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March 2021 MBR The Library DVD Shelf

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Midwest Book Review

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Mar 31, 2021, 2:07:50 AM3/31/21
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The Library DVD Shelf

Shusenjo: Comfort Women and Japan's War on History
Miki Dezaki
First Run Features
630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 1213, New York, NY 10036
www.firstrunfeatures.com
DVD, $24.95, 120 minutes, color (2019)

http://firstrunfeatures.com/shusenjohv.html

Synopsis: One of the most heated issues in Japan and Asia today is over something that occurred 80 years ago: the Japanese Imperial Army's sexual enslavement of tens of thousands of Korean women and other captive females in their military brothels during World War II. Many nationalist Japanese conservatives, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (with the surprising support of Western media influencers), believe the women were willing prostitutes, not 'sex slaves', and that the estimated number is far smaller than are claimed. But contemporary historians, activists and (most significantly) the surviving victims and their families, believe otherwise. The denial of their suffering so long ago has created an entirely new trauma for these victims of Japanese military imperialism.

In his documentary "Shusenjo: Comfort Women and Japan's War on History", film director Miki Dezaki (who is a second-generation Japanese American who learned about comfort women from his Japanese immigrant parents), questions why accounts in the Western media have often sided with the Nationalists. With a keen eye for detail and precision, he interviews historians, advocates and lawyers who discuss the evidence: historical documents related to the Japanese military's direct role in managing the brothels, and harrowing testimonies by former comfort women.

"Shusenjo: Comfort Women and Japan's War on History" is a deep dive into this painful subject and brings to light the hidden intentions of both the supporters and detractors of these enslaved 'comfort women'.

Critique: Impressively informed and informative, inherently fascinating and emotionally moving, "Shusenjo: Comfort Women and Japan's War on History" is especially and unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library DVD collections.

Myth of a Colorblind France
Alan Govenar
First Run Features
630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 1213, New York, NY 10036
www.firstrunfeatures.com
DVD, $24.95, 86 Minutes, Color, English

http://firstrunfeatures.com/colorblindfrancedvd.html

Synopsis: For more than a century, Black artists such as Josephine Baker, James Baldwin and Richard Wright traveled to Paris to liberate themselves from the racism of the United States. What made these artistic innovators choose France? And to what extent is France truly color blind? "Myth of a Colorblind France", a documentary by Alan Govenar, investigates these questions and examines racism that has plagued not only African Americans fleeing the United States, but Africans and people of color in France today.

The documentary DVD explores the lives and careers of renowned African Americans who emigrated to Paris, including Josephine Baker, James Baldwin, Richard Wright, Augusta Savage, Beauford Delaney, and Barbara Chase-Riboud, and includes rare footage of Henry Ossawa Tanner in Paris. The film also features interviews with renowned author Michel Fabre, jazz aficionado Francis Hofstein, poet James Emanuel, historian Tyler Stovall, filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris, graffiti artist Quik, hip hop producer Ben the Glorious Bastard, African drummer Karim Toure, and many more.

Critique: An exceptionally well organized and presented documentary, "Myth of a Colorblind France" is an extraordinarily informative history and one that is especially and unreservedly recommended for high school, community, college, and university DVD collections and African- American History supplemental curriculums.

You Go To My Head
a film by Dimitri de Clercq
First Run Features
$24.95 http://firstrunfeatures.com

http://firstrunfeatures.com/yougotomyheaddvd.html

You Go To My Head is an award-winning romantic thriller. When a young woman survives a mysterious car accident in a lonely stretch of the Sahara, an introverted architect named Jake discovers her while insensate and drives her to the closest doctor. She awakens with trauma-induced amnesia. Enraptured by her beauty, Jake falsely claims to be her husband and takes her to his home in the remote reaches of the desert. Jake crafts an imaginary life for the two of them to share, yet fears that her gradually returning memories will deprive him of his newfound happiness. An intense saga of complex characters, You Go To My Head is gripping to the end, and highly recommended for connoisseurs of the genre. 116 min., English language with optional English SDH, Spanish & French subtitles.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

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James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
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