I, for one, don't mind subtitles. Quite frankly, watching a film where the actors' lips are moving but don't match the words...that makes me crazy! I love to hear the voices and expression of the original actors. If subtitles are done properly, they don't diminish the film. They enhance it because they allow the viewer to hear another language and to also hear the original voices and feelings of the those original actors.
I really like watching films that have more than one language. One film that I saw a long time ago had three languages with subtitles for all of them. To me it was very interesting because I knew that one of the languages hadn't been completely translated. The three languages were English, Japanese and German. The film was:
The Sea and Poison.
This was a great film by Japanese about a difficult subject and it caused me to have admiration for the artists to do a film about their own people in a docudrama style that allowed the viewer to feel like they were witnessing the event.
Subtitles allow viewers to enter the world of the filmmaker. If you don't like films with subtitles and avoid watching them, then you are probably missing the opportunity to see some great films and experience "dipping your toes" into many different cultures. So you may want to rethink your attitudes about subtitles.
"Foreign films in their original languages allow us to visit many other places without ever leaving the comfort of our own home." -Silvia
In future posts I'll write about some great foreign films that I've had the privilege to view.
