International Education Week Films: Asian Cinema

The first ever feature-length film from South Korea to gain theatrical distribution in the USA, WHY HAS BODHI-DHARMA LEFT FOR THE EAST? has received acclaim from critics and audiences around the world for decades. A film of remarkable power and beauty, the story follows a trio of monks in a remote mountain monastery as they grapple with the mystery of enlightenment. The oldest among them, a storied Zen master, wishes to make the ceremony of his upcoming death into a lesson for his conflicted apprentice, while the youngest among them attempts to nurse a bird he hit with a stone back to full health. The title of the film is a Zen koan, or a paradox meant to aid meditation, that provokes the question of the distinction between leaving and arriving. Magnificent, quietly powerful and astonishingly rich in formal beauty, this film is not only a cinematic gem, but an evocative meditation on the cyclical nature of existence.

Known to everyone in their idyllic Japanese village as “the brats,” twin brothers Yukihiko and Seizo wrestle with catfish in the river, chase birds through the woods, and cause general mischief in the name of high adventure. Their tale is told from the perspective of their older selves, reflecting on their childhood right after World War II and reinspecting the lives of their mother, father, landlord, bully, and three mysterious elderly neighbors with wiser eyes. Director Yôichi Higashi’s sixteenth film in his lauded career is a charming and sparkling jewel deserving of the title VILLAGE OF DREAMS.

After the sudden, self-inflicted death of her husband, a young mother (Makiko Esumi) remarries and moves to a remote village on the Sea of Japan with her infant son. She finds herself haunted by the many tragedies of her life, but time begins to heal her wounds as she rediscovers love, understanding, and a sense of peace. One of the finest pieces of Japanese cinema ever made with elegant camerawork, striking visuals and almost entirely natural lighting, director Hirokazu Koreeda's (Shoplifters) first feature-length film is a story of romance, loss, and regeneration.

Set against a 1960's backdrop leading up to Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan, THE CLAY BIRD tells the story of Anu, a boy sent away by his father to an Islamic school. Far from his family and the warmth of his region's Hindu festivities, Anu struggles to break out of his shell and adapt to the school's harsh monastic life. As the political divisions in the country intensify, an increasing split develops between the school's students, just as Anu's parents find themselves growing apart. Rather than be torn in half, Anu must decide which side he falls upon in this complex tale of tolerance, diversity, and the practice of Islam in a crises-ridden world