I read Iron & Silk by Mark Salzman. I would describe it as River Townlite. This is the true story/memoir of a young man who goes to China to teach (1982-4) English in a college in Changsha (Hunan Provence). Most of the story is dedicated to this young man's involvement in the martial arts. He held a major in Chinese literature from Yale, and spoke both Mandarin and Cantonese, so he didn't seem to spend much time on teaching and didn't have problems adjusting to the language (unlike Hessler, in River Town ). Salzman's primary interest was in taking lessons from people who offered to teach him martial arts and in practicing the skills he learned in those lessons.
As a result, the memoir would be interesting for high school students to read, particularly boys, but I felt the story was self-serving and not especially deep. He was very young when he went (just out of college), and he wrote his memoir as it happened. There was little analysis or introspection; however, he does explain how people respond to him, the cultural context and expectations, etc., of China in the 1980's.
The book is written as a collection of chapters, broken into sections. It is mostly in chronological order, but each chapter can stand on its own, so sections could be used as short examples of memoir in class (high school). And, the memoir could be used for independent reading and/or a literature circle option. Courtney Lockwood
I read Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah and can see why students enjoy this memoir. It is short (199 pages), high-interest, and true -- all of which appeal to my students (high school). As I read this, I was astounded at the emotional cruelty meted out by the author's step-mother and father. Their dislike of her -- she was a girl and her mother died from complications from childbirth so she was blamed for the death -- was open and endless.
This book is nearly in the same category as the very popular memoir, A Child Called It. While Adeline is not abused physically, she must find personal strength to overcome a lonely childhood. She uses her intelligence as a means of success, always hoping that her success in school will win the approval of her father and step mother.
It is an interesting, compelling story. It is written in a matter-of-fact style so the reader empathizes with the author. Courtney Lockwood
For those of you looking for examples of shamanism, I would recommend Kim Ki Duk's new Korean film "The Bow" (as in bow and arrow). If you’re someone who just appreciates art film, you would enjoy this film too. The Bow is an allegorical story about an old man living on a boat with a young 16 year old girl, awaiting her seventeenth birthday when he would marry her. The girl is held captive, and the only contact with outside world she has is through fishermen that the old man brings on board to make money. The girl seems very happy in her little world and is completely oblivious of her captive state, until a boy her age comes on board. The movie is open ended, and full of symbolism and subjectivity. For me, the whole movie is a shamanistic ritual of appeasing a dead spirit. In the movie, you can see elements of shamanism such as divination by bow and arrow, and a traditional Korean wedding ceremony. This movie is colorful, musical, and rich in artistry and culture. This is definitely my favorite of Kim-Ki-Duk’s films. Here is the link to check out the movie:
What is it like for a western woman to compete as a salarywoman in a Japanese Corporation? Read the hilarious autobiographical novel by Amelie Northomb called Fear and Tremblings to find out. Amelie Northomb is a Belgian born in Japan. At the age of six, she moves back to Belgium but, feels that her "Japaneseness" keeps her from fitting-in in Belgium. When she graduates from college, she decides to go back to work in Japan. Her misunderstandings of protocals and tradition of working in a Japanese company constantly keeps her in trouble.
Today's Los Angeles TImes Book Review section (Sunday, August 13, 2006) reviews a book by Washington Post reporter John Pomfret called Chinese Lessons. The author writes that -- like Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China and Wild Grass: Three Stories of Change in Modern China, this tells the story of China's tumultuous change through intimate tales of its people.
In this book, Pomfret tells the story of five classmates who survive the Cultural Revolution and later reform in China, showing how their lives were affected by the immense changes that have occurred in the past 50 years. The review provides a paragraph about each of three of his subjects as well as more information about Pomfret's experiences in China. He was given the scoop on the crackdown at Tiananmen by a friend who was then imprisoned for years for leaking the news which Pomfret didn't use.
This looks like an interesting inside look at several different ways people responded to the revolution and reform, one that would not be officiallly condoned.
For those of you looking to hear first hand account of life during Korean War, I recommend "The Three Day Promise: A Korean Soldier's Memoir" by Donald K. Chung. In this book, he talks about how his three day promise to his mom about going back home to see her after a short visit in Southern part of Korea becomes a 40 year one when South Korea becomes separated from North at the 38th parallel. This is a story shared by many Koreans who lived through the war.
When I heard that there was a book by an American who moved to Japan for a year and actually went through the experiences of becominga geisha, I was intrigued. I found the book Geisha by Liza Dalby to be very lengthy but informative. At the time I read Dalby's book I had not yet read or seen the movie "Memiors of a Geisha" . I wanted to get her perspective first. Dalby is an anthropologist who moved to Japan to study Geisha. She did have the advantage of fitting in and possibly having the unique opportunity of being accepted into the Geisha communitites since she had lived in Japan before and knew Japanese. She was welcomed by the Geisha community of Pontocho in Kyoto. Kyoto( besides Tyoko) is where most traditional Geisha seem to work in Japan. In her book she walks the reader through what training to be a Geisha would be like for a year. She participated in many Geisha activities, classes and jobs or banquets where she was actually part of the entertainment! She became quite good at playing the musical instrument the shamisen that she had a reputation!. Dalby even had a Geisha name: Ichigiku. Dalby had an oksan (tea house manager) who took her under her wing and was assinged a older sister who helped train her. Her older sister ended up being one of the Geisha that sat next to President Gerald Ford on his publized visit to Japan. One of the reoccuring topics during the book was who Geisha really are,how they are precieved and misconceptions regarding geisha. She really emphasized how most geisha took the role of geisha because they liked the arts. Traditional geisha spent most of the daytime hours taking lessons of dance, musical instruments and singing. During their heydey they were considered the trend setters and very stylish. Dalby aslo discusses the delimas the geisha faced with modernization/ westernization. If they stayed traditional they loose their trend setting appeal. Another part of a geisha's job was to be able to hold converstion with banquet guests. She needed to be worldly. The role of wives of the guests were usuallyto raise children and cook not to be able to hold conversation about arts or worldly affairs. Geisha were sexy and offered what wives couldn't offer. One of Dalby's geisha friends isnisted that Geisha were no different from other women. However I agree with Dalby's different perspective. Dalby recollected "This very evening she had danced an acrobatic dance, nibbled snacks from the tips of the tea master's chopsticks, and drunk herself silly. What ordinary Japanese woman ever does such things?(p. 141)" Dalby includes exerpts from Japanese writers during that time period with their opinions. A poet Hagiwara Sakutamo writes "If I hear someone say he is going off to see a geisha, that can mean only one thing nowasays-geisha are not companions of the mind, they are companions of the body." Dalby gives the impression in her book that geisha shouldn't be stereotyped for this. Some geisha would be offended by this generalization. If I understood correctly, certain communities of geisha are known for different talents or personalities. The geisha known to provide more than the traditional entertainment (conversation, dance or music) were the "onsen" geisha from the hot spring resort towns. Dalby visited and interviewed the geisha at the atami hot springs. Another topic Dalby addressed was who became geisha. From reading her book I am under the impression many were born into it, and or came from poor families who needed the money. Some geisha had dreams of finding a patron who they provided extra service for and in return were set up with extra pay and an apartment. Unfrotunatley for most this wouldn't last forever, and it paid a huge price on their heart. Dalby found that many moved on to be smart business women opening their own bars or tea houses, while ohters dreamed of the cinderella story that one of their patrons would acutally marry them. One very interesting story was of Oyuki Morgan. Geisha usually entertain rich, famous and political guests at the tea houses, but most don't have the luck of Oyuki. An American millionare saw her dance in the famous Miyako Odori and extended his stay in Japan just to get to know her. They ended up marrying and moving to the U.S. I tried looking up this intriguing famous story on the internet and only found another book that mentioned it. If interested it is Women of the Pleasure Quarters: The Secret History of the Geisha by Lesley Downer. Dalby's book is very extensive but other facts I found interesting was the history of the Japanese government opening and closing flower districts. They seemed to go back and forth with which was more important morality or being able to control "the movement of suspicious characters". The governent would place restrictions, require licences and even tried to get invovled in decisions related to how geisha are paid. Dalby breaks down how geisha's made money and how many had to work off their training. All in all I would recommed this book for your own reading... not necessarily one for the classroom; however you might be able to find some decent sections you could pull out for classroom use that explain traditional culture and give a real perspective on geisha instead of what people just assume from watching movies.
