Australian films not set in Tokyo

[Chuck Stephens]

Jasper Sharp writes:

>Interestingly, in a recent discussion about the Australian film 
>entitled simply "Japan", someone pointed out to me that virtually 
>every film about foreigners coming into conflict with modern Japan 
>has a woman at its dramatic centre. Any ideas why this could be?

That film is entitled "Japanese Story" -- and if you see the film 
(which is pretty bad) it becomes somewhat immediately clear that the 
title is, at the very least, ironic. That's mainly because "Japanese 
Story" takes place entirely (if my memory serves me; if not, then 
"almost entirely") in Australia, and in it, the woman does not "come 
into conflict with modern Japan" -- she comes into conflict with her 
own feelings about her relationship with a Japanese guy who comes to 
Australia. While it seemed to me that the film had almost nothing to 
do "modern Japan", I am unwilling to assert whether or not it has 
much to do with modern Australian women.

I would also note that while the excellent Mexican film "Japon" has a 
woman at its dramatic center, there's also a man there, and none of 
it takes place in Japan, modern or otherwise.