SMALL PRINT:HERE'S THE dilemma: You're a Hollywood producer who's just been handed a killer script. It's got adventure, romance, intrigue, and a built-in audience (either because it's based around real events or because it's an adaptation of a best-selling novel). The problem? It takes place in a country where they don't speak English.
With a Hollywood film based in a non-English- speaking country, should it be in English or the local tongue? American films often have actors speaking in English, but adopting foreign accents (such as Schindler's List); they have American and British actors speaking in their own accents ( Dangerous Liaisons, Valkyrieand the new version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), or they go for authenticity and cast non-American actors in the local roles speaking in their own language (Apocalypto, Inglourious Basterds).
Incidentally, Tarantino claimed that if Schindler's Listwas released after Inglourious Basterds, it would have been in German. He might be right – the funny accentis looking increasingly dated now. But mainstream audiences still shun subtitled films.
Now here's the twist; Angelina Jolie has devised a neat compromise. Jolie's directorial debut is the Bosnian war romance In the Land of Blood and Honey. And she has devised a clever solution to the subtitle dilemma – it has been filmed with local actors in both languages. So there will be two versions of the film available: one in Serbo-Croation and one in English.
It’s a simple idea, but an ingenious one: International audiences will be able to see their stories told with big studio budgets in the “right” language; arthouse fans can gobble up the film, subtitles and all, without complaining about the accents; and (in a move that will please the financiers) subtitle-hating audiences can see the same film in English without having to read.
The ramifications, of course, remain to be seen, but it could mean a step in a new direction for international film-making. However, it’s hard not to feel sorry for the actors and crew – if this catches on they’ll essentially be making two films at a time.
