The Language Barrier

In this article I am using film merely as a talking point to a real life issue. I began thinking about the language barrier while I was in my foreign film faze, watching subtitle filled masterpiece after subtitle filled masterpiece, I realized what a tragedy the cultural blockade actually is. While the Hollywood system has undoubtedly created a massive amount of quality work, in terms of creativity and innovative storytelling, the foreign market often prevails. Many of the greatest stories in film history have come from the hands of filmmakers such as the Swedish Ingmar Bergman, and Japanese Akira Kurosowa. Many people find it extremely difficult to consistently read dialogue off of the screen, while paying attention to the visual aspect of the film. This is by no means an easy calculation for the human brain, but all it takes is patience and an interest in actually experiencing the film. Personally, I find it easier to get captivated by a good foreign film, because I am forced to pay attention to every single word of dialogue spoken in the film.

One of the first films that come to mind when thinking about great foreign cinema is Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal. This is a tale that takes place after the Swedish crusades, following a Knight and his squire as they return home from the brutal war. During their journey, they come across death himself, the grim reaper. The knight challenges death to a game of chess for his life, if the knight wins, he lives, if death wins, he dies. That is easily one of the greatest, most fascinating tales I have ever seen, and most people in this country are completely oblivious to its existence.

I can not say that I would consider foreign cinema to be generally better then American cinema, with all forms of entertainment, people are often too quick to compare. Comparison is necessary for awards, and that is about it. All works of art, especially films, should be judged on their own merit, and the audience’s own humble opinion, not other works themselves. The fact of the matter is, film markets based on foreign land, have their own share of classic tales, and big time movie stars, along with their own brand of geniuses to sit back in the director’s chair. The point of this article is simple, to open the minds of people who would normally laugh at the idea of “reading a movie.”