A Foreigner’s Cinematic Dream of Japan: Representational Politics and Shadows of War in the Japanese–German Co-production New Earth (1937)

In early 1936, a German film team arrived in Japan to participate in a film co-production, intended to show the ‘real’ Japan to the world and to launch Japanese films into international markets. While the production kick started the career of Japan’s silver-screen icon Hara Setsuko, the two directors clashed over the authenticity of the represented Japan and eventually directed two versions, The Samurai’s Daughter and New Earth, based on a common script. The resulting films hold a firm place in (film) history as an exercise in - or reaction against -politically motivated propaganda, respectively.
A Foreigner’s Cinematic Dream of Japan contests the resulting oversimplification into nationalised and politicised dichotomies. Drawing on a wide range of Japanese and German original sources, as well as a comparative analysis of the ‘German-Japanese version’ and the elusive ‘Japanese-English version’, Iris Haukamp reveals the complexities of this international co-production. This exclusive research sheds light not only on the films themselves, but also on the timeframe of its production, with both countries at the brink of war.