I find the topic of geisha quite interesting and have been reading books on this topic lately. After reading Geisha by Liza Dalby I tried researching a geisha mentioned in her book called Oyuki Morgan. I only found another book in which she is mentioned called Women of the Pleasure Quarters: the Secret Histroy of the Geisha by Lesley Downer. Then I cam accrss an interview of this author. I felt sad to read her research on the decline of the geisha population. Dalby had hinted at it in her book giving graphs of the ups and downs of the population. She had mentioned how bar hostesses are more modern these days, but that in the geisha's most popular time period (late 1800s) there were about 25,000 geisha in Japan. According to Downer's interview on http://archieve.salon.com/books/int/2001/02/17/downer/index1.html the current registries account for 5,000 geisha. Approximently 2,000 true traditional geisha and 3,000 onsen geisha. According to Dalby's book the onsen geisha are the hot spring resort geisha known to provide more than the traditional service. They are what give some geisha a reputation for sex. This is sad news to see that the geisha known for sex now outnumber the traditional geisha. That means the traditional geisha will have that much more of a hard time fighting off the assumtion or generalization that all geisha are like that. Check out the interview... it also addresses the viewpoints of how westerners precieve geisha.
Isn't it amazing how we see East Asia everywhere we look after taking an intensive course? I have been reading Bryce Courney's books on the early days of Australia and New Zealand and marvel at the references to what we learned in E Asia Institue class; ancestor worship by the Maoris, similar to what we studied and opium addiction in Australia, plus the whole China town experience. Although it is not E Asia, since I have only been teaching world histoy for a couple of years, and did not earn my degree in history, I am excited about reading various references to my curriculum in outside readings. Most recently, the Battle of Gallopoli is going to a major component in Solomon's Story, Courtney's Triology which encompasses several generations of pioneer Australian families and events. Hope to see some of you on a trip to Asia or at the upcoming symposium at UCLA in Oct. Cathy Crawford Chaparral High School, Temecula
Thank you for this suggestion; I look forward to reading it and sharing with my high school students. If anyone gets a chance to see Two Rooms or read the book, it is about an American high school (international) teacher who is kidnapped in Beirut in 1984, also a true story.........very relevant for high school students, considering the conflicts with Lebanon and Israel today. Not quite E. Asia, but it is coming to my town as a play and we have a new community theatre for the venue, so I plan to attend! Cathy
This sounds wonderful.......I have collab classes in high school which means some of the students have learning disabilities; book appears to have appeal to all of us! Thanks for the offer. I just saw a boy reading about Jackie Robinson the other day during my quiet reading time. Cathy from Chapparal, Temecula
I was surprised to see the Good Earth by Pearl Buck for sale at Blockbuster.........it is required reading in my school's 10th grade Eng. classes. What a change in culture over the decades and centuries in Chinese (and American) customs. When I visited China in 1976, one of the ladies on our tour was born and grew up in Changsha with missionary parents (in the 30's, I guess) and told us stories very similar. Thanks for the reference. Cathy from Chapparal High in Temecula
I just heard about a book by a prominent Korean contemporary writer Hwang Suk Young called “The Guest”. It sounds very interesting. Here’s the description of the book I found at UC Berkely event site. This book definitely goes on my “to read” list. The Guest, a novel about a massacre in North Korea wrongly attributed to the Americans that was in fact a battle between Christian and Communist Koreans, was published in 2002. The "guest" is a euphemism in Korean for smallpox, or an unwanted visitor that brings death and destruction, and it is used in the novel to describe the twin horrors that Christianity and Communism became when introduced to Korea.
I have done a few movie reviews in this forum and plan to do more... however if any reviews I do sound interesting, or you just haven't found many places to buy asian movies... then I have a few suggestions. I get most of my movies from a company called Drunken Master. They ususally have a booth set up at the Los Angeles Comic Book Convention that happens monthly at the Shrine Auditorium. However they are appartenly located in the Meltdown Comics on 7522 Sunset Blvd. 323-850-5758. Another place I have seen a farily good size section of Asian cinema is Ameoba Records also on Sunset.
I read and saw the movie Memoirs of a Geisha. I read the book first. It was told with such detail and exquisite creative descriptions. I was wondering if these descriptions would carry accross to the movie. The book actually did a better job of describing how in awe the main character was of the kimono, the city, arctitecture,etc... The imagery was quite powerful in her big dance scene of the movie, and in the locations the movie was shot were beautiful as well. The way she expressed herself was far more effective in the book. There were a few times her lovely descriptions from the book were used in the movie, but not enough. The book, as usually books do, definently gave more character development and background. The movie covered her faimly up to when she rqan away from the okiya in minutes, while this was given 100 pages in the book. All in all, I enjoyed both. You can see seperate reviews of both in the forum.
I was a little surprised this book was written by a man. Then I read the translator's note (Jakob Haarhuis or Arnold Rusoff Professor of Japanese History New York Univerersity ) inside and felt more comfortable that he explained that the geisha this book is about, Sayuri, met with him many times and that they had built a relationship of trust. However, I then wondered how the author listed on the book, Arthur Golden, changed or edited her story. This story was told quite elegantly. Sayuri's analagy or descritions and feelings tell the reader what a creative mind she has. I wish I could see things the way she describes them. I read Liza Dalby's book as well which picked many of the same part of the geisha culture to describe and explain. Dalby had done a good job writing it in a way to inform non Japanese of the geisha culture. However, there is nothing like hearing someone's perspective and feelings who actually was sold to a geisha house and grew up to become a geisha. The version of the book I read was 428 pages, but I always wanted to keep reading. Her story will tell you more than you will ever imagine of the life of a geisha. I especially liked the relationship she had with her gisha sister Mameha. Both Sayuri and her older sister (there is a special ceremony bonding them qa sisiters even though they are not blood sisters) were both famous or legend geisha. The things that make them legends are quite intriguing. If you have seen the movie, it might be hard to go back and read the book niow, but I highly reccomend it. It is worth the read.
