A thousand years after a global war, a seaside kingdom known as the Valley of The Wind remains one of only a few areas still populated. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley are engaged in a constant struggle with powerful insects called Ohmu who guard a poisonous jungle that is spreading across the Earth. Nausicaä and her brave companions, together with the people of the Valley, strive to restore the bond between humanity and the Earth. [Disney Movies] (116 min. Japanese with English subtitles). Free & Open only to Lehigh students/faculty/staff.
Event Archive
Monday, April 20, 2015 - 4:00pm
Maginnes Hall 113
Monday, April 13, 2015 - 4:00pm
Maginnes Hall 113
Sophie, a quiet girl working in a hat shop, finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome but mysterious wizard named Howl. The vain and vengeful Witch of the Waste, jealous of their friendship, puts a spell on Sophie. In a life-changing adventure, Sophie climbs aboard Howl's magnificent moving castle and enters a magical world on a quest to break the spell. [Disney Movies] (119 min. Japanese with English subtitles). Free & Open only to Lehigh students/faculty/staff.
Monday, April 6, 2015 - 4:00pm
Maginnes Hall 113
Paul Schrader’s visually stunning, collagelike portrait of acclaimed Japanese author and playwright Yukio Mishima (played by Ken Ogata) investigates the inner turmoil and contradictions of a man who attempted an impossible harmony between self, art, and society. Taking place on Mishima’s last day, when he famously committed public seppuku, the film is punctuated by extended flashbacks to the writer’s life as well as by gloriously stylized evocations of his fictional works. With its rich cinematography by John Bailey, exquisite sets and costumes by Eiko Ishioka, and unforgettable, highly influential score by Philip Glass, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is a tribute to its subject and a bold, investigative work of art in its own right. [Criterion Collection] (120 min. Japanese with English subtitles) Free & Open only to Lehigh students/faculty/staff.
Monday, March 30, 2015 - 4:00pm
Maginnes Hall 113
Set in ninth century Kyoto. A nobleman is murdered, his bride is raped by a bandit. These deeds are the subject of four different accounts, three by participants and one by an eye-witness. Kurosawa uses a flashback technique to tell the four different versions of these events, and cynically shows the ability of human beings to twist the truth to preserve the idea they have of themselves. The version of the witness, the woodcutter, is different to those of the three participants, and he emerges as the hero of the story. [WorldCat Database] (88 min. Japanese with English subtitles). Free & Open only to Lehigh students/faculty/staff
Monday, March 23, 2015 - 4:00pm
Maginnes Hall 112
Asian Studies travel grant recipeints from 2014 spring, summer and fall and 2015 winter will be presenting.
Monday, March 16, 2015 - 4:00pm
Maginnes Hall 113
When an idealistic governor disobeys the reigning feudal lord, he is cast into exile, his wife and children left to fend for themselves and eventually wrenched apart by vicious slave traders. Under Kenji Mizoguchi’s dazzling direction, this classic Japanese story became one of cinema’s greatest masterpieces, a monumental, empathetic expression of human resilience in the face of evil. [Criterion Collection] (124 min. Japanese with English subtitles) Free & Open only to Lehigh students/faculty/staff.
Monday, March 2, 2015 - 4:00pm
Maginnes Hall 113
Consists of four stories of the supernatural based on Japanese folk material. In “The Black Hair,” a poor young samurai leaves his first wife to marry a rich woman. When he is unhappy in his second marriage, he returns to his first wife, who at first appears unchanged from when he last saw her. In “The Woman of the Snow,” a woodcutter is spared by a mysterious ghost-like woman in the snow, but must promise never to tell anyone what he has seen. In “Hoichi, the Earless,” a blind musician-monk named Hoichi is commanded by a gathering of ghosts to sing the saga of their ancient deeds. The head monk paints Hoichi's body with prayer verses to protect him, but unfortunately overlooks Hoichi's ears. In “In a Cup of Tea,” a writer wonders what would happen to a person who drinks another's soul and finds out. [WorldCat Database] (161 min. Japanese with English subtitles) Free & Open only to Lehigh students/faculty/staff.
Monday, February 23, 2015 - 4:00pm
Maginnes Hall 113
THE KINGDOM OF DREAMS AND MADNESS is a fascinating, never-before-seen look inside the quirky and wonderful world of Studio Ghibli, creators of masterpieces like Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro and the Oscar-winning Spirited Away. Granted near-unfettered access to the notoriously insular Studio Ghibli, director Mami Sunada follows the eminent director Hayao Miyazaki, producer Toshio Susuki and the elusive and influential “other director” Isao Takahata for a year as the studio rushes to complete two films, Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises and Takahata’s The Tale of The Princess Kaguya. The result is a rare fly-on-the-wall glimpse of the inner workings of one of the world’s most celebrated animation studios and a rare insight into the dreams, passion and singular dedication of these remarkable creators. [GKIDS] (118 min. Japanese with English subtitles) Free & Open only to Lehigh students/faculty/staff.
Monday, February 9, 2015 - 4:00pm
Maginnes Hall 113
Shows the life and loves of Hikaru Genji, a nobleman who was born the son of an emperor and later made a commoner. He was the most handsome man in the nation with abilities in poetry and music that were unparalleled. [WorldCat Database] (108 min. Japanese with English subtitles) Free & Open only to Lehigh students/faculty/staff.
Monday, January 26, 2015 - 4:00pm
Maginnes Hall 113
Based on an award winning, best-selling manga series by Mari Yamazaki. Lucius (Abe), an architect of spa baths for the Roman Empire, inadvertently travels through time and finds himself in a modern Japanese bathhouse. He takes elements of Japanese culture that he learns there back with him to Rome and is hugely successful, which leads the Emperor to command him to build a massive spa. [WorldCat] (108 min. Japanese with English subtitles) Free & Open ONLY to Lehigh students/faculty/staff.