Notes & Quotes
News from the AV Library
by Kate Pourshariati, AV Cataloger/Reference Librarian PT
A generation ago, our parents’ definition of a cultured person included someone that was familiar with European and American artists and authors; classical and perhaps jazz music; and playwrights and filmmakers from Voltaire to Ingmar Bergman. Our cultural world seems to have expanded as the world seems to have shrunk. The Internet and other access to media have made us increasingly aware of the cultural legacy of the rest of the world. At first it seems a daunting array. However, we at the College have an unusual advantage, a spyglass if you will, with which to gain an insider view to many cultures and traditions, as well as the many forms of hybridization that are developing as a result of the meeting of many minds: international cinema. The Audiovisual Library of the College has a first class international film collection, which is, in fact, superior in scope to that of many four year college libraries. This is due to the concentrated collecting efforts over many years by Audiovisual Library staff, as well as the requests of many professors, instructors and students.
Not only do the films serve as an introduction to the cultural life and legacy of many other nations, but they often are used in other ways in the classroom. As a way of learning language, an English as a Second Language student, for example, can use a film in their own language with English subtitles as a way of honing their English skills. Similarly, American students may use foreign films to enhance their language study. A history professor may show a foreign film to elucidate the history or politics of a particular country or region. A film studies class may select an international film as a way of studying the characteristics and style of any given filmmaker, for example, Almodovar of Spain or Makhmalbaf of Iran.
This past Spring, two librarians of the AV Library, Mary Lou Neighbour and Kate Pourshariati, were among eight members of a committee that were tasked with selecting films for the International Film Festival. The theme for this year’s films, to be screened in the Fall, is Bollywood, by which is meant the musical feature films of India. The committee found itself challenged by the vast body of work to be considered. Bollywood films (or the Indian film industry) dwarfs the American film industry in volume of production. Another level of challenge was the recognition of the grammar of this form of cinema - beginning with a sense of time (plot develops more slowly, and with more musical intermissions) and then to deeper issues of culture. An example of the latter would be the loyalty that is expected to parents over romantic connections (a reflection of the ideal of the good-of-the-group trumping individual needs or desires). Even the depth of loyalty among friends (and willingness to sacrifice) is more strongly expressed as a value than in American cinema. What may seem “over the top” in a film from a western viewpoint may be a very successful rendition, and a cathartic film, to the target South Asian audience. As such, cultural relativity becomes a key philosophical screen through which to view other traditions of cinema.
There is a pre-cinema tradition in Iran (once known as Persia), of the itinerant story-teller who traveled around cities and towns with a portable three dimensional shadow theater called a Shahr-e-farrang. He would tell tales as he slowly rotated paper rolls with silhouette illustrations through the frame, which each viewer looked at through eye shaped peep-holes. Shahr-e-farrang can be translated to “foreign city”, and the stories usually involved travels, and the exotica of foreigners and their different ways. Perhaps, this is not so unlike what we yearn to see today, and yet, perhaps, the best improvement on this centuries-old tradition is that now the foreigners tell their own stories, in the language of film, both to their own audiences and ours.
We very much hope that instructors and professors will continue to use the film collection of the Audiovisual Library in assignments for their classes, and will assign projects that make use of the films, like books, as primary source materials for papers assigned, and to explore the world beyond our borders. What follows is a small example of the rich variety of world cinema in the Audiovisual Library collection.
Algeria
The Battle of Algiers. Gillo Pontecorvo/Salash Baazi DVD 965
This film was a landmark in both its depiction of guerilla warfare in the third world, and in its combined usage of documentary footage and reenactment using non-actors to represent the resistance to colonial rule by Algerian citizens.
Brazil.
The City of God. Fernando Meirelles DVD 812
A tale of how crime affects the poor population of Rio de Janeiro. Amidst the oppressive crime, violence, and gang wars, a frail and sensitive boy grows to learn that he can record the harsh surroundings and events as a photographer, thus making a brutal crime war famous.
Chad
Abouna. Mehemet Saleh-Haroun DVD 923
After two young Chadian boys discover their father has abandoned them, they embark on a desperate quest to bring him home.
China (Hong Kong)
Kung-fu Hustle. Stephen Chow DVD 1874
In this surreal comedic take on the Kung fu genre film, Stephen Chow plays Sing, a hapless gangster, who must overcome his inability to wield a knife and demonstrate his mettle in order to become a member of the venerated Axe Gang. Stephen Chow's films are well known for their creative and extensive use of special effects.
India
Water. Deepa Mehta DVD 1470
When eight-year-old Chuyia is widowed on the eve of her nuptials, she is sent to a home in the Holy City of Varanasi where Hindu widows live in penitence. Her feisty presence affects the other residents, forcing each to confront their faith and society's prejudices, especially a young woman who has fallen in love with a follower of Gandhi.
Iran
The Day I Became a Woman. Marziyeh Meshkini DVD 1102
Three portraits of women at three stages of life in Iran, including a nine-year-old girl told she can no longer play with boys because she is now a "woman", a young woman who enters a bicycle race against her husband's wishes, and an old woman who gains money and the freedom to do what she wishes with it.
Japan
Grave of the Fireflies. Isao Takahaka DVD 351
Based on the novel by Akiyuki Nosaka which tells the story of two orphans in war-time Kobe, Japan, who face fire-bombs, hunger, homelessness, and despair as the war and their lives come to an end. This film is animated, and part of the anime genre.
Korea
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter--and spring. Kim Ki Duk DVD 540
A Buddhist fable in which each season is a chapter in the life of a young monk, who is learning the ways of the Buddha from an older master. Their quiet life is complicated when the young monk enters into an intense sexual relationship with a girl and must learn the hard way that desire causes much suffering, a traditional Buddhist teaching.
Mexico
Amores Perros. Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu DVD 354
Three different stories about life in Mexico City, each featuring dogs, come together after a terrible car crash. The lives of three people (a young man who becomes involved in the world of underground dogfighting, a supermodel who loses her pampered pet, and a hit man who rescues stray dogs) all become intertwined after the accident.
Mongolia
Story of the Weeping Camel. Byambasuren Davaa DVD 743
In the Gobi Desert, a family of nomads assist in the birth of its camel herd, and face a crisis when one white calf is rejected by its mother. With all hope lost, the family sends its two young boys on a journey to a far-off village to bring back a musician capable of performing a magical ceremony to help the situation. Humorous and touching by turns, and a great inside view to a little seen culture as it begins to change.
New Zealand
The Whale Rider. Niki Caro DVD 432
Pai is the granddaughter of the spiritual and tribal leader of a Maori clan in New Zealand. A crisis develops when the evident successor to the leadership does not materialize, and only Pai shows signs of being able to take leadership. Told with humor and tremendous feeling, this tale of tradition and modernity is winning in every way.
Russia
The Stalker. Andrei Tarkovsky DVD 1700
At the center of an outlawed region called The Zone lies a mystical room altered by metaphysical forces. Armed guards are the first in a series of obstructions that prevent outsiders from reaching the place where fantastic powers can fulfill a man's greatest desires. This film is considered a masterpiece of the great art film director, Andrei Tarkovsky, admired also for its extraordinary cinematography
