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English, Motherf*cker, Do You Speak It? What You Miss When You Wait For The American Remake.

By Joanna Robinson | Posted Under Trade News | Comments (36)

oldboy5.jpeg

News broke yesterday that Josh Brolin will be starring in Spike Lee’s remake of the South Korean kick-assterpiece Oldboy. I’m very down with this casting. Brolin has the weathered, grim demanor neccessary for the part and rumor has it that Christian Bale is eyeing the villian role. I am supremely down with this. The last time Bale played a villian was, what, 2000? (We’re not counting Dicky Eklund or *sshole Film Actor Yells At Key Grip, right?) I look forward to seeing him snarl up a storm. Now I know there are those of you who object to remakes in any form, but with that cast and that director, things are looking pretty swell, no? [MovieLine]

Oldboy was a film I never would have seen had I not wandered into the living room when my roommate was watching the above tentacle scene with slack-jawed wonder. I stayed for the rest and then we watched it again from the start. And it’s great. Like, really f*cking great. I’ve had trouble, however, getting other folks to watch it because, you know, it requires reading. And that hurts their little brains. The watching AND the reading of the subtitles. And it’s frustrating and obnoxious because they’re missing out not only on the hammer-smashiness of Oldboy, but the elegiac calm before the storm of Let The Right One In, and the icy brutality of Oplev’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. And it’s fine, I suppose to wait for an inevitable American remake. Let Me In was alright, I suppose, and Fincher’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo will likely be as good if not better than the original. So, sure, fine, don’t strain your eyes.

But listen, between you and me, here are the two things you’re missing when you skip any movie that makes you read. The first advantage to a foreign film IS the disconnect between the viewer and the words. If you don’t speak the language, or only speak SOME of the language, you’re forced to follow the film a bit more viscerally. You have to pay close attention to intonation and expression/physicality and that level of involvment heightens your emotional reaction to the film. (Too hipster/snobby? What, you don’t like FEELINGS?) Secondly, unless you are an avid/rabid consumer of foreign films, odds are many of the actors will be unfamiliar to you. (With several notable exceptions, of course. Gael García Bernal, call me.) Because of that, your enjoyment of the performance is free of any preconceived notions associated with the actor or his/her previous roles. That is to say, Brolin may be fantastic in Oldboy, but in addition to being Oh Dae-Su, he is also Llewellyn Moss and Dan White and the tallest, most handsome Goonie and boning Diane Lane on the regular. The Korean actor, Min-sik Choi? He IS Oh Dae-Su, from stem to stern.

So what am I saying? I’m saying watch foreign films, they’re good for you. You enjoy the American remake? Brilliant. Check out the original while you’re at it. You like the original? Bully for you. Don’t close your mind to the possibility that the American version may have its merits. Are there foreign films you love that you can’t get anyone to watch? Remakes that you consider abominations? Are you excited for Oldboy?

Bottom line. If you haven’t already, watch Oldboy. If only for the oppurtunity to drawl, “Oh, the Spike Lee Oldboy? Nowhere near as good as the original.” I know how you lot like feeling superior.

Joanna Robinson will never look at sushi the same way again.









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Comments

There are a lot of things I won't look at the same way again after Oldboy. *shudder*

Posted by: Socrates_Johnson at August 30, 2011 4:05 PM

saw it once and i did nightmares during 2 weeks

Posted by: carrie at August 30, 2011 4:06 PM

Fun fact: A boy once showed me Oldboy on a first date. No boy is hot enough to make this a "We should fuck" movie.

Joanna, I agree that the subtitles actually improve the tension of the film. Having to read the subtitles means you're reacting the action before you're reacting to the dialogue. Humans are used to reacting to both around the same time, and it heightens my emotional response to a situation.

Posted by: Zuzu at August 30, 2011 4:10 PM

I'm down with this cast.

I had poor hopes for the film but it looks like it's shaping up nicely.

Posted by: DeistBrawler at August 30, 2011 4:13 PM

At the very least subtitles are far superior to dubbing, which almost always sounds and looks bad and distracts from the movie. Subtitles allow the audience to hear the original actors deliver the lines the way they were meant to be delivered.