I recently read a book by an author with whom I was unacquainted, Lisa See. The book was entitled The Fan, although I think there was more to the title. This book only took me a day to read. It was utterly phenomenal. Lisa See is an outstanding writer. She uses perfect prose to transport her readers to the 18th Century. Without even picking-up a history book, I gleaned a ton of information about China during this time period. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in 18th Century China, or to a teacher of World Cultures or World Literature. [Edit by="michellejones on Sep 13, 10:23:57 AM"][/Edit]
This book sounds very interesting. I recently read a book that illustrated and discussed the entire process of foot-binding. I would like to read the book you discussed. Did you find this book at a typical book store, or at a university book store?
Do Drunken Master and Ameoba Records have web sites where they sell movies? I do not live anywhere near L.A. Also, are the prices reasonable for the Asian movies? I am trying to locate a couple of movies for a reasonable price-Quitting and another one. Thanks!
Where were you able to see this movie? Did you rent it at a local movie rental? Or was it something at a film festival? This movie sounds very interesting. I would like find it so that I may rent it. Thanks for the info!
Recently, I read the book, The Chinese Helped Build America. This book is a bit older than some, it was published in 1972. Despite it being a bit older than some books, it was very well written, and very thorough. The story begins with a young Chinese man and his mother discussing what they were going to do because there was a terrible drought, and they had been unable to grow anything in their fields. From there, the young man, Ah Wah, travels with his mother to Canton, from there to Hong Kong, and finally, to San Francisco. The author describes in great succinctness the trip, and the subsequent arrival of Ah Wah. Following that, we read of Ah Wah's search for gold, how he helped build the Transcontinental Railroad, how he dealt with the issue of not returning home after the construction of the railroad, obtaining a wife, everyday life, etc. Finally, the last chapter describes the achievements of several Chinese Americans.
This is a very good book. It was written using simple language. So, if you have a 10th grade world history class or an 11th grade United States history class and are looking for a book to read regarding Chinese contributions in American History, this is the book. The book is 90 pages long, and makes for easy, comprehensible reading. I really enjoyed this book!
I was recently relocated to another school. One afternoon, I took time to look at my new school's library, and their collection of books on Asia. One of the books I found was on "Making Chinese Papercuts". At first, I didn't give it a second glance. But later I went back to that book and checked it out of the library.
This book describes the history behind papercuts, the types of papercuts which people make, how to add color, patterns for people who want to try, etc. For anyone teaching art, this is a great book. It could also be used for 7th grade Humanities classes, when covering China.
I really enjoyed this book. One of the things it discusses is what types of cuts are made-flowers and birds, trees, camels, people, characters from the Peking Opera, and so forth. Every year for New Year's, the Chinese change the "paper" in their windows and on their walls. When they change the paper, they add papercuts such as flowers, gardens and magpies. During the day, the light shines through the paper windows, illuminating the papercuts. At night, the light from inside the homes shows the shape of the papercuts to those outside. Either way, everyone gets to enjoy them!
I am contemplating incorporating a couple of days on Chinese papercuts into my curriculum. [Edit by="michellejones on Sep 13, 12:50:05 PM"][/Edit]
For the third day of school this year, I attempted to incorporate a lesson on Origami. This became a bit more complicated than I had originally intended. However, I found a book at the thrift store on Origami.
This book was very straight-forward. Each page contained a black-lined master of a specific Origami pattern. I made multiple copies of each page so that the students in each of my classes could choose the pattern they wanted (after we attempted cranes).
This book helped the students by showing them step-by-step how to make a specific creature-frogs, crows, a hen, etc. This was better than me standing at the front of the class modeling how to make a crane.
The book is called "Easy Origami" and is published by Puffin Books. If you ever want to teach your students basic or advanced Origami, this is the book!
The movie that I recently enjoyed was that of "The Grave of the Fireflies". This movie is a must own if you teach world history. I showed it to my students when discussing the Pacific Theater of WWII. I do this to show the Japanese suffering during WWII. The story is one of two brothers that have to learn to live on their own after their mother tragically dies. I was amazed at my student's response at the movie - they were quiet and looked forward to seeing the movie everyday. I forgot to mention that the movie is an anime film, which just adds to the curiosity of students who love anime.
Here's a link to the movie on Amazon.com[Edit by="xsantibanez on Sep 19, 4:38:43 PM"][/Edit]
for High School. One of our teachers uses it in his Ethnic Studies course and it is an easy read as a project for Modern World History students. I read it a couple of years ago and it reminded me of Nien Cheng's Life and Death in Shanghai, only more suited to High School students. It would also be a good book for my PAVE class to read as a class to learn about cultures other than their own and the strugggles that people faced in the Great Cultural Revolution.
I recently saw an Indian movie (with English subtitles) called as "Umrao Jaan" which tells a story about the abduction and nurturing of a young village girl as a courtesan in 19th. century India. I could not but think that the movie has quite a few similarities with "Memoirs of a Geisha". Though it is a long movie (about 3hrs.20min), it can make for a very good comparision with 'Geisha'. Check the movie theatre website www.naz8.com for directions and show timings.
If you are a teacher in the middle school, possibly even of 9th graders, I recommend a good fictional book entitled Ties That Bind, Ties That Break by Lensey Namioka. I believe it was honored as a Newbery book a few years back (maybe as an Honor book) and received the YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Assn) Best Book award, too. Setting is around 1911 in China and the main character is a young girl who refuses to have her feet bound. Her father relents, much to the chagrin of the mother, and there are many societal consequences for the young girl, especially as she matures. At the end of the book is a short explanation of the history and culture of Chinese feet binding. Wonderful book and young readers can relate to the the plight of the main character.
If you ever see the recent film made from the book, please remember that it is a very Hollywoodized version. The lady who was the consultant for the Japanese dancing was very diplomatic in an interview after the movie was complete. She indicated that despite what suggestions she made with regard to Japanese dance movements and the wearing of kimono, the director told her he had to make it appealing to the Western viewer. I saw pictures of the actress in kimono and was quite disappointed in how "improperly" she wore it and how her dance movements were very unlike the Japanese dance that Geishas learn as part of their cultural training. But I guess, "That's Hollywood!" Aileen Willoughby
A recent nonfiction publication that is an excellent and highly readable history of the Japanese American internment camp experience is called Dear Miss Breed. With content standards at the high school level addressing this topic, Dear Miss Breed is interesting and informative for high school students (I loved it). In the 1940s, Miss Breed was a public librarian in San Diego and many of her library patrons included young Japanese American students in her community. When the students were suddenly sent off to unknown destinations after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, she managed to see some of them off at the train station, giving them postcards with her address on them so they could let her known where they were once they reached their destinations. The book contains copies of the letters that she received from them and includes many primary sources (photos, interviews) as well as explanations of events. Through the months, she sent them books and an assortment of items that her friends did not have in the camps. A wonderful read. If you don't know much about this time period in our history, it is a good way to learn about it. aileen willoughby
Midnight Angels with Cynthia Luster, Moon Lee, and Elaine Lui was a mildly entertaining movie. It is a Hong Kong martial arts crime-busting action movie distributed by Xenon Home Video. It was good to see women in action movies (1996) rather than just the damsel in distress.
