The World on Film – well, part of it
I spent nine months studying translation in Barcelona in 2003, so the other night, I watched the film Pot Luck (the original title: L’Auberge Espagnole) for nostalgic reasons. Alongside the memories, another thing that struck me about this film was the variety of languages that were spoken.
You had English, French, Spanish and Danish – to name but a few – all by native actors in their own voice.
This made me wonder about the lack of cultural diversity, in terms of languages, in films in recent years.
It seems that most foreign films concentrate on languages from their home country; French films are now including Corsican and Provençal and Chinese films can blend Shanghaiese, Cantonese and Mandarin-speaking actors.
Even though world cinema celebrates the diversity of their home country, not many filmmakers dare to mix Eastern and Western cultures. Surely, a tale about an Asian tourist backpacking in Europe or a Swedish woman finding herself in the temples of Japan would be just as enjoyable?
People criticise, laugh at and sometimes mock those who do not seem to be open to other cultures – but surely, films nowadays are only reinforcing this fact.
Are there any films that feature more than one language (these should not be from the same country, so various regional dialects do not count) and if so, what did you think of it? Any excuse to add more films to rent 🙂
Katie
Liz’s Language Mission
Recently I set myself a mid-year resolution. I graduated in Hispanic Studies back in 2004, but haven’t really spoken Spanish since, and when recently a colleague needed me to talk to someone on the phone, I struggled to keep the conversation going. Thinking back to some of the experiences I had during my year living in Madrid (finding somewhere to live, doing exams, celebrating holidays with my non-English speaking landlady and her family), I can’t quite believe how much things have changed. So my mission is to get back to speaking Spanish regularly and (hopefully) fluently, with help from a variety of sources – movies, books, chatting to native speakers and anything else that occurs to me along the way. Hopefully at some point I’ll be able to fit in a visit to Spain where I can practise a bit more intensively, but until then I’ll have to make do with the resources at my disposal here in the UK, and will keep you updated with my progress! Once in a while I might post in Spanish just to show off 😉
If you have any suggestions or ideas to help me with my Spanish mission, please post a comment below. Thanks!
Liz