Posted by: Socrates_Johnson at August 30, 2011 4:16 PM

Does The Magnificent Seven count as an American remake? That was a good movie, though I still prefer the Japanese original.

Speaking of American remakes of Japanese films, Godzilla has to be the worst Americanization ever. Bleh.

Posted by: fracas at August 30, 2011 4:19 PM

Who are you calling "you lot"?

I never would have seen Oldboy had it not been for Pajiba and a delightful little nymph named Brian Prisco. I now have the entire vengeance trilogy on Blu-ray and am determined to not only make them "we should fuck" movies (as Zuzu so succinctly put it) but a means of foreplay parlaying into an orgy even Caligula would be disgusted by.

Posted by: admin at August 30, 2011 4:21 PM

Pfft...

Lady Vengeance is better.

Posted by: hipsterasente at August 30, 2011 4:28 PM

Dubbing is an abomination and an affront to all that is decent. Subtitles are just fine.

Joanna, some people might not want to watch OldBoy not because it has subtitles, but because they suspect that it's INCREDIBLY DISTURBING.

I'm not sorry I saw it, but I don't really want to see it again.

Posted by: MM at August 30, 2011 4:31 PM

Is this along the lines of Audition disturbiness?

Posted by: Riles at August 30, 2011 4:51 PM

Oldboy is a masterpiece, one of my all time favorites. The music is perfect, the twist is shocking, and the single-camera shot fight sequence in the hallway is the most mind-blowing scenes I've ever watched.

Posted by: Vick at August 30, 2011 4:53 PM

Does anyone say, "If you touch me, I'll kill you" in the original movie. It's one of about 4 phrases in Korean I would not need subtitles for.

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at August 30, 2011 4:55 PM

Not a remake, but certainly a film I liked in the original language that was dubbed into oblivion was Le Pacte des loups aka The Brotherhood of the Wolf. Cassell, Bellucci, and (my personal favorite) Mark Dacascos.

Posted by: branded at August 30, 2011 5:00 PM

Lady Vengeance might have the slight edge from a visual standpoint (and it really doesn't, because as someone noted above, that fight scene alone trumps just about anything you'll ever see), but it's not nearly as compelling in terms of narrative or action. Mr. Vengeance was just a disappointment from start to finish. Oldboy, though, is a masterpiece - creepy, bizarre, operatic, disturbing, and fun all at once.

Thanks for the general defense of remakes and subtitles. I don't mind subtitles in general, but I do feel sometimes that they put an extra layer of removal between the film and me, which can be frustrating. I don't mind thinking about the words, but sometimes I do wonder if I would I enjoy particular films more if I could just savor the images as a whole without needing to give that specific attention to the the bottom middle of the screen.

Posted by: DarthCorleone at August 30, 2011 5:06 PM

For me there is one benefit to remakes: it makes me almost always seek out the original movie.

Posted by: John W at August 30, 2011 5:07 PM

On one hand, I agree that having to read subtitles sometimes heightens the emotional reaction to the film. On the other hand, as a native Spanish speaker...every time I see a movie in Spanish, I occasionally glimpse at the subtitles just to see if the translation is the least bit accurate. Every time I do read the subtitles however, I always think to myself how much is lost in translation! A funny joke, or an eloquent sentence, and even simple clever phrases, seem to lose the emotional power and effect of what was actually said. I think to myself how many times I may have missed the full extent a movie moment, due to loose translations. Nevertheless, I do enjoy movies in foreign languages. I never found it bothersome to have to read subtitles.

Posted by: Macrophage at August 30, 2011 5:21 PM

Macrophage, I feel you. Unless non-English-speakers all over the world have rampant logical inconsistencies in both their language and way of thinking, I cannot imagine the words I'm reading are even remotely like the words the actors are saying. It's clear, even to those of us who are too lazy to learn a second language (yes, even pig-latin), that we're missing out on sublty and context.

"I am wanting to make the revenge on you!"
"Not before we are having the fight - ohhhhh!"
"Your stars are making the soul angry! There is a sad notion here!"
"Never!"

