Exploring the multiple aesthetic and cultural links between French and Japanese cinema, The Cinematic Influence is packed with vivid examples and case studies of films by Akira Kurosawa, Jean-Luc Godard, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Claire Denis, Naomi Kawase, Michel Gondry and many others. It illustrates the vast array of cinematic connections that mark a long history of mutual influence and reverence between filmmakers in France and Japan. The book provides new insights into the ways that national cinemas resist Hollywood to maintain and strengthen their own cultural practices and how these national cinemas perform the task of informing and enlightening other cultures about what it means to be French or Japanese. This book also deepens our understandings of film's role as a viable cultural and economic player in individual nations. Importantly, the reader will see that film operates as a form of cultural exchange between France and Japan, and more broadly, Europe and Asia. This is the first major book to investigate the crossover between these two diverse national cinemas by tracking their history of shared narrative and stylistic techniques.

Acknowledgements List of figures Preface Introduction Two cinematic ecosystems: France and Japan History Reception Chapter structure PART A: History and Style 1. Historicising French and Japanese cinemas Before the nouvelle vague...and after The impact of Japan's Nuberu bagu The rise of the female auteur: Naomi Kawase and Claire Denis Conclusion 2. Cinematic engagement between France and JapanKurosawa connectionsFormalising co-productionsConclusion3. Directorial styles, influence and exchange Styles and Technologies Theatrical antecedents Monochrome Conclusion 4. Tora-san and the Monsieur Hulot influence Tati: choreographing meaning through movementIcons from another era Ambivalence to modernity (and love)Conclusion PART B: Themes, Ideas and Approaches 5. Unemployment and the isolating selfThe Personal Toll of UnemploymentUnemployment in France Isolation Conclusion 6. Location and the sense of place Imagining the nation through rural/urban divides Country living in French cinema French Colonialism Reflections of Japan as Coloniser Absences Conclusion 7. Confrontational cinema Eroticism and sexploitation Violence Conclusion 8. Life, death and states of being Hirokazu Kore-eda: Contemplations on Life The Connectivity and Disconnectivity of Family in French Cinema Conclusion 9. Adapting literary and visual texts Fantasy Drama Conclusion Conclusion: Where to next for the cinematic influence? Audience and Reception Films Cited Bibliography Index