Do a lot of people tend to presume that foreign films are always artsy-fartsy?!


Question: Aside from perhaps the fact that they may not be as comfortable reading subtitles or watching something in a different language, do you think that most movie viewers might be hesitant to watch a foreign movie because they automatically presume it's going to be some bizarre, slow-paced, avant-garde film with an incomprehensible plot (compared to your typical Hollywood film)?

In the past, I used to think this way, probably because most of the films I had to watch while studying film in university were like that. Eventually a friend sparked my interest in Hong Kong cinema like "Shaolin Soccer" and "Hard Boiled", which got me used to watching films with subtitles. However, the French film "Amelie" (which I loved) completely changed my view in that I realized there's a lot of foreign, non-English cinema out there which is quite mainstream.

In the case of "Amelie", a lot of friends who normally only watch Hollywood films seemed to really enjoy that movie too.


Answers: Aside from perhaps the fact that they may not be as comfortable reading subtitles or watching something in a different language, do you think that most movie viewers might be hesitant to watch a foreign movie because they automatically presume it's going to be some bizarre, slow-paced, avant-garde film with an incomprehensible plot (compared to your typical Hollywood film)?

In the past, I used to think this way, probably because most of the films I had to watch while studying film in university were like that. Eventually a friend sparked my interest in Hong Kong cinema like "Shaolin Soccer" and "Hard Boiled", which got me used to watching films with subtitles. However, the French film "Amelie" (which I loved) completely changed my view in that I realized there's a lot of foreign, non-English cinema out there which is quite mainstream.

In the case of "Amelie", a lot of friends who normally only watch Hollywood films seemed to really enjoy that movie too.

Foreign-language films have been finding a market in America for a very long time now. It's true that we do not see that many releases, but sending films to a foreign market can be difficult at times. Thank goodness we have directors, producers and others who sometimes will see to it that movies get into American theaters though many of them are shown only in larger cities.

I was fortunate enough to see "Fantastic Planet" in my hometown, a film that was brought to U.S. audiences by Roger Corman of AIP if memory serves.

The Academy Awards have been honoring foreign films for a very long time, beginning with honorary Oscars in 1947 and adding the Best Foreign Film category in 1950. So, Americans have been viewing foreign films for a very long time, and I'm surprised that anyone still views them as "artsy" since they are shown on cable movie channels, Turner Classic Movies, and other channels. Films such as "La Strada", "Breathless" and "8 1/2" were enormous hits in the United States, proving there is a market. I'm certain that many of these films weren't considered art; for example, Italy had great success exporting its films about Hercules and other historical and mythological characters and situations. Mario Bava and other directors produced works that had no trouble finding an audience over here. Besides, not all foreign language films are subtitled. Even when they are, that's never proven to be a barrier for most film buffs.

Did you know that Sophia Loren won Best Actress for her performance in "Two Women" (1960), a foreign language film? That really was groundbreaking, an actress winning an Oscar in a film in which she spoke her native Italian. People actually protested this! I'm not certain if this occurred again; I'd have to check records.

American audiences embraced foreign actors and actresses because they loved them first in films from their native lands. Hollywood has a long history of importing talent: Peter Lorre, Luise Rainer, Sophia Loren, Anna Magnani, Melina Mercouri, and so many more. That is why so many panicked when sound came to film: They had to tone down accents and/or learn to speak better English in order to adapt. Most people likely don't know that the first person to win a Best Actor Oscar was Emil Jannings. Wikipedia has this: "Jannings was a theater actor who had a promising Hollywood career come to an end when talkies made his thick German accent difficult to understand." By the way, if you have seen "The Blue Angel" with Marlene Dietrich, Jannings plays the professor who falls in love with the nightclub performer and is ruined by her.

I'll just say again that foreign films aren't a recent entry in U.S. theaters. Neither are the actors who appear in some of them.

Here are some of my favorite foreign films. Perhaps some might appeal to you:
Diva
The 400 Blows
Day for Night
La Strada
Forbidden Games
Diabolique
Fellini Satyricon
House of Flying Daggers
Rashomon
The Bicycle Thief
Kwaidan
The Garden of Finzi-Continis
Shoeshine
Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears
Get Out Your Handkerchiefs
Nights of Cabiria
Black Orpheus
Beauty & the Beast (Cocteau's version)
The Tin Drum
Indochine
Jesus of Montreal
The Bridge aka Die Brucke
Das Boat
A Man and a Woman
I Love You, Rosa
Madame Rosa

Here's a list of Academy Award winners and nominees:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Awa...

I do have this to add: One thing that irritates me is the claim about bad dubbing. What do people think happens when you overlay English on a foreign language?! Of course, they can't match mouth movements! How can people be so thick as to make fun of something that can't be helped? It is one of my pet peeves when it comes to movies: people making fun of the dubbing. I guess they must be clueless as to how other languages are spoken if they think one matches another.

Well, of course.
They are going to have their own mainstream market and their own 'artsy' market. I prefer the artsy market of anything, since that is where most of the best stuff comes from.
I do however enjoy watching films like transformers and rooting for the good guys.

Cant live off of Godot forever.

Yes, most people assume that most (although not all) foreign films are artsy. And those people are correct. Movie makers want to make movies in English, since English language movies make more money than movies in other languages. They usually only make their movies in other languages if the movies suck so much that they can't get someone to make it in English.

if its not in english, its no good!

Well usually a foreign film has to be extremely good to even get on the radar of the American movie-go..er.

Usually they are revolutionary in the way they direct, or tell a story. For example "Hero" was shown in US theaters because of its extraordinary use of color and interesting story telling. Therefore, all foreign films seem "artsy" to us because of our limited exposure.

I also think that foreign films, that are good enough to get into the US, show us exactly what a movie should be. We're just used to seeing things explode and having films pushed on us like we were coke addicts on a binge. Movies are being made to make money in the US, and a lot of the time we get crap, because movie makers are doing the same old thing over and over again.

Transformers, for example, was made only to make money. It lacked plot and character development, and instead was a CG shitstorm. I mean the effects are cool and everything, but why did they even include the scene with the soldiers wife? WTF! There were already too many characters, even at that point.

And if you haven't seen it already, go see "Oldboy" immediately.

EDIT: ebmid you are perhaps the dumbest person I have seen on Answers to date. Not only does your argument make absolutely no sense, but you seem to lack the ability to form even one 100% coherent sentence. This in itself is a conundrum, since you praise the english language, and yet fail to grasp it.

You get a much better feel for the movie if you hear it in the original language, not dubbed, and just read the subtitles. It is also an excellent way to help you learn a language.



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