That's an IMDB quote pulled from the movie "Kung-fu Ninja Death Love." You can find more at kungfuninjadeathlovewebsiteallupinyourbidness.com.
None of my last paragraph is lies.

Posted by: superasente wishes kung-fu fights would spontaneously break out in his work-place at August 30, 2011 5:45 PM

I looked away from the screen several times...the hammer scene..the scissors scene and the squid scene. It was one of the best movies i have seen. Visceral and brilliant.

Posted by: jeff Snell at August 30, 2011 6:11 PM

The college I went to played dollar movies on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Fall of freshman year, this was the very first one I went to. It freaking the everliving beejesus outta me and I will never see it again, nor do I have any desire to see this remake ... but it also told me I picked the right school of messed up people just like me.

Oh Carnegie Mellon how I miss you ...

Posted by: Victoria at August 30, 2011 6:24 PM

*Looks at header pic.

*blinks

Yeah, nice try.....I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going.

Posted by: bleujayone at August 30, 2011 7:15 PM

Actually, I rather like subtitles for movies in English, particularly if the actors are attempting foreign accents or have foreign/regional accents, or not, as the case may be.

I took the little Stinkies to see Invictus on closed-captioning night and discovered that I didn't have to answer one bloody question about what any character said. The little ones dutifully read the subtitles, laughed at appropriate moments and seemed to pick up on sophisticated inferences--- all because they weren't missing VITAL dialogue while asking ME, "WHAT did so-and-so say?" and then me hissing, "Jeez, shut UP! I can't hear the MOVIE!"

Subtitles should be offered for all movies to which spawn may be dragged.

Posted by: Stinky at August 30, 2011 7:46 PM

Outside of their amusement factor in the films of Jackie Chan, i cannot stand dubs. I downloaded REC this weekend on itunes w/o reading the user reviews, and I was rather pissed when the cute Spanish reporter in the fire station was speaking not in espanol but in a flat Midwestern accent. The rest of the voice acting was not much better, and it damn near ruined an otherwise kickass little horror flick.

Posted by: stryker1121 at August 30, 2011 8:11 PM

I will not give out my copy of Let The Right One In without making sure that the recipient does not watch it dubbed. I bought it home, excited to watch it and it started out in English and I was like, “WHAT THE HELL! This is not right!” I got so pissed that it took me a good five minutes to figure out that I just had to change the language option. My parents and I have trouble understanding what people are saying, my dad is old, and I have problems distinguishing words, so we always watch things in subtitle. But, does anyone hate it when the only subtitles are for the hearing impaired? I wish there were subtitles just for the words, versus the noises and words. I have watched many a horror/suspense movie when you knew something was fixing to happen because the subtitle announced “creaking floor” a minute before you actually heard the creak. I think you loose on the subtleness of a movie sometimes.

Posted by: yourbrothersboyfriend at August 30, 2011 8:23 PM

I don't know if this fits in here, but my hearing can be so bad at times that I watch everything with subtitles, English and foreign. I also watch World Movies more than I should...
My point is that there was research somewhere that showed that children who watched television with subtitles while growing up were more likely to be smarter than other children. True story.

Posted by: Samantha at August 30, 2011 9:20 PM

I don't know if this fits in here, but my hearing can be so bad at times that I watch everything with subtitles, English and foreign. I also watch World Movies more than I should...
My point is that there was research somewhere that showed that children who watched television with subtitles while growing up were more likely to be smarter than other children. True story.

Posted by: Samantha at August 30, 2011 9:20 PM

It makes me so angry when people won't watch foreign films because *gasp* they actually have to READ. It's beyond ridiculous. Some of the best movies I've ever seen were foreign films. Just yesterday there was a post about Akira Kurosawa's extraordinary films. I can't stand dubbing. You lose so much when other people are speaking for the real actors. I think most people who are resistant to subtitled films have never really watched them. And once they get used to it there reservations can fade away. Reading is not that hard.

