Was the Pure Film Movement a major turning point in Japans cinema history?

True.

The pure film movement (Juneigageki UND) advocated what was considered to be modern film making during the 1910s to 1920s. They claimed that japanese cinema than was like that of the kabuki and shinpa theatre where women were played by onnagatta or oyama. It hindered the the japanese films from achieving the quality of the western cinemas. With this movement, and the accustomisation to female actresses in foreign films, a quick transition to the use of actresses followed. the attack on the use of benshi (film narrators) however was not as successful due to the slow adoption and development of cinematic storytelling techniques of the japanese filmmakers.