[Edit by="dcolato on Feb 1, 10:12:03 PM"][/Edit] [Edit by="dcolato on Oct 30, 8:27:05 PM"][/Edit]
I remember first seeing a Jackie Chan move when I was a student (1992) in Bangkok Thailand. It was his movie where he has a twin (it was released in the late 90's in the U.S.) and I saw it in a big theatre dubbed in Thai. Fast foward to his U.S. release of Rumble in the Bronx and I found it to be so cool. What other word is there to describe it? I didn't really like chinese films because they had those incredibly impossible fighting scenes where one hero battled 5,000 and he always won, not to mention could defy gravity. But as my experience in the asian culture grew i began to enjoy these films and understand their story. And Rumble was just a fun movie.
Apart from that Bruce Lee movie with Kareem Abdul Jabar (a classic), the first asian film I really remember having interest in (high school in the San fernando valley with mostly a hispanic community) was the Charles Bronson movie Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects. I didn't see it until many years later (it wasn't really all that good) but it interested me because of the western/asian combination that they bridged the gap for me to delve into full asian movies...
Speaking of asian/western movies, I did enjoy the Christopher Lambert movie 'The Hunted." It was a good enough story of a high-powered business man in a "fish-out-of-water" enviornment in Asia. This movie really got me interested in how westerners view asia and is a good preview to the movie "rising sun" with wesley snipes and sean connery.
Once I began to see more foreign films, especially asian ones I began to experiment with more than just the martial arts/crime syndicate ones. The Mystery of Rampo was one such film. One of the quotes which I always remember is:
I once heard the story of a desert traveler whose steps were off by a mere one centimeter. He walked in a circle forever
Comedy can be so culturally specific that it's "lost in translation." One of the first comedy movies i saw was the 1996 "Ermo" which is a tale of materialism, friends, and the quest for happiness. The humor which I know has a lot to do with play on words which can't be translated leads often time to view an asian comedy as slapstick. But the message hidden in the symbolism of Ermo's struggle to achieve something (in the movie's case the biggest t.v. in her village) and yet that goal is fleeting (since at the end of the movie the t.v. station stops broadcasting and she is left with everyone there to watch t.v. and yet nothing to see) is a real message to those that work hard for materialism. am i babbling?
Sometimes the movies can get redundant. After watching a multitude of asian cinema I reached "The Story of Xinghua." Overloaded perhaps from the self-induced film festival I realized for the first time the asian formula for a drama: guy has girl. guy beats her. other guy wants her. then she leaves both. hillarity ensues. I burned out on this one. sometimes the cinematography isn't enough.
and then came the movie "The Bride with White Hair!" I think I reached full circle when I saw this two part saga. It was everything I disliked about Asian cinema when I was younger. Special effects, impossible odds, twisted plotlines. a fantasy setting. I was even (emotionally) shocked at the ending. I recommend it to all.[Edit by="dcolato on Oct 30, 8:25:44 PM"][/Edit]
The 1994 "Chungking Express" was a movie that mixed in western influences with asian stories. propelled by the Mamas and the Papas "California Dreamin'" this movie was not only visually stunning but had a story which was intense. I told my friend a line from the movie: "you run so that you can sweat away the tears..."[Edit by="dcolato on Oct 30, 8:24:47 PM"][/Edit]
Some movies have the elements to be good but for some reason just don't cut it. The 1995 "Organized Crime & Triad Bureau" had it's moments and it beats some made-for-t.v. movies in the U.S. or crime shows on the air. But even so, my friend and I realized that even in asia there can be bad actors. I gave this move a star and a half.[Edit by="dcolato on Oct 30, 8:24:17 PM"][/Edit]
In the vein of "Charlie's Angels" was an asian movie "The heroic trio" with Anita Mui (the madonna of asia), Maggie Cheung (former miss hong kong), and Michelle Yeoh (James Bond Girl and Asia's top action actress). This 1993 movie was a lot of fun. Lots of humor, mild violence, and action that kept the pace throughout the 104 minutes. Unlike "Midnight Angels," this movie was well made and made use of the star powered cast.
...everybody Win Chun Tonight...[Edit by="dcolato on Oct 30, 8:23:42 PM"][/Edit]
One person vs. 300? I would have walked out of the theatre years ago. But now I found a movie like "Wing Chun" (1994 with Michelle Yeoh) incredibly addictive. So much humor, action, and visuals it is impossible not to like. Maybe I was getting used to Asian movies, maybe I learned not to take the movie seriously (as I'm sure the makers didn't). either way, this is a top recommendation.
As a kid I always enjoyed Ultraman, Godzilla, and the like. So i thought i'd give this genre a try with a movie called "Cyber-Ninja." The cover said "Non-stop special effects...reminiscent of 'Star Wars'" This movie was so bad it hurt. Bad dialogue, terrible effects. Even the t.v.'s power rangers is better constructed in terms of story, costumes and effects. And remember I grew up (and still like) the rubber suits of godzilla, king kong, and mothera!. [Edit by="dcolato on Oct 30, 8:22:49 PM"][/Edit]
I decided to give comedy a chance again with this (Like Water for Chocolate tail-coat riding) movie "301/302" about neighbors in an apartment building liked together through food of all things. It made me think of the old foreign film "the thief, the cook, and her lover." but in this case the execution of the movie fell flat. The concept was solid enough: a rejected cook who hungers for company, and a lone woman without any hunger or desires. promising, but unfulfilling.
Sogo Ishi's masterpeice "Angel Dust" stands out as one of my two moost favorite asian movies of all time. It is a very complex and stimulating movie which has to be seen more than once to really understand the details of it. The cinemetography was outstanding as was of course the story and I highly recommend it. Now if I could only remember the name my other favorite movie. I know it involved the concept of time. A girl reads a book about the life of an ancient woman, and although this woman is in the present her life is detailed in this past narrative....I'll keep looking for the title.[Edit by="dcolato on Oct 30, 8:21:48 PM"][/Edit]
There are many recent movies which I have enjoyed "Hero," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "The House of the Flying Daggers," "Fearless." They have their charm and thier mass appeal to the new wave of interest in asian cinema. The more obscure gems are the ones really worth watching.
“Thailand: the beautiful cookbook” (ISBN 0-681-15270-2). There are many if not too many Thai cookbooks out there (even a good Spanish one I sent to my relatives overseas), but this one is nice and big, with great pictures and nicely divided into courses. The four major regions of the country are represented. The book also gives some information about the country as well.
I read Iron & Silk by Mark Salzman. I would describe it as River Town lite. This is the true story/memoir of a young man who goes to China to teach (1982-4) English in a college in Changsha (Hunan Provence). Most of the story is dedicated to this young man's involvement in the martial arts. He held a major in Chinese literature from Yale, and spoke both Mandarin and Cantonese, so he didn't seem to spend much time on teaching and didn't have problems adjusting to the language (unlike Hessler, in River Town ). Salzman's primary interest was in taking lessons from people who offered to teach him martial arts and in practicing the skills he learned in those lessons.
