Spirited Away - context

Your global non-English language film is 'Spirited Away'.  This was chosen as the class expressed an interest in Anime. It is a good choice and should allow you to write confidently in the exam.

• It won an OSCAR for best animated film in 2003
• It is the most successful film in terms of sales in Japan 
• All the cells have been hand drawn rather than using CGI which is quite an artistic feat
• There is no glitchiness as they used 30fps rather than 24fps 
• It is a 'shojo' narrative which is a man/ anime term for stories told from the perspective of a young female protagonist.

Firstly, let us find out what you know about the country of Japan to provide some context.

Research task

• Religion
• History 
• Famous films
• Geography
• Politics
• Economy

You now know a little about Japan and its key landmarks in history.  This should enable you to understand the themes and issues in the film.

For many years Japan was quite an isolated country and even after WW2 many in the West found the culture hard to penetrate. It can be seen as a Pandora's box for those willing to take time to study Japanese culture and history and certainly in film terms it has a long tradition which has fed into Western film culture.

Akira Kurosawa is perhaps the most famous director that Japan has produced. He often used stories from Japanese history which had profound human truths that all audiences could identify with.  He took inspiration from Shakespeare for many of his films such as my favourite 'Ran', restored in a spectacular  4k version a few years ago, which follows the story of King Lear. His most famous film is or probably 'The Seven Samurai' which was used as the basis for a successful American film 'The Magnificent Seven.'

Although film cultures overlap there have been some terrible films made which appropriate culture and offer representations which are problematic.  One such film is 'The Last Samurai' where Hollywood A lister Tom Cruise travels to Japan and whilst finding himself emotionally and spiritually he almost singlehandedly helps the Japanese people to conquer the enemy.

It is hard to avoid the tragic consequences of WW2 in any discussion of Japanese film and history.  The dropping of atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are lessons to mankind to avoid such horror at all costs.

'Tora,tora,tora!' is Japanese for attack and this famous film is about the attack on Pearl Harbour in Hawaii which brought America into the war.

The war plays a strong role in representations of Japanese people in the West particularly for an older generation.  Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence is about a prisoner of war camp and stars David Bowie who has a forbidden attraction to a prison guard.  Perhaps one of the best film songs ever.

 Another great film is John Boorman's classic set on a Pacific island where two stranded soldiers cannot move on from their traditional enmity and act as if the war is still raging.  There is little dialogue but the actors are perhaps the best of their generation Lee Marvin and Toshiba Mifune.

A younger generation associates Japan with high technology and futuristic cityscapes and possibly horror.

Influential films like 'The Ring' and 'Battle Royale' have been made in Hollywood but the originals take some beating. This genre show the influence that Japanese cinema continues to have on its Western equivalents.