Japanese dogs obey their masters' orders more if they are in English.

Quill (2004) directed by Yoichi Sai

Before watching this film, I was feeling quite excited as I just had a certain idea of what Sai Yoichi might be as a filmmaker. He started his illustrious career as an assistant for Nagisa Oshima on the highly controversial art film "Empire of the senses". It was the same film for which the famous gangster turned filmmaker Koji Wakamatsu provided funds. In the recent past, I had seen only one film directed by him "Blood and Bones". For me,although it was a very violent film I had ever seen in my life, it enabled me to keenly watch and observe Kitano Takeshi's acting talents. So it was with such pleasant expectations and unknown surprises that I began watching this film with my family. At the end of the film, I was feeling elated as I had discovered an hitherto unknown facet of Japanese culture. To begin with, "Quill" made me catch glimpses of family life in Japan as it was shot in a small town away for the bustling metropolis Tokyo. Watching this film made me realize how much value people from Asian countries especially Koreans, Chinese and Japanese attach to English language and culture. It is true that one should try not to be sentimental about dogs, what pleased me the most was the emotional bond which Yochi Sai depicted by making a blind person aware of his dog's worthiness. There are moments of sadness in the film but all in all they served their purpose well. This is a point which all serious viewers would take away with them when they watch this simple, frank and honest film.

Make sure an innocent person is not hurt anywhere, anytime under any circumstances.

Mang Zhong (2005) directed by Zhang Lu

Chinese-Korean filmmaker Zhang Lu shares his artistic destiny with the likes of Japanese filmmakers Yoichi Sai (Blood and bones) and Lee Sang Il (Borderline) who are ethnically Korean but have been creatively active for all their lives in their country of residence Japan. As they have personally been victims of indifference, they have decided to mitigate their sufferings by showing their anger,frustration,hurt, disappointment and misery in their films. Their films are about the problems faced by those people who form part of two cultures. The inherent message of these films is how difficult it is to live like a second class citizen in a land whose customs, traditions and are not at all different from one's homeland. On the contrary, "Grain in ear" directed by Zhang Lu tackles the essential question of cultural identity. The film speaks of the cultural clash faced by Cui Shunji, an unmarried woman of Korean origin. She does everything in order to keep her young boy happy. It is important to note that like Chinese filmmaker Wang Chao (Orphan of Anyang), Zhang Lu too started his artistic career as a writer. It is for this very reason that he has deliberately chosen to give a bookish feel to this film. Watching this film, we feel as if we are reading a filmed book. This film is surely not for viewers used to Hollywood style slick, quick action type films where something keeps on happening every now and than. "Grain in ear" portrays how ordinary people are driven to madness when they are provoked beyond the normal limit of endurance. For this film, Zhang Lu received full support as well as cooperation from an equally great writer turned filmmaker, the acclaimed South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang Dong (Oasis) who also worked for a brief while as South Korean minister of culture.