As a result, the memoir would be interesting for high school students to read, particularly boys, but I felt the story was self-serving and not especially deep. He was very young when he went (just out of college), and he wrote his memoir as it happened. There was little analysis or introspection; however, he does explain how people respond to him, the cultural context and expectations, etc., of China in the 1980's.
The book is written as a collection of chapters, broken into sections. It is mostly in chronological order, but each chapter can stand on its own, so sections could be used as short examples of memoir in class (high school). And, the memoir could be used for independent reading and/or a literature circle option.
Courtney Lockwood
I read Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah and can see why students enjoy this memoir. It is short (199 pages), high-interest, and true -- all of which appeal to my students (high school). As I read this, I was astounded at the emotional cruelty meted out by the author's step-mother and father. Their dislike of her -- she was a girl and her mother died from complications from childbirth so she was blamed for the death -- was open and endless.
This book is nearly in the same category as the very popular memoir, A Child Called It. While Adeline is not abused physically, she must find personal strength to overcome a lonely childhood. She uses her intelligence as a means of success, always hoping that her success in school will win the approval of her father and step mother.
It is an interesting, compelling story. It is written in a matter-of-fact style so the reader empathizes with the author.
Courtney Lockwood
For those of you looking for examples of shamanism, I would recommend Kim Ki Duk's new Korean film "The Bow" (as in bow and arrow). If you’re someone who just appreciates art film, you would enjoy this film too.
The Bow is an allegorical story about an old man living on a boat with a young 16 year old girl, awaiting her seventeenth birthday when he would marry her. The girl is held captive, and the only contact with outside world she has is through fishermen that the old man brings on board to make money. The girl seems very happy in her little world and is completely oblivious of her captive state, until a boy her age comes on board.
The movie is open ended, and full of symbolism and subjectivity. For me, the whole movie is a shamanistic ritual of appeasing a dead spirit. In the movie, you can see elements of shamanism such as divination by bow and arrow, and a traditional Korean wedding ceremony.
This movie is colorful, musical, and rich in artistry and culture. This is definitely my favorite of Kim-Ki-Duk’s films. Here is the link to check out the movie:
http://www.cinematicreflections.com/TheBow.html
What is it like for a western woman to compete as a salarywoman in a Japanese Corporation? Read the hilarious autobiographical novel by Amelie Northomb called Fear and Tremblings to find out.
Amelie Northomb is a Belgian born in Japan. At the age of six, she moves back to Belgium but, feels that her "Japaneseness" keeps her from fitting-in in Belgium. When she graduates from college, she decides to go back to work in Japan. Her misunderstandings of protocals and tradition of working in a Japanese company constantly keeps her in trouble.
If you don't feel up to reading, check out the movie: http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=284098
Today's Los Angeles TImes Book Review section (Sunday, August 13, 2006) reviews a book by Washington Post reporter John Pomfret called Chinese Lessons. The author writes that -- like Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China and Wild Grass: Three Stories of Change in Modern China, this tells the story of China's tumultuous change through intimate tales of its people.
In this book, Pomfret tells the story of five classmates who survive the Cultural Revolution and later reform in China, showing how their lives were affected by the immense changes that have occurred in the past 50 years. The review provides a paragraph about each of three of his subjects as well as more information about Pomfret's experiences in China. He was given the scoop on the crackdown at Tiananmen by a friend who was then imprisoned for years for leaking the news which Pomfret didn't use.
This looks like an interesting inside look at several different ways people responded to the revolution and reform, one that would not be officiallly condoned.
336 pages, $26.00
Courtney Lockwood
For those of you looking to hear first hand account of life during Korean War, I recommend "The Three Day Promise: A Korean Soldier's Memoir" by Donald K. Chung. In this book, he talks about how his three day promise to his mom about going back home to see her after a short visit in Southern part of Korea becomes a 40 year one when South Korea becomes separated from North at the 38th parallel. This is a story shared by many Koreans who lived through the war.
When I heard that there was a book by an American who moved to Japan for a year and actually went through the experiences of becominga geisha, I was intrigued. I found the book Geisha by Liza Dalby to be very lengthy but informative. At the time I read Dalby's book I had not yet read or seen the movie "Memiors of a Geisha" . I wanted to get her perspective first.
Dalby is an anthropologist who moved to Japan to study Geisha. She did have the advantage of fitting in and possibly having the unique opportunity of being accepted into the Geisha communitites since she had lived in Japan before and knew Japanese. She was welcomed by the Geisha community of Pontocho in Kyoto. Kyoto( besides Tyoko) is where most traditional Geisha seem to work in Japan. In her book she walks the reader through what training to be a Geisha would be like for a year. She participated in many Geisha activities, classes and jobs or banquets where she was actually part of the entertainment! She became quite good at playing the musical instrument the shamisen that she had a reputation!. Dalby even had a Geisha name: Ichigiku. Dalby had an oksan (tea house manager) who took her under her wing and was assinged a older sister who helped train her. Her older sister ended up being one of the Geisha that sat next to President Gerald Ford on his publized visit to Japan.
One of the reoccuring topics during the book was who Geisha really are,how they are precieved and misconceptions regarding geisha. She really emphasized how most geisha took the role of geisha because they liked the arts. Traditional geisha spent most of the daytime hours taking lessons of dance, musical instruments and singing. During their heydey they were considered the trend setters and very stylish. Dalby aslo discusses the delimas the geisha faced with modernization/ westernization. If they stayed traditional they loose their trend setting appeal. Another part of a geisha's job was to be able to hold converstion with banquet guests. She needed to be worldly. The role of wives of the guests were usuallyto raise children and cook not to be able to hold conversation about arts or worldly affairs. Geisha were sexy and offered what wives couldn't offer.
One of Dalby's geisha friends isnisted that Geisha were no different from other women. However I agree with Dalby's different perspective. Dalby recollected "This very evening she had danced an acrobatic dance, nibbled snacks from the tips of the tea master's chopsticks, and drunk herself silly. What ordinary Japanese woman ever does such things?(p. 141)" Dalby includes exerpts from Japanese writers during that time period with their opinions. A poet Hagiwara Sakutamo writes "If I hear someone say he is going off to see a geisha, that can mean only one thing nowasays-geisha are not companions of the mind, they are companions of the body." Dalby gives the impression in her book that geisha shouldn't be stereotyped for this. Some geisha would be offended by this generalization. If I understood correctly, certain communities of geisha are known for different talents or personalities. The geisha known to provide more than the traditional entertainment (conversation, dance or music) were the "onsen" geisha from the hot spring resort towns. Dalby visited and interviewed the geisha at the atami hot springs.
