 traditional masters. Kwan Ying is the Buddhist goddess of mercy who intervenes so that Nick is able to save the manuscript. This movie not only emphasizes Buddhist teachings and about ancient manuscripts being scensored. This movie is clean from bloody violence of traditional Kung fu movies. Kids will love the humor displayed throughout the movie and will captivate their attention.[Edit by="rosanna_elgohary on Aug 4, 9:30:56 PM"][/Edit]
The Legend 2, a Corey Yuen Film, produced by Jet Li, David Lai, and Chu Po Chu, starring Jet Li is set in the background of Han Mei village. The movie opens with poetry about the longing of coming home- remembering the good things of the past. Sai Yuk (Jet Li) is the protagonist and is protected by his uncle, Master Chan who is really the emperor. Assassination attempts are made on Master Chan, but Sai Yuk helps fight the assassins off. Master Chan is leader of the Flower Society but Master Yun wants that position; he is behind the assassination attempts. There is humor throughout the movie and will hold the attention of those watching. Sai Yuk's mother keeps you rolling on the floor scene after scene. when teaching about overthrowing the Manchus to establish a new Ming Dynasty this helps put things into focus. Chinese culture is seen throughout the movie in the caligraphy, lanterns adorning the courtyard, mother's devotion to her son, subject's loyalty to the emperor, and other unspoken things like drinking. The Legend 2 can be revisited over and over because of the humor of the women characters. It shows the love of one wife and the fighting ability of all the women involved.[Edit by="rosanna_elgohary on Aug 4, 10:02:28 PM"][/Edit]
"Iron Monkey," a Miramax & Quentin Tarantino film, by Yuen Wo Ping. Iron Monkey finds himself in a land of corruption in 1858. The scene is set in the countryside that was ravaged by warlords and terrible flooding. Peasants flock to cities to find protection and food but instead find greedy corrupt officals and merchants eager to prey on them. In the village of Chekiang a hero rises to defend the people. Caligraphy and a drawn picture of the Iron Monkey is the sign he leaves when he robs from the rich. This movie is like a Chinese Robin Hood story. Iron Monkey (really Dr. Yang-Rongguang Yu) steals from the rich and gives to the poor and refugees. The young actor is quite a martial artist, his witty and quick responses to those opposing him are funny. The PG-13 movie is suitable for kids.
"The Postman Fights Back," is a Golden Harvest Presentation A Raymond Chow Production, and directed by Ronny Yu is about how western war machinery made its way into the Zhou Dynasty; a machine gun. A man named Hu (Eddy Ko Hung) requires a special mission to deliver boxes to Zhao Long, a bandit that controls a very strategic area. When money alone doesn't work, Hu holds Yao Jin's sisters hostage. Yao Jin outs together a team to take the boxes which he is told are gifts for Zhao's birthday. This team comprises a courier named Ma (Leung Kar Yan), and explosives expert (Fan Mei Sheng), and a con man gambler, Fu Jun (Chow Yun Fat). The relatively simple task is not so simple as the group is attacked by various groups on the way. Unbeknownst to the team, Hu is using them to draw out his enemies. Poverty and jobs being deleted because of technology force the people to take unwanted jobs.
Wow, I like the romance. Watching a film is almost like going through a daily life with the characters. I was wondering how the Japanese use the fire pit in the middle of the room, and the movie showed it nicely. They pile a bunch of wood in the room next to the fire pit.
The samurai was a very kind-hearted man. Even at the moment he almost got killed, his intention was just injuring the rebel enough then letting him escape. Unfortunately, the rebel did not make it. It was interesting to see the rebel's dream-like movement right before he died. It was like a dance.
Also, toward the end, when the injured samurai returned his home, the girl he loved was there. She decided to stay there because she expected that the samurai will die for sure. Her intention was to take care of his parent and daughters after the samurai's death. That is very moving. They were very reserved in expressing their emotion. After going through all the trauma, when they saw each other, all they did was holding each other's hand and crying. In western movie, there sure would be a hug and a kiss. Well, Japanese samurai would not do that.
This movie was not only very touching but inspiring as well. It is simply amazing that the people who performed in this movie are not even trained actors nor will they be. What struck me the most, and what we can learn as educator, is that going out of your way to show a child you care can have an immense impact on them. In the movie we see the impact quite quickly. However, in our weekly dealings we might not possibly see anything until much later in life, and even then we might not ever hear it. So the lesson is, keep going out of your way to help children, and it is bound to have an impact in some way. In the great words of Dr. Seuss, "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."
The Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremony started on August 8, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. in Beijing, China. NBC (Channel 4) broadcasted it on August 8, starting at 7:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. It was a spectacular show directed by Zhang Yimou, one of China's great film directors of this century. 91,000 people came to witness this Olympics. NBC said that 100,000 police were protecting Beijing because of the possible political strains. China's political problems with Tibet and Sudan shocked and angered some of the world. But those protests brought Chinese people together. Also they have internal problems like the massive and destructive Sichuan earthquake on May 12 this year that killed 80,000 people, and left 1,000,000 people homeless. In China a half billion peole live on $2.00 per day and protests are not welcome. Tom Brocaw's quote was worth listening to, "Don't assume what Chinese goverment will do." Another interest political issue was that how the mainland China, Olympic committee, and Taiwan government came to agree on the name of Taiwan at this Olympic. Taiwan was called "Chinese Taipei", not called "Repuclic of Taiwan" any longer. Also they did not use the flag of Taiwan. Instead they used the special Olympic flag. Another issue was that Hong Kong represented themselves, not together with mainland China, even after it became a part of China.
It was a beautiful and spectacular show artistically. Zhang Yimou created cinematic beauty in the "Bird's Nest" the new national stadium. The theme was "Harmony": inner peace and external peace. He used the influence of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism in the ceremony. To show "the world come together", 5 rings were lifted and made to look like a flower, accompnaied by peaceful and harmonious Chinese singing by 56 children representing the 56 ethnic groups in China. They were chosen from average families from art schools all over China. Their ethnic clothes were so beautiful. The idea of traditional Chinese art was shown dramatically. Three dancers with black clothes represented 3 important arts: painting, calligraphy, and poetry. They drew a stroke one at a time to express the harmony of mountains and water. Zhang Yimou created the symbol of "great wall", then turned them into Chinese plum flowers with a massive show operation. We wonder how he did it. We may think that in today's technology, it might be done by computer. But the truth was, he used "people". To prove this, at the end of the scene, each performer's face appeared one by one. During the show scene about the Ming Dynasty, a massive image of sea and Zhen He's ship appeared. It was said that in this ceremony 15,000 individual performers were used, and not one of them was used or appeared twice. It tells the world, "We have the people!". "Taichi" was used to show China's graceful martical arts and ancient philosophies. Toward the end of the show, the girls were each holding a big picture of a child's face from another country, and sang "One world, one dream". The host said, "There are issues and disagreement in our world, but we are here to celebrate the Olympics together."
This is an excellent documentary which I would like to show parts of to my students, and teach them about China and Chinese culture. It will open their minds to the new China and old China.
:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D [Edit by="kirion on Aug 10, 8:36:18 PM"][/Edit]
I am looking for a Korean film titled, Two Flags. I have searched 1 Korean music store and the internet for at least two hours; has anyone ever heard of it or come across it?! It would be a great addition to a lesson that I am planning on the Korean War. Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated!
I included the link that led to this relentless search...
The movie I recommend you see is Planet B-Boy. This is the offical website. . Check out the trailer. I first saw it at the San Francisco Asian-American Film Festival in March 2008.
It is about the B-boying (aka breakdancing) world. Though it is a Harlem based dance form it has become very popular around the world, specifically in South Korea and Japan. The film follows 6 dance groups (one from France, one from the US, one from Italy, one from Japan and two from S. Korea) from around the world as they prep for the "Battle of the Year" that is held in Berlin each year.
The film producer/director does a great job of telling the back story of these boys as they prep for the competition. The dancers share about their everyday lives-the joys, tragedies, culture, and financial struggles (many of the dancers come from tough financial backgrounds and are sacraficing greatly for the love of the music and dance). The viewer learns a lot about the everyday life of people in both Japan and Korea, who have not benefited as greatly from the economic success of each of the countries.
