Asian film industry has been entertaining audiences since a long time with the help of a strong story, music and different other aspects of film making. Asian cinema has lodged its strong presence across the world and Asian movies have won several prestigious international awards. This paper intends to discuss some very famous Asian movies like Red Sorghum, Ran, Eye in the sky, IndoChine and Dhobi Ghat along with further focusing, how masculinity has been portrayed in almost all these movies.
There are some favorite subjects of Asian movie makers. Aggressive Jingoism, fantasy, epic and masculinity are some important components of Asian cinema. These significant components have been used comprehensively in Asian movies. Enormous number of movies are made having Epic, jingoism and war as the central theme of Asian movies. Jingoism and chimera have been portrayed with a different angle in the movies that have been made on Vietnam War by different filmmakers.
“Indochine” portrayed masculinity in a different manner. Audiences came to see something remarkable; they liked the story and its realistic approach. Indochine tells a story of the clash of interests between rubber plantation owner and workers. The movie touches some very practical and emotional aspects of human behavior, and Vietnamese society. Workers succeeded in challenging the capitalists and their fight helped them in achieving what they deserved.
Unlike other traditional movies, made on the Vietnam, Indochine was related to social and economic aspects. Indochine, instead of catering jingoism and chimera to the audiences suggested them to think about other relevant issues. Regis Wargnier directed this movie is considered a luminous art work in this genre. Actors performed their best and other aspects as cinematography, music, and costume designs were remarkable. In the movie light, color and sound were beautifully selected according to the scenes. All these helped in setting the moods depicted in the movie i.e. romance and separation. Editing was also done perfectly selecting and portraying islands, lakes and magnificent landscapes that gel with the story.
The Movie “Eye in the sky” displays masculinity of some youths who have chosen a path of crime. These youths are involved in different types of crime such as robbery and loot and keep creating major challenges for the police. The movie is full of violent scenes and action which is preferred by youngsters. The movie reflects that the director has done detailed analysis on the subject and explored various types of crimes committed in the Hong Kong (Shapiro). Light, sound and color used in the movie shows the darkness of crime. Editing was also done in manner so that all essential details are present to portray the real situation of police and criminals.
Masculinity is the central theme that keeps this story, moving. The movie also depicts various problems faced by police, as well as situations, faced by criminals. Police faces various situations, and they have to handle every situation with very carefulness. The liability as well as duty of Police is to keep the society in order by maintaining law and order situation in the society (Shapiro). Police faces a variety of problems in performing their duties and sometimes they are subjected to several criticisms.
Masculinity, aggression and violence have been presented before the audiences through the movie. There are a number of violent scenes, and these scenes appear to be unnecessary sometimes but the good thing is that they correspond with the story Acting, cinematography, costume, design and music are very impressive and attract audiences. The movie is a good entertainer and youngsters have liked this movie as it connects with them in an easy manner.
Movie “Ran” is a highly praised Japanese movie that was directed by director, Akira Kurosawa. The movie was released in the Tokyo international film festival, in the year 1985 and was the most costly Japanese film that was released on Japanese soil till that time. This was an anecdote of ancient Japanese empire and reminded about the King Lear of William Shakespeare (Linton).
Masculinity is portrayed differently in this movie. The movie is an epic and masculinity is a natural ingredient of epics. King Hidetora decides to share out his kingdom among his sons. The king advised his sons to stay united and displays how one arrow can be broken easily but breaking them together is difficult. The youngest prince breaks all arrows together with the help of his knee and the king throws him out. One interesting side of this story is that Hidetora expected fidelity from his sons however he did forget that how the kingdom was acquired by him using violence and betrayal (Linton).
The display of masculinity by the youngest prince, king as well as other characters is everywhere. Direction and all other aspects of the movie are impressive. In the movie director beautifully utilized colors, sound and light to present the empire and subject of the movie. Editing was also good and done in a manner that no important aspect gets missed. Jinpachi Nezu, Tatsuya Nakadai, and Akira Terao had delivered their best as actors of this movie. This movie is one of most liked Japanese movies of all the times. “Ran” was nominated in various categories in different national, as well as international award ceremonies. The movie succeeded in getting some prestigious awards in various categories.
“Red Shorghum” is a Chinese movie that tells how masculinity affected and changed the life of a young Chinese girl. The film was made in the year, 1987. The story of this film takes us back to second china- Japan war. The story and subject of this film make audiences sit in their chairs. Zhang Yimou directed this film gives us a glimpse of contemporary Chinese society and how women were treated by people. Since the story is knitted in the background of chino-Japanese war, jingoism is clearly visible in the film.
Dhobi Ghat is an Indian movie, a drama, based on social structure of Indian society. The movie is directed by debutant Kiran Rao and succeeded in getting good response from audiences. The story of this movie was based on a struggler who aspired to be a film star. “Dhobi Ghat” could not make huge commercial gains but it succeeded in getting acclamation and attention of the critics. The story describes how masculinity and will power play very crucial role in the success.
The movie was premiered at Tokyo international film festival in the year 2010 and very next year, it was released in cinema houses. Every aspect of the film was good. Actors like Dhillin Mehta and Aamir delivered their acting skills. Music, cinematography, story and direction were other strong aspects of this movie. Light, colors and sounds were very effective in connecting the audience with the subject. Editing was also done effectively to display the subject. Taken as a whole, “Dhobi Ghat” fulfilled expectations of people who seek some relevant subject in movies, instead of merely salable content.
Having observed abovementioned detailed analysis of Asian cinema, it can be concluded that masculinity has been widely portrayed in the abovementioned Asian movies. Asian film makers are highly talented, and they keep producing films that do not only entertain audiences, but also educate them about a lot of things. Asian cinema tends to raise several social issues that affect the people and society.
Works Cited
Linton, J. P. "Kurosawa's Ran (1985) and King Lear: Towards a Conversation on Historical Responsibility." Quaterly Review of Film and Video, 23(4) (2006): 341-351.
Shapiro, Michael J. "Yau's Eye in the Sky." Shapiro, Michael J. Genre and the City. New York: Routledge, 2011. 105-119.