Another topic Dalby addressed was who became geisha. From reading her book I am under the impression many were born into it, and or came from poor families who needed the money. Some geisha had dreams of finding a patron who they provided extra service for and in return were set up with extra pay and an apartment. Unfrotunatley for most this wouldn't last forever, and it paid a huge price on their heart. Dalby found that many moved on to be smart business women opening their own bars or tea houses, while ohters dreamed of the cinderella story that one of their patrons would acutally marry them. One very interesting story was of Oyuki Morgan. Geisha usually entertain rich, famous and political guests at the tea houses, but most don't have the luck of Oyuki. An American millionare saw her dance in the famous Miyako Odori and extended his stay in Japan just to get to know her. They ended up marrying and moving to the U.S. I tried looking up this intriguing famous story on the internet and only found another book that mentioned it. If interested it is Women of the Pleasure Quarters: The Secret History of the Geisha by Lesley Downer.
Dalby's book is very extensive but other facts I found interesting was the history of the Japanese government opening and closing flower districts. They seemed to go back and forth with which was more important morality or being able to control "the movement of suspicious characters". The governent would place restrictions, require licences and even tried to get invovled in decisions related to how geisha are paid. Dalby breaks down how geisha's made money and how many had to work off their training.
All in all I would recommed this book for your own reading... not necessarily one for the classroom; however you might be able to find some decent sections you could pull out for classroom use that explain traditional culture and give a real perspective on geisha instead of what people just assume from watching movies.
I find the topic of geisha quite interesting and have been reading books on this topic lately. After reading Geisha by Liza Dalby I tried researching a geisha mentioned in her book called Oyuki Morgan. I only found another book in which she is mentioned called Women of the Pleasure Quarters: the Secret Histroy of the Geisha by Lesley Downer. Then I cam accrss an interview of this author. I felt sad to read her research on the decline of the geisha population. Dalby had hinted at it in her book giving graphs of the ups and downs of the population. She had mentioned how bar hostesses are more modern these days, but that in the geisha's most popular time period (late 1800s) there were about 25,000 geisha in Japan. According to Downer's interview on http://archieve.salon.com/books/int/2001/02/17/downer/index1.html
the current registries account for 5,000 geisha. Approximently 2,000 true traditional geisha and 3,000 onsen geisha. According to Dalby's book the onsen geisha are the hot spring resort geisha known to provide more than the traditional service. They are what give some geisha a reputation for sex. This is sad news to see that the geisha known for sex now outnumber the traditional geisha. That means the traditional geisha will have that much more of a hard time fighting off the assumtion or generalization that all geisha are like that.
Check out the interview... it also addresses the viewpoints of how westerners precieve geisha.
Isn't it amazing how we see East Asia everywhere we look after taking an intensive course? I have been reading Bryce Courney's books on the early days of Australia and New Zealand and marvel at the references to what we learned in E Asia Institue class; ancestor worship by the Maoris, similar to what we studied and opium addiction in Australia, plus the whole China town experience. Although it is not E Asia, since I have only been teaching world histoy for a couple of years, and did not earn my degree in history, I am excited about reading various references to my curriculum in outside readings. Most recently, the Battle of Gallopoli is going to a major component in Solomon's Story, Courtney's Triology which encompasses several generations of pioneer Australian families and events.
Hope to see some of you on a trip to Asia or at the upcoming symposium at UCLA in Oct.
Cathy Crawford
Chaparral High School, Temecula
Thank you for this suggestion; I look forward to reading it and sharing with my high school students. If anyone gets a chance to see Two Rooms or read the book, it is about an American high school (international) teacher who is kidnapped in Beirut in 1984, also a true story.........very relevant for high school students, considering the conflicts with Lebanon and Israel today. Not quite E. Asia, but it is coming to my town as a play and we have a new community theatre for the venue, so I plan to attend!
Cathy
This sounds wonderful.......I have collab classes in high school which means some of the students have learning disabilities; book appears to have appeal to all of us! Thanks for the offer. I just saw a boy reading about Jackie Robinson the other day during my quiet reading
time.
Cathy from Chapparal, Temecula
I was surprised to see the Good Earth by Pearl Buck for sale at Blockbuster.........it is required reading in my school's 10th grade Eng. classes. What a change in culture over the decades and centuries in Chinese (and American) customs. When I visited China in 1976, one of the ladies on our tour was born and grew up in Changsha with missionary parents (in the 30's, I guess) and told us stories very similar. Thanks for the reference.
Cathy from Chapparal High in Temecula
I just heard about a book by a prominent Korean contemporary writer Hwang Suk Young called “The Guest”. It sounds very interesting. Here’s the description of the book I found at UC Berkely event site. This book definitely goes on my “to read” list.
The Guest, a novel about a massacre in North Korea wrongly attributed to the Americans that was in fact a battle between Christian and Communist Koreans, was published in 2002. The "guest" is a euphemism in Korean for smallpox, or an unwanted visitor that brings death and destruction, and it is used in the novel to describe the twin horrors that Christianity and Communism became when introduced to Korea.
For more information about the author:
http://ieas.berkeley.edu/events/2005.11.04a.html
To check out the book:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1583226931/sr=8-3/qid=1156655855/ref=pd_bbs_3/102-4930401-8164111?ie=UTF8
I have done a few movie reviews in this forum and plan to do more... however if any reviews I do sound interesting, or you just haven't found many places to buy asian movies... then I have a few suggestions.
I get most of my movies from a company called Drunken Master. They ususally have a booth set up at the Los Angeles Comic Book Convention that happens monthly at the Shrine Auditorium. However they are appartenly located in the Meltdown Comics on 7522 Sunset Blvd. 323-850-5758.
Another place I have seen a farily good size section of Asian cinema is Ameoba Records also on Sunset.
I read and saw the movie Memoirs of a Geisha. I read the book first. It was told with such detail and exquisite creative descriptions. I was wondering if these descriptions would carry accross to the movie. The book actually did a better job of describing how in awe the main character was of the kimono, the city, arctitecture,etc... The imagery was quite powerful in her big dance scene of the movie, and in the locations the movie was shot were beautiful as well. The way she expressed herself was far more effective in the book. There were a few times her lovely descriptions from the book were used in the movie, but not enough. The book, as usually books do, definently gave more character development and background. The movie covered her faimly up to when she rqan away from the okiya in minutes, while this was given 100 pages in the book. All in all, I enjoyed both. You can see seperate reviews of both in the forum.
I was a little surprised this book was written by a man. Then I read the translator's note (Jakob Haarhuis or Arnold Rusoff Professor of Japanese History New York Univerersity ) inside and felt more comfortable that he explained that the geisha this book is about, Sayuri, met with him many times and that they had built a relationship of trust. However, I then wondered how the author listed on the book, Arthur Golden, changed or edited her story.
This story was told quite elegantly. Sayuri's analagy or descritions and feelings tell the reader what a creative mind she has. I wish I could see things the way she describes them. I read Liza Dalby's book as well which picked many of the same part of the geisha culture to describe and explain. Dalby had done a good job writing it in a way to inform non Japanese of the geisha culture. However, there is nothing like hearing someone's perspective and feelings who actually was sold to a geisha house and grew up to become a geisha. The version of the book I read was 428 pages, but I always wanted to keep reading. Her story will tell you more than you will ever imagine of the life of a geisha. I especially liked the relationship she had with her gisha sister Mameha. Both Sayuri and her older sister (there is a special ceremony bonding them qa sisiters even though they are not blood sisters) were both famous or legend geisha. The things that make them legends are quite intriguing.