In the classroom, it would be helpful to show the clips where the dancers are being interviewed. Middle shoolers and high schoolers can easily connect with the thoughts and feelings of the people in Asia. On the flip side, some of their cultural and life experiences are very different from most Americans (e.g. all Korean boys are required to join the army, one of the Japanese dancers has intense family obligations, etc). When having students analyze and learn about modern East Asia this film can give great person accounts. Using clips of this film can help connect students to the world through music while sharing the specific experiences of Koreans and Japanese.
I believe the film is still showing in the theater and in festivals so I am not sure if it is available on DVD (I will keep this board posted if I find out otherwise). Check YouTube to see if you can find clips.
SPOILER: One of the Korean teams wins the International competition at the end of the move. Subsequently, the team becomes a national icon and their routine is shown in an ad for Korea (this you can find on YouTube) which might be interesting to wrap into a discussion of modern day Korea.
This movie will address many of the California 6th grade standards on China. A few ways I can use it with my students are: pointing out the hierarchy of the Samurai system during the part Iguchi (Seibei=the Twilight Samurai) was chastized for not taking care of himself. The importance of women in this society can be shown by the hard times Iguchi and his daughters faced after his wife died. Then when Tomoe came to help life became so much better for them. The importance of the caste system is expressed by Iguchi's refusal to marry Tomoe, he felt unworthy. My pre-movie question will be, why did Iguchi fight Captain Koda (the abusive husband) with a wooden baton? I will stop the movie during the scene between Iguchi and Zenemon Yogo and have them discuss why they think Iguchi didn't want to kill Yogo. I can also have them write a conversation between two Samurais in their situation and they could rewrite the ending (historical fiction). This was a great movie.
I was super-psyched about seeing this film during the seminar and I think I may have hyped it up too much in my mind. Don't get me wrong, it is a sweet film featuring a sympathetic young girl as the star. You really feel for her position as a substitute teacher in a rural village where moving bricks is like winning the lottery. There's the token bratty kid who makes her job hell, especially when he goes to the city to make money. This puts our heroine in a spot -- she wants the raise promised to her if she keeps all the students in school but cannot afford the bus ticket to track him down. The best scenes of the movie are of her and the other students trying to come up with a plan to get the money. She finally does get to the city and this is where the movie requires an editor. The movie drags a bit, especially when she has conversations with various people she meets (were these scenes improvised?). At any rate, all's well that ends well.
Middle school students would find the scenes with kids funny, but may lose interest during the overly long city scenes. They would be intrigued that there are no actors in the film. They would also come up with some interesting answers to the question "What would you do?"
Yes, the subject title says it all. And yes, I am very aware that the film has many, many historical innaccuracies and hollywood-ized scenes and sequences. Nevertheless, if used in junction with our materials in class and the current 7th grade textbooks, it can be a good motivating tool to teach about Warrior Japan.
The film has beautiful cinematography. The film can be used to show the geocraphy of Japan: from the clips of Mt. Fuji in the opening scenes, to the flower blossoms in the garden when Katsumoto is speaking to Tom Cruise. I would have already had a fun lesson on Mt. Fuji, describing its height, and how today, its very much an attraction for foreigners. I would show them lots of my own personal photos of my 2 years in Japan, as well as the famous artworks of Mt. Fuji.
One of the cool things about the film, is the way it really shows the strongest aspects of Samurai culture. Granted, there are many simplifications and errors, but for most students, this film can provide a decent groundwork. One of the multiple choice questions I found on the periodic assessments went something like: "Bravery, strength, cunning, and loyalty are the qualties of a..." The answer of course, was a samurai. I would forward to the escape sequence in which Katsumoto's son and Cruise help him escape from captivity, and also show much of the final battle scene. I would be sure to be constantly pausing the film and asking "What quality of a Samurai did that last scene just show? Bravery? How many of you think loyalty? Etc"
Other important tidbits that can be introduced and taught: +Cruise must take off his shows in the home +Japanese theatre in the Ninja attack scene +differences between Samurai and Ninja +Samurai weapons and training (much of the village scene)
As an alternative, perhaps the film "Zatoichi" could work as well. However, the problem lies in the fact that the film is all in Japanese, and many of my ESL students just cannot read the subtitles that fast. Also, this highly entertaining film might be a little bit too violent.
Thus, THE LAST SAMURAI would be a decent way to motivate young students, especially students who find history boring or are lower level readers.
One of my favorite Asian films to watch is “House of Flying Daggers,” directed by Zhang Yimou. The setting of the story centers around the last years of the Tang Dynasty. During this time a revolutionary group known as House of Flying Daggers is causing a great deal of problems for the government. Two prominent policemen, Leo and Jin, learn that a blind dancer employed in a local brothel could be the daughter of the Flying Daggers recently deceased leader. The two of them subsequently concoct a plot that they believe will lead them to the Flying Daggers new leader. What ensues are a plethora of plot twists and turns that take the viewer on a journey of love, and betrayal, and jealousy, and sacrifice; and in the end, a question of “How could I have done that to the woman I love?”
This would be a great movie for my students to watch after reading Shakespeare’s Othello. This story too takes it reader on a road of plot twists and turns. The elements of love, betrayal, and jealousy work together to contrive the tragedy that ultimately transpires. And in the end, there is likewise a question of “How could I have done that to the woman I love?” While there are obvious differences in the two stories, there are some marvelous similarities that I could have my students explore in a comparative essay. They could discuss how different approaches were used to convey the similar themes. They could discuss the similar ways the men in both stories are moved to act in response to love and the thought of betrayal. There are so many roads of similarity that the students could take that I believe they would have a fun time examining these two very moving narratives.
This was a great movie. I plan to use it with 9th graders for a cultural compare/contrast with the star-crossed lovers theme from Romeo and Juliet, which is the Shakespeare play for 9th grade. It will be perfect from the standpoint of what happened to the lovers and their plans when, in contrast to R&J, they follow the dictates of society and their culture, and wait, or even refuse to get together in spite of their feelings for each other.
While I agree the film could use some editing, I am struck by the simplicity of the dialog. I think it is interesting and useful in the classroom in terms of characterizing the Chinese culture. Before showing the film, I would begin a discussion about the communication styles in our high school, including how they talk to each other and to adults, etc., encouraging them to make a list of "ground rules" After viewing the film, we could do the same for the Chinese students in the film, of course, highlighting the lack of drama in their communication. I would make a point of noting how the Substitute in the film simply repeats her request to the Teacher and to the Mayor, over and over, until they come up with a different solution, or until they say something that makes her understand she might need to change her viewpoint instead. I have been finding different ways to show my 9th graders that using the amount of profanity they use is not because "they are free," it is because they are engaging in the first level of violence. I would use the film to ask them to explore different ways they could communicate with each other, their parents and their teachers, adapting the techniques in the film to their own communication style. I would also point out that the children in school were rambunctious, and that is pretty much universal. However, the substitute, though only 12, is much more serious in her communication, and obviously takes her job very seriously. I could bring up the Olympics in view of this, and discuss how seriously the athletes take their jobs, and the performers in the opening ceremonies, and the little 8 year old boy who saved the others in the earthquake saying he was hall monitor and it was his job. This will be great for a reflection piece on what their job is, and how seriously they take it.
I agree with Sharon that The Way Home is an excellent movie and can easily translate to the classroom. I see the main thrust of the movie as the contrast between generations. The scenes with the mother and son were brief because the viewers pretty much know what their life is like. They show the jumble of visual and auditory stimulation that just creates a din in today's world; traffic, people, signage, lights, noise, electronics, etc. Most of the time is spent on the grandmother's way of life. I think Sang-Woo is actually all of us. He is completely absorbed with his electronics, his entertainment and distractions in the city, that when he meets his silent grandmother in her very simple, simplistic lifestyle, he doesn't understand it. His lack of understanding, coupled with his frustrations in his busy life, (no dad, mom dumps him off) make his shallow, self-involved side show up in rudeness to his grandmother. Reminds me of something I read on the internet, that we were discussing at our table one morning; the rise in 'tantrums' in the workplace. The generation of people entering the workplace right now are reacting much the same as Sang-Woo. Interestingly, it is not resulting in job loss or even loss of promotions! I think the author and director are offering the story as a way to ask ourselves if we really do want to let go of the past, just because the technology was missing. They show that even a self-involved little boy can make the connection, and want to keep contact with his elders. I would use this as a reflection prompt for the students: What part of your background do you always want to remember; what are you going to do about it? Think of all the things you spend your time on every day; iPod, TV, CDs, DVDs, cars, phones, cell phones, video games, etc. etc. What if tomorrow, someone pulled the plug, and none of these things would be working or available. How would you spend your time? I think this would be a good critical thinking exercise and a wonderful writing exercise.
