COMP 153
Japanese Film Fall 2023
Division I
Cross-listed ASIA 153
This is not the current course catalog

From the swashbuckling samurai films of Kurosawa and delicate family dramas of Ozu to edgy cinematic experiments and a breathtaking range of animation, Japan has one of the most varied and exciting film traditions in the world. This course will introduce you to major periods, genres, and directors in that tradition. We will read film criticism that represents a range of approaches, but we’ll focus particularly on learning and practicing the kind of close visual analysis that will allow you to build your own original descriptions of how a given scene “works.” Throughout the course we will consider the relationship between classic cinema and popular genres like sword flicks, melodramas, psychological thrillers, and anime, focusing particularly on directors whose work seems to borrow equally from genre film and the artistic avant-garde. All texts are translated or subtitled. All levels welcome.