If you have seen the movie, it might be hard to go back and read the book niow, but I highly reccomend it. It is worth the read.
I recently read a book by an author with whom I was unacquainted, Lisa See. The book was entitled The Fan, although I think there was more to the title. This book only took me a day to read. It was utterly phenomenal. Lisa See is an outstanding writer. She uses perfect prose to transport her readers to the 18th Century. Without even picking-up a history book, I gleaned a ton of information about China during this time period. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in 18th Century China, or to a teacher of World Cultures or World Literature. [Edit by="michellejones on Sep 13, 10:23:57 AM"][/Edit]
This book sounds very interesting. I recently read a book that illustrated and discussed the entire process of foot-binding. I would like to read the book you discussed. Did you find this book at a typical book store, or at a university book store?
Michele Jones
Do Drunken Master and Ameoba Records have web sites where they sell movies? I do not live anywhere near L.A. Also, are the prices reasonable for the Asian movies? I am trying to locate a couple of movies for a reasonable price-Quitting and another one. Thanks!
Where were you able to see this movie? Did you rent it at a local movie rental? Or was it something at a film festival? This movie sounds very interesting. I would like find it so that I may rent it. Thanks for the info!
How long is this video? Does is have closed captioning and the choice of languages?
Recently, I read the book, The Chinese Helped Build America. This book is a bit older than some, it was published in 1972. Despite it being a bit older than some books, it was very well written, and very thorough. The story begins with a young Chinese man and his mother discussing what they were going to do because there was a terrible drought, and they had been unable to grow anything in their fields. From there, the young man, Ah Wah, travels with his mother to Canton, from there to Hong Kong, and finally, to San Francisco. The author describes in great succinctness the trip, and the subsequent arrival of Ah Wah. Following that, we read of Ah Wah's search for gold, how he helped build the Transcontinental Railroad, how he dealt with the issue of not returning home after the construction of the railroad, obtaining a wife, everyday life, etc. Finally, the last chapter describes the achievements of several Chinese Americans.
This is a very good book. It was written using simple language. So, if you have a 10th grade world history class or an 11th grade United States history class and are looking for a book to read regarding Chinese contributions in American History, this is the book. The book is 90 pages long, and makes for easy, comprehensible reading. I really enjoyed this book!
I was recently relocated to another school. One afternoon, I took time to look at my new school's library, and their collection of books on Asia. One of the books I found was on "Making Chinese Papercuts". At first, I didn't give it a second glance. But later I went back to that book and checked it out of the library.
This book describes the history behind papercuts, the types of papercuts which people make, how to add color, patterns for people who want to try, etc. For anyone teaching art, this is a great book. It could also be used for 7th grade Humanities classes, when covering China.
I really enjoyed this book. One of the things it discusses is what types of cuts are made-flowers and birds, trees, camels, people, characters from the Peking Opera, and so forth. Every year for New Year's, the Chinese change the "paper" in their windows and on their walls. When they change the paper, they add papercuts such as flowers, gardens and magpies. During the day, the light shines through the paper windows, illuminating the papercuts. At night, the light from inside the homes shows the shape of the papercuts to those outside. Either way, everyone gets to enjoy them!
I am contemplating incorporating a couple of days on Chinese papercuts into my curriculum. [Edit by="michellejones on Sep 13, 12:50:05 PM"][/Edit]
For the third day of school this year, I attempted to incorporate a lesson on Origami. This became a bit more complicated than I had originally intended. However, I found a book at the thrift store on Origami.
This book was very straight-forward. Each page contained a black-lined master of a specific Origami pattern. I made multiple copies of each page so that the students in each of my classes could choose the pattern they wanted (after we attempted cranes).
This book helped the students by showing them step-by-step how to make a specific creature-frogs, crows, a hen, etc. This was better than me standing at the front of the class modeling how to make a crane.
The book is called "Easy Origami" and is published by Puffin Books. If you ever want to teach your students basic or advanced Origami, this is the book!
The movie that I recently enjoyed was that of "The Grave of the Fireflies". This movie is a must own if you teach world history. I showed it to my students when discussing the Pacific Theater of WWII. I do this to show the Japanese suffering during WWII. The story is one of two brothers that have to learn to live on their own after their mother tragically dies. I was amazed at my student's response at the movie - they were quiet and looked forward to seeing the movie everyday. I forgot to mention that the movie is an anime film, which just adds to the curiosity of students who love anime.
Here's a link to the movie on
Amazon.com[Edit by="xsantibanez on Sep 19, 4:38:43 PM"][/Edit]
This is a pretty good web-site to buy DVDs - can't beat most of their prices...
Direct DVD
Hi, I know that you mentioned that this is required reading for your class... how do you use that in your curriculum? Do you teach social studies?
x
I just posted this, but a good place is http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/
a real good site.
x
for High School. One of our teachers uses it in his Ethnic Studies course and it is an easy read as a project for Modern World History students. I read it a couple of years ago and it reminded me of Nien Cheng's Life and Death in Shanghai, only more suited to High School students. It would also be a good book for my PAVE class to read as a class to learn about cultures other than their own and the strugggles that people faced in the Great Cultural Revolution.
I recently saw an Indian movie (with English subtitles) called as "Umrao Jaan" which tells a story about the abduction and nurturing of a young village girl as a courtesan in 19th. century India. I could not but think that the movie has quite a few similarities with "Memoirs of a Geisha". Though it is a long movie (about 3hrs.20min), it can make for a very good comparision with 'Geisha'. Check the movie theatre website www.naz8.com for directions and show timings.
Vimal
If you are a teacher in the middle school, possibly even of 9th graders, I recommend a good fictional book entitled Ties That Bind, Ties That Break by Lensey Namioka. I believe it was honored as a Newbery book a few years back (maybe as an Honor book) and received the YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Assn) Best Book award, too. Setting is around 1911 in China and the main character is a young girl who refuses to have her feet bound. Her father relents, much to the chagrin of the mother, and there are many societal consequences for the young girl, especially as she matures. At the end of the book is a short explanation of the history and culture of Chinese feet binding. Wonderful book and young readers can relate to the the plight of the main character.
If you ever see the recent film made from the book, please remember that it is a very Hollywoodized version. The lady who was the consultant for the Japanese dancing was very diplomatic in an interview after the movie was complete. She indicated that despite what suggestions she made with regard to Japanese dance movements and the wearing of kimono, the director told her he had to make it appealing to the Western viewer. I saw pictures of the actress in kimono and was quite disappointed in how "improperly" she wore it and how her dance movements were very unlike the Japanese dance that Geishas learn as part of their cultural training. But I guess, "That's Hollywood!"