Excellent movie. I'm not fond of war pix, or mysteries, for that matter, but this surpasses both. Shortly after watching this, I saw "Where is Matt Dancing?" on YouTube, and in one segment, he is dancing in what is labled "Korean DMZ" - one other person, a soldier, is just standing there watching him. The effect was really comical. In any case, JSA would be an excellent film to show students for discussion of roles and boundaries. A prompt might be; 'In the moment of truth, who defines our roles, and who or what defines our boundaries?' There would be plenty of examples to draw from in the film, from the guy who steps on the land mine and cries for mercy to his 'enemies,' to the moment of the shooting, or when each of the soldiers responsible for shooting end up killing themselves. I read something about the film that said the director is planning a sequel - JSA America - and base it on the border conflict with Mexico. That will be interesting!
This movie is directed by Yamada Yoji who has made every effort to display the complexities of the ancient Japanese culture and the art of sword fighting. It is one of the best contemporary samurai movies, with a wonderful cast of characters and a touching story of a man outcast by changing times he lived in. In mid-19th century, end of Edo period, In Unasaka (Province of Yamagata), Iguchi Seibei, a low ranking samurai leads a life without glory. The samurai co-workers call him "Tasogare" (twilight). He must work in the fields and accept piece work (making insect cages) to feed his family. He even sold his sword! (a samurai's soul!) But he approved his skills with wooden sword defeating the opponent. Tomoe, his long-time love, divorces a brutal husband. This gives Seibei the opportunity to marry her. But he remains bound by the code of honor of samurai, and his own social precedence. The second chance came to marry her after he came back from killing Yogo Zenemon. This time he finallly married Tomoe and had 3 years of life together before he died in the Boshin War. "That was the happiest years of their lives." His daughter said. This film is different from many other samurai themed films in that it concentrates on showing the main character's everyday struggles, instead of focusing on action-oriented battles; the film has only two fight scenes.
I will show this film to my students, and let them write a "film review". Then we will discuss Japanese samurai code of honors, rituals (marriage, funeral, etc.), hierarchy, expression of love, true spirit, etc. [Edit by="kirion on Aug 18, 11:50:00 PM"][/Edit]
I had read the book "Memoirs of a Geisha when it first came out several,(many) years ago, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I bought the CD when it came out and watched it for the first time tonight. Although it strayed a bit from the book I appreciated the movie very much. The movie had lovely cinematography and good insights to the rights of not only women in general during pre-war Japan, but that of after as well. It clearly defined what the role of the geisha was which would be interesting to discuss with my project on Lady Murasaki. A geisha was not a prostitute, but rather an entertainer or hostess if you will. She was skilled in all the arts defining a well-rounded women, yet was denied what is really desired true love. This film was a heart-warming movie which I know I will watch again.
I agree, this movie is phenomenal and has great potential for classroom use, especially to capture the students' interest in East Asian culture. For example the cinematography accentuates the natural environment, the story line includes elements of philosophical practices, notions such as loyalty, fashion, historical practices, and of course martial arts!
This movie is definitely a must add to the library.
Hero was an exceptionally well made movie and one of Jet Li's finer works. Just to add a little to the other reviews- I immediately noticed the emphasis on calligraphy. Does movie's depiction of calligraphy as an art form, a communication tool, and as a sort of metaphysical experience accurately reflect the time period's cultural understanding of this writing medium?[Edit by="jwilhelm on Jul 27, 3:16:15 PM"][/Edit]
Guttentag, Bill; Sturman, Dan. Nanking. 2007.
90 minutes
Synopsis:
The film documents and tries to bring to life the efforts of George Fitch, Bob Wilson, Minnie Vautrin, and John Rabe who established a safety zone for the Chinese people who fled for their lives from the Japanese invaders. The film is an historical account of before, during, and immediately after the Nanking invasion in the early years of WWII.
The film uses actual photos, short film footage, letter, and diary accounts from the time period. An actor assumes the role of each of the aforementioned people to discuss their feelings about the situation and share the experiences.
Evaluation:
The film was very educational, especially for someone who knows little about this horrific event. Since the movie primarily is relates diary entries, it can be a bit dry at times. The overall purpose and historical relevance of this film makes it noteworthy and if possible should be incorporated into lesson plans when possible.
Classroom:
A popular thematic unit is "Man's Inhumanity to Man," which usually includes the Holocaust, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and a few others. But I have rarely heard of the Nanking invasion being included in those units.
I tasked my students to research various instances of man's inhumanity to man in order to write a comprehensive research paper. At the time I did not have knowledge of this film, but know now that it could have been and will be a great resource for students. (Copy of Historical Investigation paper attached).
Additionally the film can help students really understand how the respective parties were thinking and feeling during this event- In case the reader of tis review is not familiar with the event, here is a short summary: Japan wanted to take over China, so they headed towards Nanking (the capital at the time). The Japanese soldiers entered Nanking with the mentality of "loot all, burn all, kill all." This included women children, elderly, etc. Obviously the killing, looting, and burning were not done nicely.- The movie can be shown independently and students can write responses.
Summary:
This is a good film to show students what happened during the Nanking invasion and why it happened. [Edit by="jwilhelm on Jul 27, 3:59:55 PM"][/Edit]
There are two, if not more stories to this documentary. First, there is the Govenment's story "providing energy to the bread basket of China" and the second, with its many sub-parts, of the people displaced by the rising waters.
The Yangtze has always flooded. Some years it was worse than others. But the people returned and rebuilt and grew rice in their rice paddies and had babies and fished and watched ferries cross and boats or barges go up and down the river just as their parents had. Then came the plan to harvest the river's energy, a second dam, much larger than the first. That is the Three Gorges Dam that this documentary is about.
To date, the river has risen to 150 meters, with 25 more to go. Signs with red letters dot all the mountainsides "175 m". Instead of displacing 10,000 people, more than 50,000 have already been relocated. Families have been separated, the elderly in their small apartments, the adult children in theirs. Other adult children have headed for the cities to find work. In Chongqing to carry the suitcases of the passengers of the cruise ships (see the video for pictures of this backbreaking, low-skill level low-paying work). If not hard labor, the men flock to the cities like Shanghai and Beijing to do day-labor jobs in the new highrises being built. They paint, plaster, carry in furniture, not unlike the day-laborers at Home Depot and U-Haul here in Southern California. At night, many sleep in lean-to's on the construction site because they do not make enough money to pay for adequate housing. Others become street hawkers, plying their souvenirs to the tourists, making more money if the tourist buys the fan for 10 yuan ($1.30) without bargaining down the price. And, perhaps making no profit, but at least moving goods, if they can get the tourist to finally part with 1 yuan ($ .07) for the fan before s/he gets on the bus and heads back to the ship for a cool shower and nice dinner.
The residents take out as much of their furnishings as they can get moved with the little resources they have, and leave the retrieval of the rest to those who remain. They may spend days or months breaking up the houses to reuse the bricks on another house further up the mountian side.
What becomes of the farmer who loses his rich field/rice paddy? What will he do further up the mountain side where the land is not rich, but rocky and untilled? What will he do if he is forced to move to a new city, like Fendu? What work can he do in a city? He is not even skilled at the backbreaking labor that city men do. All he knows is the countryside.
The cost to society is still being tallied. The final cost may never be calculated. The destruction of families is limitless. The young people will fare the best. They have been educated and can find work and the children will go to school in better schools and look forward to a new kind of future. But what of the middle-aged and the elderly. They are already paying a high price.
This documentary looks beyond the end product of energy for the masses. It forces the viewer to look at the cost in human terms.
This is not for all students, but it could be used in economics classes, in science classes in units about environmentalism and the cost of modernization, and in courses that look at the social aspects of the family and society.
I first saw this show while watching t.v. with my 11 year old son. I enjoyed the story line, which is about four distinct nations of people categorized by a specific element- earth, water, fire, or air. Well one group, the Fire nation, is taking over the world and eliminating individuals who refuse to obey their will. Some characters have super-natural abilities to manipulate and control either earth, water, fire, or air. People use these powers to fight and to help with daily life. One individual has the ability to use all of the elements, this person is called the avatar and with training is supposed to be able to save the world from the Fire Nation.
