You mean we have to read in this movie?: Discovering the foreign film
Sadly, most people in this country do not permit reading and entertainment to be put in the same category. 6 years ago when Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon came to theaters I went to see it with my friend Matthew, who?s a very normal all-American guy. As we stood seconds away from buying our tickets both of us noticed a sign that had been posted on the box office window. ?Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a subtitled movie. You will have to read? it said.
?You mean we have to read during this movie?? Matthew stated the obvious in utter disgust. Luckily he agreed to see it despite his better judgments. When it was all said and done, the last sword thrown, and the beautiful Chinese upper-class girl had killed herself Matthew decided he actually liked the movie despite the reading. I have faith that most Americans are like Matthew and have the ability to like foreign films. They just feel uncomfortable with the slightly different package it all comes in.
It?s not something we?re used to, reading while watching a movie. I mean, can you imagine having to read while Rocky delivered his devastatingly brilliant dialog? Of course not. We?ve been pampered because Hollywood?s in our back yard. The rest of the world watches our movies, but they have to read in their own language or it?s in some kind of heinous voice over which makes Brad Pitt sound like a flamboyant dress designer. We are spared these inconveniences or course, but at what price? I feel that we miss out on a lot of entertaining and important movies coming from the rest of the world.
As Hollywood rapidly reaches the point of complete creative bankruptcy it?s started scooping up ideas from other successful film industries. One of the most notable is Japan. Asian cinema has become almost synonymous with horror these days. Japan has proved many times over that they have mastered the art of creepy and demonic filmmaking. Most people don?t realize that the horror smash The Ring, was first Ringu, or that Sarah Michelle Geller?s The Grudge was first Ju On. The Lake house in which Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock almost don?t meet was first a Korean Drama. This trend has made me ask myself a few questions. Why are we resorting to stealing ideas from other people? Furthermore, why couldn?t Ringu, Ju On, and the Korean Drama have just been released in America in the first place? Obviously American people are accepting the stories, because the movies they were remade into became very successful. We also saw, with my friend Matthew, that once people give a subtitled movie a chance they are likely to join the ranks of foreign film lovers. I believe people just need a guide. They need to know what to watch first, and what to avoid all together. If you can start off watching foreign films on the right foot, than you will be likely to fall in love, and maybe one day, we can not only bring down those ridiculous signs on the box office, but maybe we can skip Sarah Michelle Geller, Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock all together and have Ringu, Ju On, and the Korean Drama just come to our multiplexes. But the distributors and theaters are not going to accept this until we prove to them that we want this kind of thing.
You want to read my guide to foreign films don?t you? Well that?s why you?ll have to hire me! =)
The aloha samuai: Japanese cinema in Hawaii
The bond between Japan and Hawaii has always been strong. For the last 3 or 4 hundred years at least. So it's natural that these islands would be a welcome breeding ground for native Japanese independent filmmakers and larger company's to get their filmmaking on. Yet what exactly are Japanese doing in Hawaii as far as cinema is concerned? More than you might think.
On any given day in Honolulu, you?re going to rub shoulders with dozens of bright eyed, picture rabid Japanese tourists. Guaranteed. Yet little, to none of them are probably involved in the Japanese film industry. Go to the beach. Take a couple hours drive to the north shore, and if you?re lucky, you might catch two bikini clad Japanese cutie pies skipping along in front of a gigantic film camera. A crew of 30 will be watching them in anticipation of the word cut, when they will spring to life, and resume their jobs. You will be witnessing some kind of Japanese cosmetic commercial.
?Hi, dozo?! the Japanese AD yells to the American cinematographer (one of maybe 6 or 7 American crew members out of 30), letting him know they are ready for the take, then it?s lights, camera, action and the Japanese bunnies are skipping along, flinging their silky black tresses in an almost manic way for the drooling camera. This kind of scene can be seen quite often in Hawaii. In fact, 40% of Japanese cosmetic commercials are shot in the Hawaiian Islands. This means, tourist and local alike have a good chance of witnessing this hilarious and endearing interaction. Do yourself a favor and don?t miss it.
Sofia Coppalla?s Lost In Translation showed us what a hilarious thing it can be when Japanese and Americans mingle. In Hawaii we have the opportunity of witnessing it first hand. Film sets are highly stressful situations in the first place, but throw in the ingredient of two extremely different cultures, and BAM! Crazy stuff will happen that you will be delighted to see. Don?t just go to the beach and tan while watching people throw a football. Go to the beach and tan while watching little Japanese men run around in the hot sand trying to find pampered cosmetic models to cover with a desperately required umbrella.
To find such a set might take a little sniffing out, but it?s worth giving a shot. A good starting point on the north of Oahu is a rarely used beach behind the Kekaha Kai Inn. I have personally witnessed a hair commercial in commencement there, and I will never forget it. Yet, it?s the narrative feature film that is most interesting. The idea that a movie being shot in Hawaii can still be very much a foreign film is, at first, a little strange. With mammoth productions like Lost, and Indiana Jones 4 being crafted in the islands, the Hawaiian film industry fuel tank is getting a lot of gas these days. This means tax cuts, and that means the Japanese foreign films are coming?.. You want to hear the rest of the article don?t you? Well then?.. hire me! =)
Loveday on October 9, 2007
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