An Introduction to Foreign Films

I absolutely love, sorry, strongly like foreign films. Now, I tend to stay away from the French and the Italian and Spainish (to differ from Mexican) because I can do without their kind of, um, shall we say "progressiveness." Kinda like Brokeback Mountain. I'm proud to say that that type of movie is entirely too "progressive" for me.

Ever since I was a little kid, I have loved language (it's people related). If I could afford it, I would speak twenty different languages (it costs money to learn. CDs, books, computer programs. Travel to foreign countries to learn by immersion. Blah blah blah. Time. Self diligence. Those little things). And ever since I was a kid, I have lov- strongly liked, foreign films. Back then it was the chop-socky movies of the seventies with flying ninjas and comedic violence and dubbed English. And unlike now, where they find an English word to fit the foreign language mouth movements, they would just have the English voice translate directly what the actor was saying in his native tongue. Hence, the notorious excessive lip movement. "Ho, you killed my father," as his mouth keeps moving for five more seconds.

I re-discovered foreign films with Zhang Yimou's Hero (actually it was Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon but Hero is a better movie). Now there was some controversy about CT, HD, or as I like to call it Crouching Tigger, Hidden Pooh, when it came out. There were claims that the "flying" was real. That it was spiritualism captured on film. This is not true. It was all wire work, which the Chinese are the undisputed masters of. The director, in the commentary, said and I "sum up", "Of course people can't fly. But this is a different world where they can do all of these incredible things." So, it's no different than Superman. Only more entertaining. Now, the middle of CT, HD needs to be skipped over. For about a half hour there is this "romantic" background between Jiao Long and Lo, or "Darkcloud." A complete waste of time, not to mention, shall we say, tasteless. I love DVDs. You just hit "advance" and you're in the next scene. Both of these films are PG-13, but I would recommend 17 or 18 for some of the subject matter.

Most of the foreign movies that are released in the states are dubbed, but I prefer to watch them with subtitles. I love the sound of the native language, and when they subtitle them, you get the closest to the original. And besides that, you get the original actor's voice, not some voice-over performer that doesn't even match the personality or tone or timber of the original. And you learn to deal with the subtitles. At first they detract from the picture, but once you get accustomed to them, you don't even notice. In fact, I watch a lot of English movies with the subtitles. Sometimes they just don't record certain parts of the dialog at high enough levels.

Now if you are one of those people who "don't have the patience" for a foreign film, then may I suggest that perhaps you weren't watching the right film. If the only foreign language film you have seen is The Passion of the Christ, then you are off to a great start. Storytelling is universal. If the person telling the story does a good job, then you don't need to know what is being said, you're instinctively drawn in by the presentation. Subtitles take care of the need for linguistic understanding. Or, hey, turn on the English track.

The place to start, after The Passion of the Christ, is The Road Home, by Zhang Yimou. It's really cute and warm, like a puppy. I lent this to my sister-in-law, who is very particular about what she and her sons watch, and she liked it. She said it was the first movie that they had ever watched where her boys, 9 and 7, where absolutely quiet and riveted. They had to be, in order to read the subtitles! Ha! It's G rated.

Now follow that with Shall We Dance, NOT THE AMERICAN VERSION. The original Japanese version only. It's hilarious. It has a story line that might make you apprehensive, but it all straightens outs. It's PG, for a couple profanities and some "thematic" elements.

Alright. That's it for now..