The show is intended for children, however it also appeals to adults who are able to identify the incorporation of Chinese philosophies and culture. The main character Aing is a monk who practices deep meditation and has a strong connection to the spirit world. Tea is a very popular drink among the elite. Martial arts have been modeled after multiple authentic Chinese styles.
How can this be used- there are many episodes, each conveying a particular story and aspect of Chinese culture. The episodes can be shown to support student understanding or even to bolster interest. View a couple to get the idea, or rent the whole series in order to find the right one. I will be buying the complete set so later I can update this post with the best episodes.
I watched this movie last night and enjoyed it from the perspective of learning more about Buddhism however it is definitely not a movie for children/young students. It has earned it's R-rating.
The scenery was very beautiful and the buddhist message regarding suffering: that we all do, that it causes pain, and that such pain can be addressed by following the Middle Way, is staight forward enough.
One more Kurosawa film that everyone must see. This is my third, and final, review of the greatest directer of all time's work. You all should also see Rashomon, and Dersu Uzala, as well. But before you do check out Yojimbo.
[Edit by="jfannon on Jul 28, 4:34:41 PM"][/Edit]
Esentially this film spawned A Fistful of Dollars, Last Man Standing, and a whole slew of films with the "man with no name" characters who come into town with maybe selfish motives, but end up doing some good by pitting all the bad guys against each other.
Great film, pays tribute to the John Ford-type westerns. The main actor Toshirō Mifune is without a doubt one of the greatest Japanese actors of all time. He gives a great performance in this film as the man without a name.
I think the benefit of many of Kurosawa's films for teaching is that he always seems to have a central theme that can be universally applied to the world we live in today. You can also use many of his films to illustrate how the Samurai became mercenaries of a sort after the industrialization of Japan.
Great film!
Imagine my surprise when a student came to me one day to tell me that the latest Jackie Chan movie borrowed heavily from the 16th century Chinese folk novel, Monkey, by Wu Ch’eng-en. I read Monkey in college in my Classic Hero Tales course and instantly fell in love with the mad-cap Monkey, a mythological hero with superhuman (supermonkey?!) powers and a penchant for messing up banquets and relieving himself at religious shrines. I began assigning the text to my 10th grade honors for summer reading last year.
There are many hints to Monkey in the opening credits—a poster which appears to feature Pigsy, Monkey’s snout-nosed sidekick, and other images of a superhuman monkey, played, surprisingly, by the ultra-serious action star, Jet Li. As I watched, I was excited by the depiction of Monkey’s crashing the peach banquet where immortals only are invited. His destruction of the banquet and drinking of the elixir is the beginning of his problems that set him on his quest in the text; however, in the movie, his punishment is to be literally set in stone for hundreds of years, only to be released by some weird Brooklynese teenybopper kid who apparently is the hero of the movie, even though, hello! I’m sure 99% of the audience was absolutely ready for Jackie or Jet to play the lead.
I would recommend showing the 5 minutes of the peach banquet scene, otherwise the rest of the movie is pretty tawdry. The fight scenes aren’t very good, and aside from that quick scene, not much else borrows from the book. I wish Jackie Chan’s and Jet Li’s first collaboration was a bit more interesting, but at least I can show something contemporary and relevant in conjunction with an “old book.”
:-D
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0865556/
Movie: Warriors of Heaven and Earth
Year: 2003
Starring: Jiang Wen, Nakai Kiichi, Zhao Wei, Wang Xueqi
SUMMARY: This complicated story can not be summarized in few enough words for this forum...but here's a brief overview!
"Warriors of Heaven and Earth" is about Lai Xi, an Imperial agent for the Tang government, who has been sent to eliminate Lt Li, a fugitive wanted for disobeying orders to kill Turkish refugees because they were mostly women and children. Li, who had become known as "Butcher Li", had been living on the outskirts of civilization, working with his gang of soldiers as guards for camel trains along the Silk Road for a time. However, by the time Lai Xi was sent to kill him, they had all given up their violent lifestyle to settle as farmers in a small commune-style village. Li was caught in a violent sandstorm and feels indebted to a soldier who saved him. The warrior was guarding a Buddhist monk, and Li agrees to help him bring the monk safely along the rest of the route to his destination.
The plot thickens when Li and Lai Xi battle and come to the agreement that Li will be allowed to bring th monk (who is carrying valuable sacred texts and a pagoda) to the capital, where they will fight to the death, and Lai Xi ends up traveling with Li and his men.
Throw in amazing sword-fight scenes, an overlord working for the Mongols, Li's one-eyed right hand man, a young orphan, and the daughter of a general who acts as the narrator, and you have quite the complex movie.
MY REVIEW: One thing is for sure: you must pay close attention to figure out all that is going on in this movie! I think that the plot itself needed either less going on or more explanation of certain characters, but overall I did enjoy it. If you like the type of movie where you have to rewind several times to figure it all out, I believe that it is certainly worth renting!
The movie has a lot of deep and intricate plays on the themes of loyalty, honor, and duty. Each of the main characters struggles with the confusing combination of these themes and what it means to them. I enjoyed the fact that is no clear "good" guy...each of the characters shows that few decisions in life are easy, and none are black and white.
IN THE CLASSROOM: I would not show this movie in my middle school classes, and I believe it has too much violence for even high school, but there are definitely scenes that I would use to show scenes of the Silk Road and the time period. The cinematography is amazing, and I couldn't help but write down the scenes I may show to supplement my unit on the Silk Road. Here are a few:
9 mins- great desert scene with camels
35 mins- desert scene with horses
36 mins- camel caravan in desert
49 mins- camel caravan in desert
52 mins- rocky terrain and mountains (through 60 mins, though there is a fight scene you would have to omit)
There are others, but these clips are a great start. I am not sure if it was shot on location, but I believe that it is certainly a good collection of clips to show students a little bit of what it was like to travel the Silk Road.
Happy Times
Happy Times is a delightful movie about a man who is retired and has no source of income.
He falls in love. In order to marry the woman of his dreams he has to prove that he is financially stable.
So, he lies and tells her that he is the owner of a hotel. With the help of some of his friends he is able to
pull it off. Happy Times is a great movie. The movie has all of the elements of a great story. It is the type of movie that you can watch several times. I enjoyed this movie very much and I have already recommended it to many of my family members and friends. I would love for my students to see it just because it's a good movie but I can't seem to fit it into the curriculum.
To see FREE full-length movies and TV shows, go to Surf the Channel. http://www.surfthechannel.com/[Edit by="clawson on Jul 29, 11:16:36 AM"][/Edit]
I saw this movie in the theater and absolutely loved it! A stirring story of a father of a violin prodigy son who move to Beijing to find success. The film deals with the relationship between father and son, showing the love, tension and sometime embarrassment that go along. At one point in the film, the son becomes distraught and mean regarding the father's peasant lifestyle, perhaps not realizing the sacrifices he has made to bolster the son's musical success. There's great music, too. Could be shown in its entirety or show clips to highlight the different settings or rural versus urban.
Also recommended:
-"Tears of the Black Tiger"
-"In the Mood for Love"
In June 2008, the Shanghai Television Festival included the following nominations for best tv series.
Chuang Guan Dong
China
Corner With Love
China
Gebi Mother
China
Golden Wedding
China
Soldiers Sortie
China
I recommend this film for contemporary Chinese history.
Xiao cai feng (2002) - Plot summaryXiao cai feng on IMDb: Movies, TV, Celebs, and more...
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The setting has beautiful scenery around Three Gorges of Yangtze River before the Dam was built.
The time is during cultural revolution. Two young men were sent to the location. Both re-educate a beautiful young girl who is a seamstress for the village.
"Metamorphosis, A Rock Fantasia" Director and Writer, Takashi Masunaga, Producers San Rio Films, Circa, late 70s.
Is anyone familiar with this film, I had some envolvement in it back when I worked in the animation industry in Hollywood. It would be fun to communicate with anyone who worked on this film or has seen it. It incorporated Greek mythology along with music by Joan Biez, etc.
I am now signing off due to experiencing an earth quake in a high rise building.
China's Stolen Children is a documentary about how babies and young children (under the age of five) are bought and sold in China. This documentary was on HBO Sunday and is available on Showtime.
