From a Silk Cocoon is a disturbing and memorable documentary on the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, a subject with personal resonance for filmmaker Satsuki Ina, who was born in an internment camp in 1944. Ina's parents protested their incarceration by denouncing their citizenship while in captivity, which resulted in their deportation to Japan at the end of the war. Many years later, Ina discovered a box containing letters (many of which were blacked out by military censors), diary journals, and haiku poetry written by her mother and father, which provided insights into how the Ina family managed to survive this tragedy amidst a climate of race-induced wartime hysteria (Ina's parents refused to talk about the war years after their release from imprisonment). From a Silk Cocoon works on three levels: as a heartbreaking family history in which long-lost information provides much-needed emotional closure, as a unique perspective on one of the most shameful chapters of 20th-century American history, and as a reminder of how the past can easily repeat itself when reason is replaced with racist madness (the parallels between the treatment of Japanese-Americans in the 1940s and individuals of Middle Eastern heritage following 9/11 is painfully obvious here). An intelligent, jolting work, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)
From a Silk Cocoon
(2005) 57 min. VHS or DVD: $40: individuals; $99: high schools & public libraries; $225: colleges & universities. Hesono O Productions (dist. by Center for Asian American Media). PPR. Color cover. Volume 21, Issue 5
From a Silk Cocoon
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: