Author Archives: philipbrasor

Media Mix, Oct. 4, 2020

Posted on October 4, 2020 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix about the media’s role in helping Yoshihide Suga attain the premiership. As implied in the column, the press didn’t actively boost Suga but rather stood aside and just let the Liberal Democratic Party propaganda machine … Continue reading →

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Review: The Asadas

Posted on October 3, 2020 by philipbrasor

The true story of photographer Masashi Asada and his Mie Prefecture family, who were and presumably still are the main subject of his award-winning pictures, provides such a smooth dramatic arc for a movie that early on you begin to … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Sept. 27, 2020

Posted on September 27, 2020 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix, which is mainly about the lack of women’s voices in the Japanese mass media, especially with regard to the press. I understand that some people, aside from the issue of fairness in employment, may be … Continue reading →

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Review: The Wild Goose Lake

Posted on September 25, 2020 by philipbrasor

Mainland Chinese cinema was relatively late to film noir, especially in relation to Hong Kong and other Asian countries like South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines, all of which have reshaped the genre in distinctive ways. But once a younger … Continue reading →

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Review: Martin Eden

Posted on September 20, 2020 by philipbrasor

I haven’t read Jack London’s novel, which is supposedly an autobiographical affair outlining his genesis as a writer, but based on his other writings that I have read and the general tenor of autobiographical novels by writers, I can probably … Continue reading →

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Review: Vitalina Varela

Posted on September 19, 2020 by philipbrasor

There’s a subset of narrative film directors who work almost exclusively with non-professional actors, which may sound like an oxymoron since these performers are in all likelihood paid for their efforts, but in most cases they only appear in one … Continue reading →

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Review: Bring Me Home

Posted on September 18, 2020 by philipbrasor

Bring Me Home is, I think, the third missing child movie I’ve seen this year, which, given the attenuated nature of my moviegoing pastime in the COVID era (I tend to watch TV series at home), practically makes it a … Continue reading →

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Review: Hitsville: The Making of Motown

Posted on September 17, 2020 by philipbrasor

Right away, I should mention that this documentary about the pioneering Black-owned independent record label was authorized and to a certain extent supervised by Motown’s founder Berry Gordy. It’s essentially a PR gambit and looks like it. The narrative emphasis … Continue reading →

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BIFF2020: Press Conference

Posted on September 14, 2020 by philipbrasor

Last week, the organizers of the 25th annual Busan International Film Festival announced somewhat abruptly that the festival, originally scheduled to take place Oct. 7-16, would be postponed for two weeks and would instead begin on Oct. 21. It has … Continue reading →

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Media Mix, Sept. 13, 2020

Posted on September 13, 2020 by philipbrasor

Here’s this week’s Media Mix column, which is about Japan’s response to the Green Recovery movement. As pointed out near the end, the Japanese media will cover environmental issues but rarely links that coverage to Japanese business practices since anything … Continue reading →

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