Taped in secret, and at risk of the director and crew being deported and the Chinese with who they spoke and filmed being jailed, the director Jezza Newumann explored three story lines.
The first was of a couple (late twenties) whose son, aged five, was kidnapped while in the care of his maternal grandmother. A neighbor lured the boy away to buy an ice cream. The police have not done much because they say there is not enough evidence to pursue the case. The couple seek help from a private detective who retired from the police force in order to help people like this couple. The angst they feel is palpable. They must admit that they will never se their son again. The husband speaks straightforwardly of his shame that he cannot live up to his father's expectation of a good son, one who produces a male heir. He and his wife do not blame her mother. The grandmother, a rice farmer, prays to the gods daily and burns offerings while crying out to them to bring the boy home.
The second story is that of a young girl and boy, underage to get the permit for marriage, and therefore, also unable to get the required permission to have a baby. They chose not to abort. If they keep the child, they must pay a heavy fine. If they keep the baby a "secret" from the State, the child will be "paperless" will have no ID and will not be able to go to school. The only solution they find is to sell their daughter. They will get about $500 for her.
What is interesting is that they face this dilemma together and have plans to get married when they reach legal age.
The third story line is of a trafficker. He agrees to be filmed as he brokers a deal between a woman who has sold several of her children and a wealthy couple who cannot have a baby. The trafficker is just doing business, the only work that he is skilled enough to do. After his own wife died, he sold his youngest son because he could no afford to keep both sons. He is a callous man. He sees himself providing a service.
There is a problem with the one child policy. Many girls are aborted, sold, abandoned, or placed for adoption by women from the West/USA. When these children reach marriage age in the next decade or two, men will outnumber women by more than 40 million.
This documentary unearths a problematic situation for China that will not be easily solved. The narative is kept objecive but alarming frank. I do not think this video is appropriate for viewing in any social studies class. It will be difficult for many adults to view. That being said, I do recommend it to those of you who are interested in the problems related to family planning/marriage laws in contemporary China.
This show has been nominated for and Oscar (HBO) and has won awards in Great Britain (imdb.com).
[Edit by="jchristensen on Jul 29, 3:06:13 PM"][/Edit]
The Way Home
Rated PG
In the movie, The Way Home a young boy is sent to live with his grandmother. The boy is from the city and his grandmother lives in the countryside. Throughout the movie the boy struggles to adapt to his new home. There is a generation gap, cultural gap and simply trying to communicate becomes a challenge.
I think my students would enjoy this movie. Even though the movie is in Korean you can follow it without reading the subtitles. One of the main characters in the movie is not able to speak and uses gestures to communicate so there is not much dialogue. Students can follow the movie easily. I believe many of the students will be able to relate to the boy in the story. I don't think any of them would survive a day without their phones, mp3 players or other hand held devices. So this could be a conversation we could have as a class.
Another movie I want to recommend is called "The King of Masks" (Bian Lian)
http://www.flixster.com/movie/the-king-of-masks
Plot: Wang Bianlian is an aging street performer known as the King of Mask for his mastery of Sichuan Change Art in a true story. His wife left him with and infant son over 30 years ago. The son died from i...
This feature film can be used partially in the class to illustrate the art of "Changing Faces", or the whole movie illustrating different views of Chinese society. The idea of "being a girl" can be quite a "put down" in Chinese society.
Wow, I really liked watching this movie and I think most everyone else this evening did, too. I concur that our students would find it difficult to live even a day without the modern conveniences that they love. It would be an interesting exercise: go a week without TV / iPod / computer / cell phone, etc. Or pick one to abstain from for a week. My students freak out when I tell them I don't own a cell phone...
Isn't that interesting, how far they have come into the technological age and away from the normal subsistence that humans have dealt with for hundreds of thousands of years? When we look into the gatherer-hunter lifestyle we see that it was the main pattern of living for so long, why? Because it worked!
I think that your idea for an exercise into the average American/industrialized dependence upon technology would be a great adventure into the depths of the human spirit and the capacity of our creativity. What are you going to do with yourself when you can not escape into the digital realm or the attention of another person? You have to find happiness within yourself and try to practice self-actualization, what is that? It must be some foreign eastern concept....
Speaking of foreign eastern concepts...not at all related to the Film Festival, but to print media, is an article I read and found exceptionally useful into an introduction of the Buddhist philosophy was the article published by the SPICE digest in fall of 2007 entitled, "An Introduction to Buddhism".
That was out of left wing, but important and purposeful. The article is attached.
NOTE: I also posted this address under the "Movies and Books" thread but wated more people to gain access to it, so I posted it here, too...
To the asianfims.org poster...your web address did not work. I did a little research ad founf the same name at the following link: http://www.asianfilms.org/. Hopefully this will work for everyone. If you try to google or internet search the website, type in iFilm Connections: Asia and Pacific and it should lead you right to the link.
As they say on their website:
"iFilm Connections: Asia & Pacific seeks to create a deeper awareness and understanding of Asian and Pacific Island film cultures by providing immediate and comprehensive information about contemporary feature films from these areas.
Building upon the success of www.asianfilms.org, our team of film scholars, critics, and curators promise to revolutionize access and understanding of culturally significant independent films from Asia and the Pacific Islands. We offer faculty, students, film leaders, and the interested public a way to stream a selection of carefully selected feature films that can be used with original materials on this site to intelligently analyze the impact of globalization on the diverse cultures of Asia and the Pacific."
The website is designed to highlight and encourage the film makers and film productions of the Asian and Pacific cultures. some of the films now playing include:
Nostalgia for the Countryland
Thuong nho dong que, Vietnam (1995)
Death on a Full Moon Day
Pura Handa Kaluwara, Sri Lanka (1997)
Dark Night of the Soul
Anantha Rathriya, Sri Lanka (1996)
Sandy Lives
Doi Cat, Vietnam (1999)
Girl from Hunan, A
Xiangnu xiaoxiao, China (1986)
Black Snow
Ben ming nian, China (1990)
Song of Tibet, The
Yeshe Dolma, China (2000)
Land Has Eyes, The
Pear ta ma 'on maf, Fiji (Rotuma) (2004)
Check it out!!
Ok, now many of our students have a serious love affair with anime. To deny it would eb wrong and to ignore it would be fatal. I say, look on and let the animation and cartoon fcator guide you into a slight inderstanding of the eastern cultures. Does the program serve as an educational resource? No! Couls yo use it in the classroom?No! But you can watch it at home and/or provide the information online on a teacher webiste or blog!
Follow the link to gain access to awesome anime and many full episodes at that!http://beta.vreel.net/watch_18512.html
I enjoyed the movie and greatly appreciated the messages contained within, however it did move a bit slow and I'm sure some people might have to be in the right frame of mind before they can fully appreciate such a film. I'm not sure how I could use such a film with my 7th and 8th graders, but I like the idea that someone mentioned about challenging the kids to do without some device for a week. Maybe just showing the clip where the kid's video game dies and have them write about what they would do in such a circumstance. Also many kids do experience going without these tech devices when the go to Camp KEEP and other places. They usually have fun and don't complain. Unfortunately those experiences usually don't continue for many of them, however at least they know it can be done and it can also be fun.
Does anyone know an easy way to put together a DVD with only video clips?
"To Live,"directed by Zhang YiMo, is a great film about how Cultural Revolution's impact on ordinary people in China. I found the film at Thousand Oaks Public Library. Professor Ye also mentioned about it yesterday.
For teaching ideas on this film, there are plenty of satires and ironies. This film also covered a great spectrum of other events, such as the Great Leap Forward, along with Cultural Revolution.
I liked the movie. I grew up in Korea, and I was fully aware how much tension the North and the South holds. My parents lived through the Korean War. I appreciate the brotherhood the movie portrays. I also sympathizes how much guilt the South soldier suffered which eventually caused his suicide. I am not sure how much possibility the same kind of incident could occur, but non the less it is possible to build some kind of relationship over the long term if they have the chance to encounter each other face-to-face.
