Due to its brightness, imagery, mass character and the strength of the emotional impact on the viewer, cinema occupies a significant place in the palette of modern art. Therefore, do not underestimate the influence of the film industry on society - portraying a region or state in a certain light, filmmakers construct the perception of a given state abroad.
Thin thing!
Recently, more and more filmmakers of Hollywood, Europe and the countries of the former CIS, making films about the East, turn to culture and aesthetics, unusual for Western society. Often, Asian states in the cinema appear as a set of various national elements, ethnic concepts of a country. To show the state of a given region to an untrained spectator is a rather difficult task. Therefore, Western and Hollywood cinema is often stereotyped, creating films about the East, depicting the aesthetics of eastern countries, showing them through the prism of a Western worldview.
Three canonical masterpieces
The most famous masterpieces of world cinema are considered to be the paintings “Memoirs of a Geisha”, “The Last Samurai” and “7 Years in Tibet” - Hollywood films about the Far East.
The painting "Memoirs of a Geisha", released in 2005, is based on the plot narrative and has a new interpretation of the story of Cinderella, placed in Japanese scenery. Initially, the project was directed by Stephen Spielberg, who considers his mentor the legend of the Japanese film industry, director Akira Kurosawa. But in connection with the death of Kurosawa, the entire crew and cast were replaced. The director’s chair was taken by Rob Marshall, the main roles were given to Chinese actresses, because of which the picture was extremely negatively received in Asia, it was literally ignored by Chinese and Japanese viewers. This fate befell many films about the East, shot by Western directors who did not seek to understand the original worldview.
"The Last Samurai"
Launched in 2003, The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise shows a completely different vision of Eastern history and culture. In this project, the region is presented to the viewer as a "separate character", in the process of getting acquainted with which the main character is practically reborn, begins to behave and think differently. In fairness, it is worth noting that the image of the samurai in the film is decently romanticized. Nevertheless, despite some errors, the film clearly demonstrates the differences in Western and Eastern thinking. It is noticeable that the director Edward Zwick seeks to know what that notorious Japanese aesthetics is, and not just to colorfully present to the watchers the brightest elements of its traditions, unlike many other directors making films about the East.
"7 years in Tibet"
In 1997, the film “7 Years in Tibet” was released, based on a book of memoirs of an Austrian traveler and climber Heinrich Harrer, who, by the will of fate , became one of the closest friends of the Dalai Lama. In the movie, Henry, however, was made an officer of the Reich in order to strengthen the illustration of how the Eastern worldview influenced his fate. Like the hero of The Last Samurai, the central character of the project, Jean-Jacques Annot, understands his true destiny, having been in the East. The film carries not only an artistic, cultural, but also a political message. Representatives of the PRC are shown in the film as narrow-minded and soulless people. As a result, after the release of the film to the rental, American actors Brad Pitt and David Thewlis, who starred in the movie, were denied entry to China.
Thus, in the overwhelming majority of Hollywood films, the Far East is positioned as an example of purity of thinking, a conductor to the healing of corrupted and confused people.
Military Conflict Films
Films about the Middle East appear to the audience quite different. According to statistics from the American Association of Cinematographers, over a thousand documentaries and feature films about the actions of NATO allies in the area have been shot in Hollywood over the past decades. The best paintings on military conflicts in the Middle East are:
- “Forced War” is a picture awarded by the prestigious Teen Choice Awards and called by the US Department of Defense “offending the honor of veterans.”
- “The Battle of Hadith.” The picture is based on a real incident. The film was released in limited release, as in some episodes, US soldiers are shown in an extremely negative light.
- Brothers is a movie about how service in Iraq affects the human psyche. The film has two Golden Globe nominations.
- “Messenger” is a film about the difficult fate of the main characters who have to visit the relatives of the soldiers who died in Iraq. The film was awarded two Oscars.
- “Storm Lord” - a film about the war in the East, shot by an unprofessional shaking camera, tells about the difficult everyday life of a squad of sappers in Iraq. This picture has collected more than other prizes and awards, including 6 Oscar figurines.
The tendency to shoot films about events in the Middle East has not been weakening to this day; the following films can serve as confirmation of this: Lucky, Green Zone, The Set of Lies, Fair Play and the Kingdom.
Not exotic or imprisonment, but ordinary family
In an effort to fully convey the aesthetics of the subregion, directors often addressed the harem theme of exhilaration. Films about the East and the harem are diverse. In some harems, this is the first step in the career ladder, in others it is a prison, and thirdly, a unit of society that is unusual for a Western person, a family in which they adhere to a strict hierarchy and special etiquette. Most of the paintings tell of love affairs, brilliant victories, humiliating defeats. The most famous films are:
- Japanese sci-fi movie drama “The Shogun of a Lady and Her Men” directed by Fumiki Kaneko, offering an alternative history of Japan in the 8th century.
- The Turkish historical and biographical melodrama “Mahpeaker” directed by Tarkan Ozel is a flash movie version of the biography of the favorite of Sultan Akhmet I named Mahpeaker, better known as Kesem Sultan.
- A fantastic collection of five movie novels, “Arab Adventures,” directed by Steve Barron, is another adaptation of the legendary literary work “A Thousand and One Nights.”
- The scandalous European arthouse “8 ½ Women” by screenwriter and director Peter Greenaway, which is the author’s interpretation of “Eight and a Half” by Frederico Fellini.
The following films about harems prompted to get acquainted with the eastern mentality: “The Last Harem”, “Favorite”, “Harem. The loss of innocence ”,“ Vacations in a harem ”with the participation of Elvis Presley,“ Red Falcon ”,“ Lost in a harem ”.
Russian films
Russian films about the East deserve to be led by the cult Soviet adventure film "The White Sun of the Desert."
Unfortunately, most of the paintings produced by the USSR and the Russian Federation, telling about the events in this territory, talk about military operations in Afghanistan and Chechnya. An example of the most memorable films can serve as: “Afghan break”, “Death caravan”, “Spirit gorge”, “Caravan hunters”, “Ninth company”, “Quiet outpost”, “Two steps to silence” and many others.