LINK #157

Foreign movies, why not?

When you think about cinema, what comes to your mind? I will say that for a lot of people it will be Hollywood, the American movies, the superheroes and those hardcore characters that will save the world, and we often forget that we have a whole world to explore. Why does this keep happening?

When I say foreign movies, I’m talking about non-English language movies, so they actually might not be a foreign for you!

We have this idea that the good movies come from Hollywood or from London. Of course, they created some of the most amazing movies, but why don’t we give other nations a chance to shine with their cinema? With this article, I’m not criticising anyone, I’m Portuguese and I don’t give a big importance to Portuguese cinema, I’m only trying to explore this topic and try to find the reasons why this happens.

I would say the main reason is the language. Watching a movie in English is just so easy, either because we understand English or because you can find subtitles for every English movie. Also, I know some people who don’t like to watch ‘international movies’ because of the language barrier, the spoken language is not familiar and they are not used to the sound, so they simply choose to watch just another American movie about New York city life.

Some years ago, I started watching international movies (and tv series as well), especially Middle Eastern and European, and I realized how many amazing and interesting stories were “hidden” from me, because I was only watching English-speaking movies. Watching these movies made me realize that there is a different perspective for the same subject, even about the cultures, for instance. With this, I want you to be sure, I don’t hate America, but the truth is, if you only watch American movies, you will only have their perspective and it is not always the right side of the story: why are they always the heroes? So, yes, I highly recommend you to watch some other movies: you will learn more about a certain country just by watching their cinema, you will discover new cultures and a new language, find new music and ways of expressing feelings and messages. It’s an open door! (Tip: if you want to start, you can check the Oscar list of Best International Feature Film).

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