Monthly Archives: September 2017

Hana-bi is a very beautiful and romantic gangster film, I personally believe that.

From week 8 to week 10, there are three gangster films for us, Hana-bi is the most special one that I like. I can’t even believe that this is a gangster film, Hana-bi is totally different to other two gangster films, infernal affairs and Rakta Chariatra.

As I said in class in last week, I personally don’t like gangster film, because I don’t like too much noisy film, I don’t like to see film full of blood and fighting, and I think most gangster film’s story is very similar, nothing for me to expect. So I don’t quite understand why gangster film is popular around the world. I like Hana-bi because it’s violent film rather than gangster. I remember that on the lecture of that week, Vikrant quoted Takeshi Kitano that ‘I intentionally shoot violence to make the audience feel real pain. I have never and will never shoot violence as if it’s some kind of video game.’

The main character of this film, Nishi, a little bit crazy man mixed with gentle, romance and violence. He is violent, but we can see from this film that he treat his wife very kind, never will be violent to her. Even he betray his police identification for her wife, finally they killed themselves. The last shoot, the screen of the sea and sky, and the little girl, with the sound of two gunshots, my feeling and emotion is very complicated. I found out that I went deeply into this film already, I paid emotion into this film. ‘The less the characters react, the more scope the viewer has to read emotions and significance. ’ (2003) The less the Nishi says in the film, the more curiosity I will have on him. Complex personality of Nishi, make him very attractive and captivating, Kitano Takeshi does not provide fixed meanings but rather its pluralism results in its ability to be read in a variety of ways, both negative and positive.

‘This notion of ‘furious peace’ perhaps summarises the entire film as Kitano creates an exposition of sadness, violence and anger amidst an often beautiful, funny and musing on the nature of life and death,’ according to Taylor-Jones, Kate E.. Rising Sun (2013). Furious peace perhaps could be used to summarise this entire film, grief movement could be used to describe my feeling at the end. Kitano himself experienced a lot, compared to other many director, he understands more and look overs more. I think this is one of the reason of why his movies are so excellent. Romantic and violent man.

references:

Taylor-Jones, Kate E.. Rising Sun, Divided Land, Columbia University Press, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/rmit/detail.action?docID=2145051.

Taylor-Jones, Kate E.. The Legacy of a Violent Man: Kitano Takeshi. Rising Sun, Divided Land, Columbia University Press.

Comments I did:

Space and Context in Spirited Away and Hanabi

Anime Cinema – Gangster Genre

Queen is from India, Offside is from Iran, these two countries have some similarity. Firstly, religion plays a very important role in their culture and country. Secondly, they have long history, namely, they have very strong cultural foundation. Based on these two similarity features, we can roughly conclude a point that their culture won’t be changed and updated very easily and sharp.

Queen shows us a traditional Indian woman, how she changes herself to become a new Indian woman in her European travel. The main character she travels in many European countries such as French and Holland, meets and makes some friends who are very unusual for Rani, at the same time, her opinion and sense of worth is changing. I know that Rani, she is a very kind and gentle girl, but I personally think her personality, to some extent, is cowardly. If I see my fiancé in Holland, and say something like I come here for you so you have to come back with me. How arrogant is he! I promise I will be angry and slap him very strongly. I personally think Queen is a good and representative Bollywood cinema, but I won’t say I like this film. Compared to Offside, I like Offside more than Queen.

Before I saw this film, I know sorts of knowledge about Iran, and its culture and history. I know that the social stage of Iran female is far lower than male, there are many strict rules and unfair sense of value on women. This film shows me a real Iran society, as Panahi says this is a social film, but social films always connect to politics. As I see, don’t separate society and politics, because they are accrete. In this film, those girls they all love football but they are forbidden to entry stadium, when they are only allowed to see at home on Television, they against. I think they are very brave, they already known that if they get caught they will be took away to police station, and worse more they possible will suffer unknown punishments. Pahani transfers this information to audiences at the beginning of film. There is a screen that a girl ask the soldier why women can’t enter stadium to see football games? Soldier answers that because the stadium is full of men, and they all yell some very dirty words, Iran women can’t hear that. Then the girl ask further that why foreign women like Japanese women they can entry? The soldier answers because they aren’t Iran women. The girl reply so the reason is actually we are Iran women? And the soldier get confused by the girl. What I got from this conversation is, most common people are foolish and bemused on common cultures and opinions from given. They don’t understand but they accept, nobody jumps out to question and challenge why Iran women is forbidden to enter stadium.

Also Pahani shows his opinion and wish on Offside, ‘I hope in ten or 20 years’ time when people watch Offside they can look at it as a documentary of a moment in Iran when we didn’t have the rights and freedoms they now enjoy. You have to be very precious to think one film can bring about social or political change, but if people question the laws, the limitations and the restrictions, then the film will have done its job.’ Then I more confirm that this is a documentary film, and in this film, Pahani didn’t put many his personal emotion and opinions. What we get from film, is what we see from it. Gender this social issue is merely a theme.

To sum up, I think that offside is better than Queen because Offside questions a social issue from inside, namely like the eggs hatched, while the Queen is with the help from outside.

References:

Jafar Panahi interviewed by Jumana Farouky, “Blowing the Whistle,” Time (21 May 2006): HYPERLINK “http://www.time.com/time/ magazine/article/0,9171,901060529-1196395,00.html” http://www. time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901060529-1196395,00.html

Panahi quoted in Ali Jaafar, “Fear of the Penalty.” Sight and Sound vol. 16, no. 5 (May 2006): 35.

Comments I did:

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