"Language of film" understood and spoken by all?

When we were discussing the elements of the “language of film” and genres in class earlier this week, I wondered if these elements applied to only American and Western-society films or for all films in existence. I tried thinking about the movies I have seen from other countires, and if they used different forms of editing and sound styles. I couldn’t think of too many foreign-made films. When I lived in Spain, I saw some American movies dubbed into Spanish but also saw a few films made by Spaniards. They seemed like they could fit into some of the genres, but also have their own. Each country probably has its own style within the genre, just like a director has his/her own style. But are there some non-Western films that have completely new genres or elements of film language?

The Tokyo International Film Festival is going on now until November 5th. In an article by The Japan Times on October 16th, a writer said that usually two “high-profile entries” come from the United States; ones that didn’t get into any western festivals. The fact that the popular ones were also the ones that didn’t do well within western standards led me to believe that the language and genres are different between western and non-western films. Now that I am aware of the “language of film,” I will be more apt to critique and find differences next time I see a western and non-western film.