SCREENWRITER:By DONALD CLARKE
IF YOU’RE an idiot, you probably think that foreign- language films get a free ride from annoying, pretentious film critics.
Just listen to you jabbering at your friends. What's that you're saying? "All summer that fathead in The Irish Timeshas been slagging off perfectly enjoyable American films. Then what? He gives some Korean thing and some French thing the best reviews of the whole season. You know what? If The A-Teamwas directed by Pierre le Pom-Pom it would be on the bleeding cover."
It is true that this summer's blockbusters have not been greeted with undiluted acclaim. Iron Man 2was tolerated. The A-Teamreceived huffs and puffs. Sex and the City 2was kicked from here to Abu Dhabi. Yet, in this week's Ticket, we encounter raves for two foreign films: Sylvain Chomet's The Illusionistand Bong Joon-ho's Mother.
“Did you see My Camel Is no Longer at the Yam-Yam Tree?” your rant continues. “It got, like, five stars from all the critics who wear glasses. It takes this Senegalese peasant four hours to tout a bucket from the well to her shack. Then, when she gets there, she turns back for another load. Get a bigger bucket, dude!”
Your point, as I understand it, is that critics regard the very foreignness of a non-anglophone film as a point in its favour. You will then offer mathematical evidence for your thesis. The average star rating for French, German, Spanish and Senegalese films released in 2010 is, in each case, at least a whole unit higher than those for this year’s American pictures (NB: this statistic is made up). Can the film industries of these countries really be that superior to mighty Hollywood? Surely some sort of egghead bias is at work.
Though I’d love to push your face into a puddle and call you “fathead”, there is some truth in what you say. The statistical argument about star ratings does not hold much water. Whereas most commercial American studio product makes it into Irish cinemas, a much smaller percentage of, say, French and German films travels gets here. So a degree of quality control takes place with non-Anglophone releases that does not occur with American films.
When, however, it comes to vaguely mainstream products, your argument deserves to be taken seriously. Consider two recent films: the French comedy Heartbreakerand Argentinian thriller The Secrets in Their Eyes.
Both films were treated with a seriousness that similar US films could never expect. The Secret in Their Eyesis a hugely enjoyable romp, but, despite many reviews arguing the reverse, it is as subtle as a tropical storm. Heartbreakerwas as dumb and misogynistic as the most malodorous Rob Schneider comedy. Yet the Daily Mailthought it "charming, funny and unsentimental".
It seems as if we do still adopt the cultural cringe before certain foreign-language pictures. I’m sorry for calling you an idiot.