The Los Angeles Times said, "One of the most beautiful films imaginable." It was also nominated for a 2005 Golden Globe for best foreign film. I also read that it was the largest budget film in China at the time. My expectations and hopes were pretty high when I started the film. All in all it seemed like a hokey "B" movie, and I do not understand why it was nominated. Many other Chinese films I have seen are far better. The movie itself seems to be based upon Chinese mythology, and not any particular historical event, not that that is bad. I did a little googling about Chinese mythology and I didn't seem to find a goddess that fit the goddess in the movie. The action scenes were not up to par with that of "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon," "House of Flying Daggers," or "Hero." There appears to be some symbolism in the movie, many images of cherry blossoms or peach blossom trees. I have a feeling that this movie might have been better fit for a Chinese audience and the mythological and symbolism is missed from the Western perspective. [Edit by="mburditt on Aug 6, 9:59:34 PM"][/Edit]
An effective movie leaves its audience puzzling out apparent inconsistencies or narrative holes. The Way Home incites such questions. Where is the (grand)father? Why is the daughter so different from her selfless mother?
In a movie of 88 minutes, the first question could easily have been answered in one comment by the daughter; therefore, the filmmaker has deliberately left it unanswered, and left the audience to wonder. Perhaps this ambiguity is of great importance in understanding this movie, especially in Korea’s patriarchal, hierarchical culture. In fact, I suspect that the crux of this movie is that when the pinnacle of society has been upended, deposed, replaced by a child, the culture suffers.
The grandmother is the living image of an ancestor – so old she walks with her torso horizontal to the ground, so weathered her face is brown and furrowed, so removed from modern technology that she beats clothes with a stick to wash them, carries water from the stream with two buckets suspended upon a yoke, and defecates into a porcelain pot. And, most significantly, she is silent. In this tale, the ancestors and their traditional wisdom are mute.
If children could learn wholly by example, then the daughter would possess the wisdom of her mother. But, as Dr. Dube commented, “It must have skipped a generation.” The daughter looks ridiculous in her urban sheath and high heels as she stumbles along the dusty, rocky path to her mother’s rustic hut, especially when juxtaposed to the grandmother simple grace as she slowly climbs the same path. The daughter’s gifts of underwear and “nourishing food for old age” have little practical value; although, the grandmother treasures them as if they were thoughtful symbols of honor. The daughter has no patience with her bratty child, alternately ignoring him, then ineffectively slapping at him. She has not learned wisdom from the example of her mother.
Children are the embodiment of potential, and the boy, Sang-Woo, does show that potential. He tries to teach his grandmother to write so that he can come to her if she is sick – the traditional duty of the devoted child. He seems to long for the grounding that, literally, comes from a strong foundation, a foundation that modern society has upended. Sang-Woo has begun to hear the silent messages of past generations, but his education is interrupted by the return of his mother. As he leaves his grandmother, this child who whines and cries at the slightest discomfort, shows little emotion or gratitude until the last moment when he hands her a treasured card with a message she cannot read. The chasm between the generations remains unbridged, with only a tenuous thread between them.
Reviewers proclaim, “…after seeing all the sacrifices the gentle old woman makes for him, he [Sang-Woo] soon learns some important lessons about love, kindness, selflessness and humility” (http://www.seoulstyle.com/). But perhaps this movie is more about the consequences of the silencing of those traditional lessons. Sang-Woo’s journey towards wisdom is interrupted; he is returning to the isolating environment that spawned his unbearable narcissism. Perhaps, instead, as Anthony Leong suggests, "The Way Home could also be considered an examination of the gap between South Korea's older generation, which has witnessed the painful emergence of the country's democracy, and its youth, who have grown up in a world of cell phones, Internet access, and music videos. Like Sang-woo, it is sometimes easy to forget that today's Take Care of My Cat generation owes much of their liberties and luxuries to the sacrifices made by their Peppermint Candy predecessors” (Korean Cinema Edition http://www.cinekorea.com/). Rather than reducing this movie to a tear-jerking tribute to the selfless kindness of grandmothers, perhaps we need to examine the society that produces arm-jerking parents of selfish brats.
So, if you accept my previous proposition that The Way Home represents the potential for disorder when the young are left without wise guidance and can only learn civilized behavior by attending to their progenitors, then the grandson's behavior mirrors that of the boys stranded on a Pacific island during WWII. Without the strong hand of a wise sage, disrespect and chaos prevail.[Edit by="skelly on Aug 4, 8:34:51 AM"][/Edit]
I will start by saying I loved this movie. My impression from the title and the picture on the cover of the DVD was that there was going to be a lot more action. This movie was a pleasing surprise, since it showed the subtle side to how the samurai lived. One part love story and another part showing the decline of the samurai and the code of Bushido. This film could be used to show the decline of the warrior class along with the honor that the leading character shows at being a samurai, even though others clearly do not. It also shows how the Japanese felt about marrying into different classes. [Edit by="mburditt on Aug 5, 10:33:18 PM"][/Edit]
[Edit by="mburditt on Aug 6, 10:02:17 PM"][/Edit]
This movie came out last year, it starred Edward Norton, and was a sort of dry little story about a missionary to China who took his wife, who cheated on him with a cad, then he died, (the missionary, not the cad) but not before he and the wife have a reconciliation, whereupon she returns to England and bears his child, conceived during said reconciliation.
That being said, the acting was pretty good. The real value of the film, to me, included the shots of China, the depictions of the activities and the settings. It is like a travelog for China. The set director was so good, in the scenes during the summer, you almost sweat watching the humidity. If you rent it, you can ff through most of the people scenes because it's pretty predictable, but the shots of China are incredible.
" Journey to the West" produced by Steven Harding, and directed by Peter MacDonald, is a full of humor and is just the movie to show kids in a classroom environment. When teaching how one philosophy can undermine the other so that the new one can be accepted, "Journey to the West" is the film that does that. It undermines Confucianism by making Confucius look like the bad guy. The plot is about restoring Chinese traditions and values and not allowing outside influence. Its characters, Nick (protagonist) is convinced to save an ancient book , Journey to the West, written by Master Wu. Piggsy, Friar Sand, and Monkey help Nick fight off the evil Master Shu Chung Tzu and the other 4 traditional masters. Kwan Ying is the Buddhist goddess of mercy who intervenes so that Nick is able to save the manuscript. This movie not only emphasizes Buddhist teachings and about ancient manuscripts being scensored. This movie is clean from bloody violence of traditional Kung fu movies. Kids will love the humor displayed throughout the movie and will captivate their attention.[Edit by="rosanna_elgohary on Aug 4, 9:30:56 PM"][/Edit]
The Legend 2, a Corey Yuen Film, produced by Jet Li, David Lai, and Chu Po Chu, starring Jet Li is set in the background of Han Mei village. The movie opens with poetry about the longing of coming home- remembering the good things of the past. Sai Yuk (Jet Li) is the protagonist and is protected by his uncle, Master Chan who is really the emperor. Assassination attempts are made on Master Chan, but Sai Yuk helps fight the assassins off. Master Chan is leader of the Flower Society but Master Yun wants that position; he is behind the assassination attempts. There is humor throughout the movie and will hold the attention of those watching. Sai Yuk's mother keeps you rolling on the floor scene after scene. when teaching about overthrowing the Manchus to establish a new Ming Dynasty this helps put things into focus. Chinese culture is seen throughout the movie in the caligraphy, lanterns adorning the courtyard, mother's devotion to her son, subject's loyalty to the emperor, and other unspoken things like drinking. The Legend 2 can be revisited over and over because of the humor of the women characters. It shows the love of one wife and the fighting ability of all the women involved.[Edit by="rosanna_elgohary on Aug 4, 10:02:28 PM"][/Edit]
"Iron Monkey," a Miramax & Quentin Tarantino film, by Yuen Wo Ping. Iron Monkey finds himself in a land of corruption in 1858. The scene is set in the countryside that was ravaged by warlords and terrible flooding. Peasants flock to cities to find protection and food but instead find greedy corrupt officals and merchants eager to prey on them. In the village of Chekiang a hero rises to defend the people. Caligraphy and a drawn picture of the Iron Monkey is the sign he leaves when he robs from the rich. This movie is like a Chinese Robin Hood story. Iron Monkey (really Dr. Yang-Rongguang Yu) steals from the rich and gives to the poor and refugees. The young actor is quite a martial artist, his witty and quick responses to those opposing him are funny. The PG-13 movie is suitable for kids.