Posted by: Brenda at August 30, 2011 10:23 PM

I forgot to mention how much I love Oldboy in my post. It's an extraordinary film. Deeply moving and deeply disturbing all at the same time. The twist had me reeling for days. I hope this remake keeps the integrity of the film (and the twist) intact.

Posted by: Brenda at August 30, 2011 10:27 PM

But, does anyone hate it when the only subtitles are for the hearing impaired? I wish there were subtitles just for the words, versus the noises and words.

Posted by: yourbrothersboyfriend at August 30, 2011 8:23 PM

Absolutely. I often watch movies with the subtitles on because of hearing comprehension issues, and this is annoying. If a DVD or Blu-ray has both "English" and "English SDH" subtitles, the first shows only dialogue and I much prefer it. Unfortunately, many more movies only have the SDH option.

Posted by: Uriah Creep at August 30, 2011 10:31 PM

Zuzu, everyone knows that Oldboy is a third date movie.

Posted by: Robert at August 30, 2011 11:07 PM

Is this along the lines of Audition disturbiness?

Ye, Riles. Yes, it is.

I love both of those movies and they fucked me up for weeks. I was not looking forward to the Oldboy remake but Christian Bale makes an excellent villain. I MIGHT see this one.

Posted by: Nugs at August 30, 2011 11:27 PM

Oldboy is the greatest movie of all time. Well my favorite. The vengeance trilogy is outstanding as well. Three back to back to back masterpieces, to back if you count J.S.A which I do. Add Thirst to that list as well. Also I did love I'm A Cyborg But That's Okay but wouldn't call that a masterpiece.

Mr. Vengeance was the one based in realism and social commentary, Oldboy was the greek tragedy, and Lady Vengeance was the fairy tale.

Christian Bale is a very overrated actor in my book. Not that big on Brolin either. I mean obviously they won't go for the ending, in which case how make the movie work? Know what the manga was about? A guy gets locked in a room for ten years because he once cried while this kid was singing this song in school. The kid took it as an insult and decided to put him in this sort of prison for it.

With that said Oh Dae Su and Woo Jin worked perfectly together. So alike and yet so different. One person's revenge aged him while the other kept him young. Both victims. One by accident and the other born out of necessity. Etc.

I think the remake will end up being Mel Gibson's Payback. Which really, I'll pass.

Posted by: googergieger at August 31, 2011 1:01 AM

First boy would never sleep so we fit used to rocking him all night, watching tv with the subtitles on and the volume low. Still require subtitles today and the ambient sounds being subtitled cracks me up. Because as a good friend who was deaf from infancy pointed out, being deaf often means a creaking floor sound is not only not scary, but also completely alien.

Posted by: Agogagogo at August 31, 2011 10:13 AM

Actually, I rather like subtitles for movies in English, particularly if the actors are attempting foreign accents or have foreign/regional accents, or not, as the case may be.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I agree Stinky. Thank God they had subtitles for Trainspotting and Brad Pitt in Snatch or I would have be lost

Posted by: kirbyjay at August 31, 2011 12:49 PM

Here in Flanders you get accustomed to reading subtitles from a young age on, so they never bother me... They actually were a huge help learning English -- I distinctly remember watching The Addams Family subbed in Dutch and realizing for the first time that "afraid" must mean the same as "scared" (an English word I already knew). If possible, I now prefer to watch English movies with English subs, because I still don't always catch everything -- uhm, True Grit comes to mind.

Dubbing, as far as I'm concerned, is sacrilege. Unless it involves little kids or illiterates.

But anyway: I definitely want to watch Oldboy now.

Posted by: Thijs at August 31, 2011 1:53 PM

I thought Spielberg and Will Smith will remake Oldboy?

Posted by: Adrien at August 31, 2011 9:28 PM

Shit... dubbing?

I took a ferry to Corsica yesterday and public screens played the film Australia.

Quality of the art notwithstanding, the French dubbed it (badly) and had the audacity to add English sub-titles translated from the fucking French...

Boils my blood how this country treats foreign art and wine. Otherwise love those tricolor bastards.

Posted by: Peter G at September 1, 2011 8:24 PM