Cinema of Japan

Cinema Of Japan

World cinema is a vast ocean of different beliefs. It is defined as �The films and cinema industries of non-English speaking countries’. Because the U.S film industry has been the dominant cinema in the world; it has had the spotlight for many years, meaning international cinema has been largely overlooked. Australians have grouped world cinema, with Art House films & Independent films therefore are aimed at a particular group. They are referred to as having artistic value rather then Hollywood commercialism. Generally they are dubbed into English, however most have English subtitles. There are many different international cinemas. The focus of this essay is to deconstruct and analyse a world cinema and several of its movies.

“Japanese cinema has been recognized as a unique national cinema, a highly accomplished, artistically significant body of film with its own look and feel.”(Web.Mac)

The Japanese cinema consists of many different genres and sub genres.

These include: horror Films, Also known as J- Horror; Anime, Short for Animation; Period Films, Known as Jidaigeki normally about Samurai; Films about Mobsters, Known as Yakuza Films; Monster Films, known as kaiju and Cult Horror, Horror films that have a large following such as Battle Royale (

Japanese cinema generally targets younger audiences. The movies have themes relating to world issues, or issues to do with the younger generations. The cinema itself uses a variety of technologies, including basic animation skills to Computer enhanced graphics. Japanese Cinema’s first film was a short documentary, produced in June 1899. These films of this era were generally silent films and are best described as shorts. Mostly males performed in the earliest films, however the first female to appear in a film was in 1911. Most films from the silent era are however lost, due to 1923 Earthquake, the allied bombing of Tokyo in World War 2 as well as natural effects of time. Silent films were still being produced in the 1930’s. However a noticeable talkie of the era was Tsuma Yo Bara No Yoni (Wife Be Like A Rose), produced in 1935. It was one of the first Japanese films to gain a theatrical release in the U.S. In the 40s Japan was well involved in wartime activities, and film was left somewhat forgotten. The 50s were the peak of Japanese Cinema, with hits such as Rashomon, Tokyo Story and Seven Samurai. All three films mentioned made the 2002 Sight and Sound’s Critics and Directors Poll for the best films of all time. This marked the entrance of Japanese Cinema onto the world stage. The 60s saw technicolour arrive and Osamu Tezuka gave the world Astro Boy in 1963, thus bringing Anime into the spotlight. The 70s and 80s were further leaps forward, bringing More Anime and Manga to the world. The 90s were years of Box office hits. Porco Rosso was the highest grossing film in the Japanese box office, bumping E.T down to second place. Princess Mononoke claimed the number one box office title until the release of Titanic. In the year 2001 Hayao Miyazaki came out of his retirement to produce Spirited Away, this film broke the Japanese Box office records and won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. (ImdB)

Spirited Away is typically an Anime film. Anime is short for animation and it all began when Japanese filmmakers needed an alternative way to tell stories other then live action. They experimented with animation techniques used in France, Germany, United States and Russia. The first widely popular anime was Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy, released in 1963. This television series was made from the Manga comic, also written by Osamu Tezuka, and followed the life and times of a Boy Robot. Set in the future where Androids and humans co exist it focuses on the adventures of a little robot known as �Astro Boy’. Astro often fought crime, violence and injustice and almost every episode would end with Astro defeating a villain. The series dealt with issues such as responsibility, heroism, loss and racism. (thinkquest.com) (anime.com)

The Anime style is different to general Animation styles of western countries. Anime is sometimes hand drawn though recent steps forward in technology have allowed Anime to advance in many different ways. Anime has many different genres found typically in any media today. Such genres are: comedy, action, adventure, children’s stories, medieval/fantasy, drama, horror and sci-fi. Any single Anime feature could have several different genres, thus it is hard to classify all anime productions. Anime was accepted in mainstream Japan in the 80s and the 90s and 00s saw an acceptance of anime in the overseas markets. (Answers.com)

Spirited Away was released in Japan in July 2001. Drawing in an Audience of around 23 Million and revenue of around $200 Million, it was the highest paying Box Office Hit, over taking Titanic by a vast distance. It was the first movie to have earned $200 Million at the world wide Box Office before opening in the United States. (IMDB)

It follows the story of a young girl called Chihiro. Chihiro’s family is moving to another town and Chihiro is very unhappy about this. While taking a shortcut to their new home they stumble upon what they believe is an abandoned theme park, when really it’s the gateway to the Spirit World. Chihiro’s Parents are eager to explore, yet Chihiro is wary and wishes to return to her business. Chihiros Parents enter the �theme Park’ to discover mounds of food in several stores. They set about eating while Chihiro explores the grounds. It is whilst she is exploring she meets Haku. He warns her to leave before the river rises. Chihiro runs back to her family, to find they have been turned into Pigs. Chihiro runs away toward the exit that should lead her to her car, when she finds the river has flooded and there is now a large body of water seperating her from the outside world. Chihiro and her family are trapped in the spirit world, untill Chihiro finds a way to free them all. Chihiro works in the bathhouse and undergoes numerous tests and trials. In the end, Chihiro has grown from a Whiny, unconfident little girl to one who is Hard working, confident