"The Postman Fights Back," is a Golden Harvest Presentation A Raymond Chow Production, and directed by Ronny Yu is about how western war machinery made its way into the Zhou Dynasty; a machine gun. A man named Hu (Eddy Ko Hung) requires a special mission to deliver boxes to Zhao Long, a bandit that controls a very strategic area. When money alone doesn't work, Hu holds Yao Jin's sisters hostage. Yao Jin outs together a team to take the boxes which he is told are gifts for Zhao's birthday. This team comprises a courier named Ma (Leung Kar Yan), and explosives expert (Fan Mei Sheng), and a con man gambler, Fu Jun (Chow Yun Fat). The relatively simple task is not so simple as the group is attacked by various groups on the way. Unbeknownst to the team, Hu is using them to draw out his enemies.
Poverty and jobs being deleted because of technology force the people to take unwanted jobs.
Wow, I like the romance. Watching a film is almost like going through a daily life with the characters. I was wondering how the Japanese use the fire pit in the middle of the room, and the movie showed it nicely. They pile a bunch of wood in the room next to the fire pit.
The samurai was a very kind-hearted man. Even at the moment he almost got killed, his intention was just injuring the rebel enough then letting him escape. Unfortunately, the rebel did not make it. It was interesting to see the rebel's dream-like movement right before he died. It was like a dance.
Also, toward the end, when the injured samurai returned his home, the girl he loved was there. She decided to stay there because she expected that the samurai will die for sure. Her intention was to take care of his parent and daughters after the samurai's death. That is very moving. They were very reserved in expressing their emotion. After going through all the trauma, when they saw each other, all they did was holding each other's hand and crying. In western movie, there sure would be a hug and a kiss. Well, Japanese samurai would not do that.
This movie was not only very touching but inspiring as well. It is simply amazing that the people who performed in this movie are not even trained actors nor will they be. What struck me the most, and what we can learn as educator, is that going out of your way to show a child you care can have an immense impact on them. In the movie we see the impact quite quickly. However, in our weekly dealings we might not possibly see anything until much later in life, and even then we might not ever hear it. So the lesson is, keep going out of your way to help children, and it is bound to have an impact in some way. In the great words of Dr. Seuss, "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."
Olympic Games, Beijing 2008 Opening Ceremony
The Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremony started on August 8, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. in Beijing, China. NBC (Channel 4) broadcasted it on August 8, starting at 7:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.
It was a spectacular show directed by Zhang Yimou, one of China's great film directors of this century. 91,000 people came to witness this Olympics. NBC said that 100,000 police were protecting Beijing because of the possible political strains.
China's political problems with Tibet and Sudan shocked and angered some of the world. But those protests brought Chinese people together. Also they have internal problems like the massive and destructive Sichuan earthquake on May 12 this year that killed 80,000 people, and left 1,000,000 people homeless. In China a half billion peole live on $2.00 per day and protests are not welcome. Tom Brocaw's quote was worth listening to, "Don't assume what Chinese goverment will do."
Another interest political issue was that how the mainland China, Olympic committee, and Taiwan government came to agree on the name of Taiwan at this Olympic. Taiwan was called "Chinese Taipei", not called "Repuclic of Taiwan" any longer. Also they did not use the flag of Taiwan. Instead they used the special Olympic flag. Another issue was that Hong Kong represented themselves, not together with mainland China, even after it became a part of China.
It was a beautiful and spectacular show artistically. Zhang Yimou created cinematic beauty in the "Bird's Nest" the new national stadium. The theme was "Harmony": inner peace and external peace. He used the influence of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism in the ceremony. To show "the world come together", 5 rings were lifted and made to look like a flower, accompnaied by peaceful and harmonious Chinese singing by 56 children representing the 56 ethnic groups in China. They were chosen from average families from art schools all over China. Their ethnic clothes were so beautiful.
The idea of traditional Chinese art was shown dramatically. Three dancers with black clothes represented 3 important arts: painting, calligraphy, and poetry. They drew a stroke one at a time to express the harmony of mountains and water.
Zhang Yimou created the symbol of "great wall", then turned them into Chinese plum flowers with a massive show operation. We wonder how he did it. We may think that in today's technology, it might be done by computer. But the truth was, he used "people". To prove this, at the end of the scene, each performer's face appeared one by one.
During the show scene about the Ming Dynasty, a massive image of sea and Zhen He's ship appeared. It was said that in this ceremony 15,000 individual performers were used, and not one of them was used or appeared twice. It tells the world, "We have the people!".
"Taichi" was used to show China's graceful martical arts and ancient philosophies. Toward the end of the show, the girls were each holding a big picture of a child's face from another country, and sang "One world, one dream". The host said, "There are issues and disagreement in our world, but we are here to celebrate the Olympics together."
This is an excellent documentary which I would like to show parts of to my students, and teach them about China and Chinese culture. It will open their minds to the new China and old China.
:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D
[Edit by="kirion on Aug 10, 8:36:18 PM"][/Edit]
I am looking for a Korean film titled, Two Flags. I have searched 1 Korean music store and the internet for at least two hours; has anyone ever heard of it or come across it?! It would be a great addition to a lesson that I am planning on the Korean War. Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated!
I included the link that led to this relentless search...
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/133882/Two-Flags/overview
The movie I recommend you see is Planet B-Boy. This is the offical website. . Check out the trailer. I first saw it at the San Francisco Asian-American Film Festival in March 2008.
It is about the B-boying (aka breakdancing) world. Though it is a Harlem based dance form it has become very popular around the world, specifically in South Korea and Japan. The film follows 6 dance groups (one from France, one from the US, one from Italy, one from Japan and two from S. Korea) from around the world as they prep for the "Battle of the Year" that is held in Berlin each year.
The film producer/director does a great job of telling the back story of these boys as they prep for the competition. The dancers share about their everyday lives-the joys, tragedies, culture, and financial struggles (many of the dancers come from tough financial backgrounds and are sacraficing greatly for the love of the music and dance). The viewer learns a lot about the everyday life of people in both Japan and Korea, who have not benefited as greatly from the economic success of each of the countries.
In the classroom, it would be helpful to show the clips where the dancers are being interviewed. Middle shoolers and high schoolers can easily connect with the thoughts and feelings of the people in Asia. On the flip side, some of their cultural and life experiences are very different from most Americans (e.g. all Korean boys are required to join the army, one of the Japanese dancers has intense family obligations, etc). When having students analyze and learn about modern East Asia this film can give great person accounts. Using clips of this film can help connect students to the world through music while sharing the specific experiences of Koreans and Japanese.
I believe the film is still showing in the theater and in festivals so I am not sure if it is available on DVD (I will keep this board posted if I find out otherwise). Check YouTube to see if you can find clips.
SPOILER: One of the Korean teams wins the International competition at the end of the move. Subsequently, the team becomes a national icon and their routine is shown in an ad for Korea (this you can find on YouTube) which might be interesting to wrap into a discussion of modern day Korea.
This movie will address many of the California 6th grade standards on China. A few ways I can use it with my students are: pointing out the hierarchy of the Samurai system during the part Iguchi (Seibei=the Twilight Samurai) was chastized for not taking care of himself. The importance of women in this society can be shown by the hard times Iguchi and his daughters faced after his wife died. Then when Tomoe came to help life became so much better for them. The importance of the caste system is expressed by Iguchi's refusal to marry Tomoe, he felt unworthy. My pre-movie question will be, why did Iguchi fight Captain Koda (the abusive husband) with a wooden baton? I will stop the movie during the scene between Iguchi and Zenemon Yogo and have them discuss why they think Iguchi didn't want to kill Yogo. I can also have them write a conversation between two Samurais in their situation and they could rewrite the ending (historical fiction). This was a great movie.
I was super-psyched about seeing this film during the seminar and I think I may have hyped it up too much in my mind. Don't get me wrong, it is a sweet film featuring a sympathetic young girl as the star. You really feel for her position as a substitute teacher in a rural village where moving bricks is like winning the lottery. There's the token bratty kid who makes her job hell, especially when he goes to the city to make money. This puts our heroine in a spot -- she wants the raise promised to her if she keeps all the students in school but cannot afford the bus ticket to track him down. The best scenes of the movie are of her and the other students trying to come up with a plan to get the money. She finally does get to the city and this is where the movie requires an editor. The movie drags a bit, especially when she has conversations with various people she meets (were these scenes improvised?). At any rate, all's well that ends well.
Middle school students would find the scenes with kids funny, but may lose interest during the overly long city scenes. They would be intrigued that there are no actors in the film. They would also come up with some interesting answers to the question "What would you do?"