Aileen Willoughby
A recent nonfiction publication that is an excellent and highly readable history of the Japanese American internment camp experience is called Dear Miss Breed. With content standards at the high school level addressing this topic, Dear Miss Breed is interesting and informative for high school students (I loved it). In the 1940s, Miss Breed was a public librarian in San Diego and many of her library patrons included young Japanese American students in her community. When the students were suddenly sent off to unknown destinations after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, she managed to see some of them off at the train station, giving them postcards with her address on them so they could let her known where they were once they reached their destinations. The book contains copies of the letters that she received from them and includes many primary sources (photos, interviews) as well as explanations of events. Through the months, she sent them books and an assortment of items that her friends did not have in the camps. A wonderful read. If you don't know much about this time period in our history, it is a good way to learn about it.
aileen willoughby
Midnight Angels with Cynthia Luster, Moon Lee, and Elaine Lui was a mildly entertaining movie. It is a Hong Kong martial arts crime-busting action movie distributed by Xenon Home Video. It was good to see women in action movies (1996) rather than just the damsel in distress.
[Edit by="dcolato on Feb 1, 10:12:03 PM"][/Edit]
[Edit by="dcolato on Oct 30, 8:27:05 PM"][/Edit]
I remember first seeing a Jackie Chan move when I was a student (1992) in Bangkok Thailand. It was his movie where he has a twin (it was released in the late 90's in the U.S.) and I saw it in a big theatre dubbed in Thai. Fast foward to his U.S. release of Rumble in the Bronx and I found it to be so cool. What other word is there to describe it? I didn't really like chinese films because they had those incredibly impossible fighting scenes where one hero battled 5,000 and he always won, not to mention could defy gravity. But as my experience in the asian culture grew i began to enjoy these films and understand their story. And Rumble was just a fun movie.
Apart from that Bruce Lee movie with Kareem Abdul Jabar (a classic), the first asian film I really remember having interest in (high school in the San fernando valley with mostly a hispanic community) was the Charles Bronson movie Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects. I didn't see it until many years later (it wasn't really all that good) but it interested me because of the western/asian combination that they bridged the gap for me to delve into full asian movies...
Speaking of asian/western movies, I did enjoy the Christopher Lambert movie 'The Hunted." It was a good enough story of a high-powered business man in a "fish-out-of-water" enviornment in Asia. This movie really got me interested in how westerners view asia and is a good preview to the movie "rising sun" with wesley snipes and sean connery.
Once I began to see more foreign films, especially asian ones I began to experiment with more than just the martial arts/crime syndicate ones. The Mystery of Rampo was one such film. One of the quotes which I always remember is:
I once heard the story of a desert traveler whose steps were off by a mere one centimeter. He walked in a circle forever
Comedy can be so culturally specific that it's "lost in translation." One of the first comedy movies i saw was the 1996 "Ermo" which is a tale of materialism, friends, and the quest for happiness. The humor which I know has a lot to do with play on words which can't be translated leads often time to view an asian comedy as slapstick. But the message hidden in the symbolism of Ermo's struggle to achieve something (in the movie's case the biggest t.v. in her village) and yet that goal is fleeting (since at the end of the movie the t.v. station stops broadcasting and she is left with everyone there to watch t.v. and yet nothing to see) is a real message to those that work hard for materialism. am i babbling?
[Edit by="dcolato on Oct 30, 8:26:09 PM"][/Edit]
Sometimes the movies can get redundant. After watching a multitude of asian cinema I reached "The Story of Xinghua." Overloaded perhaps from the self-induced film festival I realized for the first time the asian formula for a drama: guy has girl. guy beats her. other guy wants her. then she leaves both. hillarity ensues. I burned out on this one. sometimes the cinematography isn't enough.
and then came the movie "The Bride with White Hair!" I think I reached full circle when I saw this two part saga. It was everything I disliked about Asian cinema when I was younger. Special effects, impossible odds, twisted plotlines. a fantasy setting. I was even (emotionally) shocked at the ending. I recommend it to all.[Edit by="dcolato on Oct 30, 8:25:44 PM"][/Edit]
The 1994 "Chungking Express" was a movie that mixed in western influences with asian stories. propelled by the Mamas and the Papas "California Dreamin'" this movie was not only visually stunning but had a story which was intense. I told my friend a line from the movie: "you run so that you can sweat away the tears..."[Edit by="dcolato on Oct 30, 8:24:47 PM"][/Edit]
Some movies have the elements to be good but for some reason just don't cut it. The 1995 "Organized Crime & Triad Bureau" had it's moments and it beats some made-for-t.v. movies in the U.S. or crime shows on the air. But even so, my friend and I realized that even in asia there can be bad actors. I gave this move a star and a half.[Edit by="dcolato on Oct 30, 8:24:17 PM"][/Edit]
In the vein of "Charlie's Angels" was an asian movie "The heroic trio" with Anita Mui (the madonna of asia), Maggie Cheung (former miss hong kong), and Michelle Yeoh (James Bond Girl and Asia's top action actress). This 1993 movie was a lot of fun. Lots of humor, mild violence, and action that kept the pace throughout the 104 minutes. Unlike "Midnight Angels," this movie was well made and made use of the star powered cast.
...everybody Win Chun Tonight...[Edit by="dcolato on Oct 30, 8:23:42 PM"][/Edit]
One person vs. 300? I would have walked out of the theatre years ago. But now I found a movie like "Wing Chun" (1994 with Michelle Yeoh) incredibly addictive. So much humor, action, and visuals it is impossible not to like. Maybe I was getting used to Asian movies, maybe I learned not to take the movie seriously (as I'm sure the makers didn't). either way, this is a top recommendation.
As a kid I always enjoyed Ultraman, Godzilla, and the like. So i thought i'd give this genre a try with a movie called "Cyber-Ninja." The cover said "Non-stop special effects...reminiscent of 'Star Wars'" This movie was so bad it hurt. Bad dialogue, terrible effects. Even the t.v.'s power rangers is better constructed in terms of story, costumes and effects. And remember I grew up (and still like) the rubber suits of godzilla, king kong, and mothera!. [Edit by="dcolato on Oct 30, 8:22:49 PM"][/Edit]
I decided to give comedy a chance again with this (Like Water for Chocolate tail-coat riding) movie "301/302" about neighbors in an apartment building liked together through food of all things. It made me think of the old foreign film "the thief, the cook, and her lover." but in this case the execution of the movie fell flat. The concept was solid enough: a rejected cook who hungers for company, and a lone woman without any hunger or desires. promising, but unfulfilling.
Sogo Ishi's masterpeice "Angel Dust" stands out as one of my two moost favorite asian movies of all time. It is a very complex and stimulating movie which has to be seen more than once to really understand the details of it. The cinemetography was outstanding as was of course the story and I highly recommend it. Now if I could only remember the name my other favorite movie. I know it involved the concept of time. A girl reads a book about the life of an ancient woman, and although this woman is in the present her life is detailed in this past narrative....I'll keep looking for the title.[Edit by="dcolato on Oct 30, 8:21:48 PM"][/Edit]
There are many recent movies which I have enjoyed "Hero," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "The House of the Flying Daggers," "Fearless." They have their charm and thier mass appeal to the new wave of interest in asian cinema. The more obscure gems are the ones really worth watching.
“Thailand: the beautiful cookbook” (ISBN 0-681-15270-2). There are many if not too many Thai cookbooks out there (even a good Spanish one I sent to my relatives overseas), but this one is nice and big, with great pictures and nicely divided into courses. The four major regions of the country are represented. The book also gives some information about the country as well.
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