Best Japanese language films for a HS kid taking Japanese

[Nostromo]

I would also suggest 'Zatoichi'. I enjoyed it a lot, but I'm not sure if its convenient for a 15 year old.

[CygnusZ]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten

Anything with the group "Downtown" in it is very funny as well.

The guys in Downtown speak Kansai-ben, which is the last thing a student studying standard Japanese should be exposing themselves to.

If she ever wants to understand Japanese comedy, and people from Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka, learning to understand a little Kansai-ben is a good idea. It'd be way better to study kansai-ben than, let's say, the archaic Japanese from 7 Samurai.

[Nanimo]

[SIZE=1]

Seven Samurai, and pretty much any Kurosawa film, is going to be a bad choice. Unless you know she's a big fan of either spaghetti westerns or samurai films, and that's pretty rare in women, much less teenage girls.

I agree, making me watch "Seven Samurai" would be pretty much like getting me to see "Dirty Harry" or "The good, the bad and the ugly". It's just never going to happen.

Of course, the 15 yo girl in question might have a higher tolerance for boredom.

[lord of the mark]

We havent rented a film yet, probably this weekend, but last night I was futzing around on Youtube, and POTM watched the Seven Samurai trailer, and she was interested - told me what some writing on the flag meant. Then she searched for "Hidden Fortress" apparently theyd watched it in school, but hadnt gotten to the end. Unfortunately we couldnt find the end. She told me that "Star Wars" was influenced by it. She seems to like the old B&W Kurosawa films, so thats what I think it will be.

[Mercator]

Originally posted by Nanimo
I agree, making me watch "Seven Samurai" would be pretty much like getting me to see (...) "The good, the bad and the ugly". It's just never going to happen.

You are mistaken.

[Drake Tungsten]

If she ever wants to understand Japanese comedy, and people from Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka, learning to understand a little Kansai-ben is a good idea.

If she wants to do well in school, she'd be better off staying away from it. And people in Nagoya don't speak Kansai-ben...

[bipolarbear]

Originally posted by nostromo
I would also suggest 'Zatoichi'. I enjoyed it a lot, but I'm not sure if its convenient for a 15 year old.

Zatoichi (the 1989 film iirc) has a healthy alternative culture following so that might be a good choice if she cares about being cool (a.k.a. is in high school and has a pusle).

[Nostromo]

I was talking about the 2003 Takeshi Kitano movie:

http://www.midnighteye.com/reviews/zatoichi.shtml

I don't think I ever saw the movie you're talking about.

[Mercator]

There have been many movies about Zatoichi:

Zatoichi (座頭市 Zatōichi) is a fictional character featured in one of Japan's longest running series of films and a television series set in the Edo period. The enduring popularity of the character has been likened to that of James Bond in Western countries. Unlike Bond, however, whose character has been portrayed by a long list of actors, Zatoichi has become almost synonymous with only one actor: Shintaro Katsu. The only other actor to portray Zatoichi on film is Takeshi Kitano, after a hiatus of almost 15 years (and the death of Katsu).

I also only saw the Takeshi Kitano film, though, which is indeed excellent.

[lord of the mark]

so far we are enjoying Seven Samurai. And she managed to read the opening title, and pick out some words, but is mainly following the subtitles.

[monolith94]

I've been meaning to watch Ran for quite a while now...

If your daughter is the sort of girl who's into films like L'Avventura, and Solyaris, then you might rent the Japanese film "Woman in the Dunes".

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058625/

[lord of the mark]

We had a great time watching Seven Samurai.

POTM was fine with the battle scenes, ("but what happens when the bandits figure out whats going on and stop going in one at a time, daddy?") She especially like the Mifune character, the love story, the picture of society, etc, etc.

As always, I find the ending striking. "We lose, we always lose". The bandits are gone, farming may continue, but the warriors have no triumph, and there is no final victory.

Timely, here.