An introduction to the cinemas of China (PRC, Hong Kong, Taiwan), Japan and South Korea from the point of view of shared themes, aesthetics and cultural concerns. Concentrating on theatrical fiction films from across the region, the course will focus on such issues as nationhood, family, the role of women, responses to colonialism, post-colonialism, national trauma and responses to modernization among other concerns. In addition, we will closely examine the aesthetic qualities of the films and the artistic traditions that give these cinemas their cultural and stylistic particularities.