CHAPTER 21 – INTERNATIONAL CINEMA SINCE 2000
Multiple Choice
1. The British school of filmmaking that has thrived since 2000 is
a. kitchen sink
b. Masterpiece Theatre
c. neither of the above
d. both of the above
2. The leading director of the Kitchen Sink school in Britain is
a. Stephen Frears
b. Mike Leigh
c. Joe Wright
d. Larry Charles
3. French filmmaker Jean Pierre Jeunet directed all of the following films except
a. Alien
b. Delicatessen
c. City of Lost Children
d. Amélie
4. The Spanish director known for his insights into the female psyche is
a. Penelope Cruz
b. Guillermo del Toro
c. Pedro Almodóvar
d. none of the above
5. The country which has produced the most promising films since 2000 in Eastern Europe is
a. Poland
b. Romania
c. Czechoslovakia
d. Bosnia
6. All of the following are true about Romanian films except a
a. hostility towards the social system
b. tendency to favor lengthy takes
c. refusal to beautify the mise en scene
d. spiritual dimension
7. The overriding theme of Islamic films is
a. oppression of women
b. anti-Semitism
c. anti-West
d. jihad justification
8. One of the most prolific film producing countries in the world is
a. Iraq
b. Iran
c. Egypt
d. Niger
9. The prize-winning animated movie, though French, co-directed by Marjane Satrapi, that
focuses on the struggles of a young Iranian woman is
a. Moolaadé
b. Persepolis
c. Taste of Cherry
d. Osama
10. Because of Islamic codes concerning conduct and dress between men and women, Iranian
filmmakers often make stories concerning
a. animals
b. war
c. children
d. clerics
11. The Asian director who has transcended the basic crudity of the martial-arts genre is
a. Ang Lee
b. Yuen Wo Ping
c. John Woo
d. all of the above
12. All of the following are true of Zhang Yimou’s Curse of the Golden Flower except
a. made in the tradition of Hong Kong action movies
b. created voluptuous visual lyricism
c. box office champ in China
d. set in contemporary China
13. The best Japanese movie of the 2000s, set in World War II, was directed by
a. John Woo
b. Clint Eastwood
c. Ang Lee
d. Ken Watanabe
14. The principal characteristic of Latin American movies is
a. right-wing politics
b. consciously intellectual
c. pro-American
d. serious and sexless
15. Guillermo del Toro is known to divide his energies between
a. art and commerce
b. Mexico and the U.S.
c. Hollywood and personal movies
d. all of the above
16. A common narrative device in the films of Mexican directors in the 2000s has been
a. journey motif
b. rites of passage
c. savior
d. none of the above
17. The catch word of movie making in the 2000s is
a. slash
b. globalization
c. innovate
d. tradition
True/False
(Place a T or an F in the line following the sentence.)
1. The conflict between the powerful Hollywood and struggling cinemas of smaller countries has
ceased in the 2000s.
2. Many successful movies like the Lord of the Ring Trilogy have primarily been international
co-productions.
3. British cinema has continued to languish in the 2000s.
4. No German movie has won an Oscar in the 2000s.
5. Romanian filmmakers and Islamic filmmakers share many filmmaking techniques with Italian
neorealists.
6. Iraqi filmmakers have cemented their position as world-class movie makers since 2000.
7. Iranian filmmakers have become among the most admired in the world.
8. Mexican directors like Guillermo del Toro generally make more money in Mexico than in the
U.S.
9. Martial-arts movies, popular with young males, often are comprised of improbable events and
cardboard stereotypes.
10. Policies of democratically elected governments in Latin American countries helped the film
industry to erupt there.
Matching
1) No Man’s Land ___
2) The Queen ___
3) The Lives of Others ___
4) Osama ___
5) Children of Men ___
6) Paradise Now ___
7) Maria Full of Grace ___
8) Kandahar ___
9) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ___
10) Letters from
a. won the Golden Globe as Best Foreign film
b. a pregnant teen decides to become a drug mule
c. action as dance
d. two friends from childhood become suicide bombers
e. Helen Mirren won the Academy Award for her performance
f. portrayal of “the devastated, hopeless, soul of a nation”
g. political black comedy from Bosnia
h. raising the American flag is but a dot in the distance
i. political thriller about “big brother” surveillance
j. in a childless dystopian world, a single female Iwo Jima miraculously becomes pregnant
ANS:
Short Answer
1. What do ethnic comedies in the 2000s usually deal with?
2. What has been Islamic filmmakers’ response to their harassment for making movies
sympathetic to women?
3. How does Yuen Wo Ping, choreographer of The Matrix Trilogy, achieve his “action as dance”
effect?
4. To what tradition is Guillermo del Toro’s Pan Labyrinth indebted?
Essay Questions
1. Why does neorealism continue to show up in the films of very different cultures like Romania
and Iran?
2. What has enabled movie making to tear down barriers to become an inter-cultural,
international art form and business?
3. Has filmmaking been an aid or a hindrance to women internationally in the 2000s?
4. Why is the journey motif an effective story-telling device in movies?