Train Man: Densha Otoko

In one of the most crowded, overpopulated, and largest cities in the world, Tokyo Japan, a lonely computer nerd is set on finding true love. this film was based on a bestseller by Hitori Nakano, and was realised in Japan in 2005 to rave revues. Surprisingly this story was based on the true events of a 23 year old computer geek who came to the rescue of some women on a train who were being harassed by a drunk businessman. The main character known as Train Man is a computer engineer who is into Manga, a form of Japanese anime. He goes unnoticed throughout his daily life in the crowded city of Tokyo. This city is overflowing with people and trains are one of the easiest and most efficient was to get around the busy areas. The streets are lit up with billboards at night and people walking form a blockade for autos. The only form of contact with the outside world that Train Man has is through an Internet chat room with other random lost souls who spend their time a lot of time on the computer. After saving the women on the train this otaku posts his story on bulletin board in a chat room. He begins getting all kinds of advice on how to approach his love interest by random chat room people. The love interest in the film is one of the women he saved on the train who got his address and sent him a thank you gift in the form of Hermes tea cups, therefore the people on the chat board refer to her as Hermes. Train Man uses all sorts of cell phones, text messages, pda's and other forms of technology to his advantage in the movie.

Otaku is a Japanese word to describe an obsessed fan of any certain topic or hobby. The word by itself means a fanatic, but it is commonly used with anime or manga to describe a specific kind of fanatic. People in Japan look down on these manga otaku, but according to http://www.trainman-movie.com/otaku.htm proud fanatics around the world claim to be otaku because it is more accepted outside Japan. The main character in the movie is a nerd, and his depiction is very similar to what a nerd would be in this country. they normally dress poorly and are into things like computers, anime, and video games. they are usually pretty smart, but lack social skills needed to get a girlfriend. The instant message support group in the movie helps train man by responding to his questions on bulletin board that acts as an open forum for discussion. The Internet forum supposedly used in the true story is 2ch, and is the largest forum in the world. It is said now to have as much influence as other types of mass media like television or radio.

Well, Train Man uses his Internet friends to woo the girl and they end up falling in love with each other. the story has a very happy ending, but in the last scene it shows an earlier part of the movie where Hermes noticed Train Man before he saved her. This shows some kind of idea that she may have been pursuing him throughout this whole movie rather than the other way around.

Good Bye Lenin

This film takes place in the city of Berlin, Germany, during the fall of the Berlin Wall. The family that it follows lives on the eastern side of Berlin which is controlled by communist Russia. The story follows a small family who are trying to keep their bed ridden mother from getting anymore shocking news because it might cause her some serious heart problems. They do everything in their power to hide the fall of the Berlin wall and the communist control of their city.

The movie was shot in parts of Berlin which show a great deal of box like cheaply built housing. All of the clothes and furniture and cars look as though they came from the 1960’s yet it was in fact 1989. The city looked gloomy and forbidding, like you didn’t want to go outside and no one was having fun anywhere. They also showed how the people were caged in the city and not allowed to leave for fear of defection. The Russians controlled everything that the people in their hostage city could do. They could not even go on walks after dark and had to wait as much as 7 years to buy a car.

Capitalist countries invite free trade and free enterprise where as the communist control of Berlin fought for equality through everyone getting the same amount. There was a dramatic change when capitalism was introduced into Berlin. Everyone rid themselves of old crappy furniture and clothes and got stuff more up to date. People began watching TV from all over the world and corporations like McDonalds and Coca-Cola moved in. Totalitarianism in the movie was show by the complete and unforgiving control of the people of Berlin, by the Russians. The Berlin wall was the key to this control and imprisonment of the citizens of the city. Ostalgia refers to the nostalgia for aspects of regular daily life and culture in the former GDR, which disappeared after the reunification of Berlin. Many of the people that conformed to the socialist way of life for so long in East Berlin felt this nostalgia after the capitalist society quickly erased all of the GDR brands when the wall came down.

Seducing Dr. Lewis

This film takes place on the coast of northern Canada. The area is cold and isolated. The inhabitants of this dried up fishing town may only reach the city by boat, as there are no roads, tracks, or airfields around. The landscape is coastal with rocky cliffs and grassy hills. The town has a walkway system built out of wooden boardwalks going from house to house, in order to smooth out the hills. They are in a very rural area as compared to city life. I did not see any vehicles other than boats in their area. Some residents had TVs and radios, but getting the mail seemed to be one of their most important chores for the day. They were in much need of a doctor as no one new how to treat sickness in the area. They all spoke french in this town and seemed to drink a lot. The film reminded me of a comedy style much like ones popular in France. They had a lot of french anecdotes that show a relationship to more European areas unlike southern Canada, which is more Americanized. The role of the government was to keep the people on well fare and not much else. There was no sheriff or any type of control in the city. When the mayor left to go find work in the city, the next most interested man just took over for his town. The people in this movie had a long tradition of working hard and raising a family in their community. They enjoyed the simple life and wanted to stay in their isolated area away from the troubles of the big city. After the fishing dried up they did nothing for many years, until the shame of not working got the best of them. After a number of wild events they got a factory and saved the town from going extinct.

The Little Girl Who Sold The Sun

This film was directed by Djibril Diop Mambety in the city of Dakar, which is the largest city in Senegal on the west coast of northern Africa. This film depicts a poor crippled girl who begs for money to feed her family including here blind mother. After seeing some other boys selling the newspaper called the sun, she decides that they are harsh and that she can do their job better. She over comes many adversities in order to sell the paper. They do not want to let her do it and many of the boys torment, and attack her for taking their jobs. The girl becomes lucky and a well off man gives her a small fortune for her papers. She distributes the money with kindness to beggars, and her family.

There are some great shots of the city of Dakar that depict this area very well. This is a city with a wide range of lifestyles, from the man breaking rocks, to the people flying in and speaking french. The city lies on the coast overlooking the pacific ocean, while also close to the dry areas of the Sahara Desert. The director displays the setbacks that have griped the people of Dakar in this movie. The French currency out weighs their home currency drastically and many of the population are out of work. This was a well thought out film with overtones of fairy tales, like the girl rising up against the evil boys and giving to the poor. He wanted to show triumph over adversity and the resiliency of the African people.