Yes, the subject title says it all. And yes, I am very aware that the film has many, many historical innaccuracies and hollywood-ized scenes and sequences. Nevertheless, if used in junction with our materials in class and the current 7th grade textbooks, it can be a good motivating tool to teach about Warrior Japan.
The film has beautiful cinematography. The film can be used to show the geocraphy of Japan: from the clips of Mt. Fuji in the opening scenes, to the flower blossoms in the garden when Katsumoto is speaking to Tom Cruise. I would have already had a fun lesson on Mt. Fuji, describing its height, and how today, its very much an attraction for foreigners. I would show them lots of my own personal photos of my 2 years in Japan, as well as the famous artworks of Mt. Fuji.
One of the cool things about the film, is the way it really shows the strongest aspects of Samurai culture. Granted, there are many simplifications and errors, but for most students, this film can provide a decent groundwork. One of the multiple choice questions I found on the periodic assessments went something like: "Bravery, strength, cunning, and loyalty are the qualties of a..." The answer of course, was a samurai. I would forward to the escape sequence in which Katsumoto's son and Cruise help him escape from captivity, and also show much of the final battle scene. I would be sure to be constantly pausing the film and asking "What quality of a Samurai did that last scene just show? Bravery? How many of you think loyalty? Etc"
Other important tidbits that can be introduced and taught:
+Cruise must take off his shows in the home
+Japanese theatre in the Ninja attack scene
+differences between Samurai and Ninja
+Samurai weapons and training (much of the village scene)
As an alternative, perhaps the film "Zatoichi" could work as well. However, the problem lies in the fact that the film is all in Japanese, and many of my ESL students just cannot read the subtitles that fast. Also, this highly entertaining film might be a little bit too violent.
Thus, THE LAST SAMURAI would be a decent way to motivate young students, especially students who find history boring or are lower level readers.
One of my favorite Asian films to watch is “House of Flying Daggers,” directed by Zhang Yimou. The setting of the story centers around the last years of the Tang Dynasty. During this time a revolutionary group known as House of Flying Daggers is causing a great deal of problems for the government. Two prominent policemen, Leo and Jin, learn that a blind dancer employed in a local brothel could be the daughter of the Flying Daggers recently deceased leader. The two of them subsequently concoct a plot that they believe will lead them to the Flying Daggers new leader. What ensues are a plethora of plot twists and turns that take the viewer on a journey of love, and betrayal, and jealousy, and sacrifice; and in the end, a question of “How could I have done that to the woman I love?”
This would be a great movie for my students to watch after reading Shakespeare’s Othello. This story too takes it reader on a road of plot twists and turns. The elements of love, betrayal, and jealousy work together to contrive the tragedy that ultimately transpires. And in the end, there is likewise a question of “How could I have done that to the woman I love?” While there are obvious differences in the two stories, there are some marvelous similarities that I could have my students explore in a comparative essay. They could discuss how different approaches were used to convey the similar themes. They could discuss the similar ways the men in both stories are moved to act in response to love and the thought of betrayal. There are so many roads of similarity that the students could take that I believe they would have a fun time examining these two very moving narratives.
Try this site for a VCD:http://www.bluelaser.com/video/vcd/korean/two-flags-vcd/
This was a great movie. I plan to use it with 9th graders for a cultural compare/contrast with the star-crossed lovers theme from Romeo and Juliet, which is the Shakespeare play for 9th grade. It will be perfect from the standpoint of what happened to the lovers and their plans when, in contrast to R&J, they follow the dictates of society and their culture, and wait, or even refuse to get together in spite of their feelings for each other.
While I agree the film could use some editing, I am struck by the simplicity of the dialog. I think it is interesting and useful in the classroom in terms of characterizing the Chinese culture. Before showing the film, I would begin a discussion about the communication styles in our high school, including how they talk to each other and to adults, etc., encouraging them to make a list of "ground rules"
After viewing the film, we could do the same for the Chinese students in the film, of course, highlighting the lack of drama in their communication. I would make a point of noting how the Substitute in the film simply repeats her request to the Teacher and to the Mayor, over and over, until they come up with a different solution, or until they say something that makes her understand she might need to change her viewpoint instead.
I have been finding different ways to show my 9th graders that using the amount of profanity they use is not because "they are free," it is because they are engaging in the first level of violence. I would use the film to ask them to explore different ways they could communicate with each other, their parents and their teachers, adapting the techniques in the film to their own communication style. I would also point out that the children in school were rambunctious, and that is pretty much universal. However, the substitute, though only 12, is much more serious in her communication, and obviously takes her job very seriously. I could bring up the Olympics in view of this, and discuss how seriously the athletes take their jobs, and the performers in the opening ceremonies, and the little 8 year old boy who saved the others in the earthquake saying he was hall monitor and it was his job. This will be great for a reflection piece on what their job is, and how seriously they take it.
I agree with Sharon that The Way Home is an excellent movie and can easily translate to the classroom.
I see the main thrust of the movie as the contrast between generations. The scenes with the mother and son were brief because the viewers pretty much know what their life is like. They show the jumble of visual and auditory stimulation that just creates a din in today's world; traffic, people, signage, lights, noise, electronics, etc.
Most of the time is spent on the grandmother's way of life. I think Sang-Woo is actually all of us. He is completely absorbed with his electronics, his entertainment and distractions in the city, that when he meets his silent grandmother in her very simple, simplistic lifestyle, he doesn't understand it. His lack of understanding, coupled with his frustrations in his busy life, (no dad, mom dumps him off) make his shallow, self-involved side show up in rudeness to his grandmother. Reminds me of something I read on the internet, that we were discussing at our table one morning; the rise in 'tantrums' in the workplace. The generation of people entering the workplace right now are reacting much the same as Sang-Woo. Interestingly, it is not resulting in job loss or even loss of promotions!
I think the author and director are offering the story as a way to ask ourselves if we really do want to let go of the past, just because the technology was missing. They show that even a self-involved little boy can make the connection, and want to keep contact with his elders.
I would use this as a reflection prompt for the students: What part of your background do you always want to remember; what are you going to do about it? Think of all the things you spend your time on every day; iPod, TV, CDs, DVDs, cars, phones, cell phones, video games, etc. etc. What if tomorrow, someone pulled the plug, and none of these things would be working or available. How would you spend your time?
I think this would be a good critical thinking exercise and a wonderful writing exercise.
Excellent movie. I'm not fond of war pix, or mysteries, for that matter, but this surpasses both. Shortly after watching this, I saw "Where is Matt Dancing?" on YouTube, and in one segment, he is dancing in what is labled "Korean DMZ" - one other person, a soldier, is just standing there watching him. The effect was really comical.
In any case, JSA would be an excellent film to show students for discussion of roles and boundaries. A prompt might be; 'In the moment of truth, who defines our roles, and who or what defines our boundaries?' There would be plenty of examples to draw from in the film, from the guy who steps on the land mine and cries for mercy to his 'enemies,' to the moment of the shooting, or when each of the soldiers responsible for shooting end up killing themselves.
I read something about the film that said the director is planning a sequel - JSA America - and base it on the border conflict with Mexico. That will be interesting!
Original Title: Tasogare Seibei たそがれ清兵衛
This movie is directed by Yamada Yoji who has made every effort to display the complexities of the ancient Japanese culture and the art of sword fighting. It is one of the best contemporary samurai movies, with a wonderful cast of characters and a touching story of a man outcast by changing times he lived in.
In mid-19th century, end of Edo period, In Unasaka (Province of Yamagata), Iguchi Seibei, a low ranking samurai leads a life without glory. The samurai co-workers call him "Tasogare" (twilight). He must work in the fields and accept piece work (making insect cages) to feed his family. He even sold his sword! (a samurai's soul!) But he approved his skills with wooden sword defeating the opponent.
Tomoe, his long-time love, divorces a brutal husband. This gives Seibei the opportunity to marry her. But he remains bound by the code of honor of samurai, and his own social precedence. The second chance came to marry her after he came back from killing Yogo Zenemon. This time he finallly married Tomoe and had 3 years of life together before he died in the Boshin War. "That was the happiest years of their lives." His daughter said.
This film is different from many other samurai themed films in that it concentrates on showing the main character's everyday struggles, instead of focusing on action-oriented battles; the film has only two fight scenes.
I will show this film to my students, and let them write a "film review". Then we will discuss Japanese samurai code of honors, rituals (marriage, funeral, etc.), hierarchy, expression of love, true spirit, etc.
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