Tuesday 9 September 2008

Rant: World Tosh?

Ignorance. It's extremely annoying. There seems to be a sort of prejudice against world cinema simply because it's, well foreign and in a different language with subtitles crawling along the bottom of the screen. Come on people, lighten up!

Some of the best films of the past two decades have been foreign features ranging from Zhang Yimou's beautiful, magical films like 'Hero', 'House of Flying Daggers' and the tragic epic 'Curse of the Golden Flower' to the charming and witty 'Amelie'. Over this time, the foreign features released in the Western world have gradually got more adventurous and bigger, allowing versatile auteurs and directors a chance to see their films enjoyed by worldwide audiences.

As long as the quality of film is high in areas such as acting, directing and cinematography, why should it matter if the story is not told in a universal language. The fun, no, the privilege comes from getting to see all types of films and seeing different viewpoints.