It officially began last Thursday, but I didn't see my first film until Friday night. Over the weekend I saw four films: Daughter from Yan'an, Ripples (Sazanami), 25 Kids and One Dad and Mr. Rookie.

Instead of me trying to recap the movie plots, I found a decent review that summarizes them all. Unlike mainstream movies, they don't have nice (or overblown), dedicated websites.

I could identify with many of the themes that each movie touched on to various degrees. The views expressed about family, saving face, respect and acceptance are very similar to the ones my mom and my grandparents hold. It was a little freaky, in a few cases, seeing those similarities played out on the screen and not just at home.

Ripples, which was the most stylized of the four movies, really caught my attention. Compared to other films I've seen, this one was refreshingly slow and quiet. Most scenes went something like this...

View of an empty hiking trail is shown for ten seconds. A young woman walks up the trail and disappears around the bend in about five seconds. For another ten seconds, the camera remains focused on the empty trail.

The whole effect was one of isolation and loneliness. I don't think there were more than three people in any one shot and the dialogue was minimal.

The audience reaction wasn't very positive. Most people were yawning and checking their watches halfway through, which made me more determined to relish the "tediousness" of the film. Others were frustrated with the inability of some characters to communicate, but those were the ones that I could sympathize and relate to the most.

As a typical movie experience, the film was rather unsatisfying. But from a personal perspective, it was quite endearing.