Lost in Translation: Hollywood’s Foreign Remake Obsession

Image source: Krists Luhaers via Unsplash

Only around 30% of the dialogue in Quentin Tarantino's 'Inglourious Basterds' (2009) is English, the rest is subtitled.

So should it technically be considered a 'foreign language film'?

In the words of The Academy, a foreign language film is; "a predominantly non-English speaking motion picture, regardless of where it was produced."

Can you imagine anyone having the nerve to remake a Quentin Tarantino film? One would conclude that to be a resounding no, so why does Hollywood constantly feel the need to do so to other directors and filmmakers?

I was left disheartened after the announcement that cinema-goers will soon be met with yet another Hollywood remake of an incredible piece of non-English speaking cinema, this time, a Chris Rock-directed take on Thomas Vinterburg's brilliant 'Another Round' (2020). A profound but joyful story of four middle-aged friends testing a theory that there is an optimal level of blood alcohol content that makes you more productive and creative. They of course take it too far.

"Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films." Bong Joon-ho

Bong Joon-ho utilised subtitle implementation as an art form for his Oscar-winning (first subtitled film in 92 years to win Best Picture) 'Parasite', allowing audiences to understand the cadence and impact of emotion and humour at key moments rather than a generalised ‘localisation’. Creative intent delivered through words and imagery on screen in synchronised harmony. 

Something the hugely successful Netflix hit 'Squid Games' was at the time criticised for, its lacklustre application of the medium resulted in misinterpretations of entire character arcs.

Due to the commercial and critical impact of 'Parasite', we are (thank the cinema Gods) unlikely to see an English-language remake on our screens. However, it perhaps came too late to save us from a host of cinema-sins including Spike Lee’s 2013 remake of the iconic 'Oldboy' (2003), no to mention 'The Upside' (2017), a totally unnecessary remake of the stunning 'Les Intouchables' (2011) and the insanely small two-year gap between 'Let Me In' (2010) and 'Let the Right One In' (2008).

There are the odd success stories such as Martin Scorsese's 'The Departed' (2006), an Oscar-winning take on part one of the awesome 'Infernal Affairs' (2002) trilogy, and David Fincher’s remake of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' (2011) but largely the originals are rarely approved upon and more often than not, the remakes or ‘reimaginings’ fail to make the same impact as the originals.

Scorsese and Fincher are not two directors you would accuse of lacking original creative thought or execution, but Hollywood’s obsession with remaking foreign movies does smack of lacking creativity and an over reliance on the safety net of a proven narrative. 

When Ang Lee’s 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon' hit cinemas in 2000, you would have been hard-pushed to find a television show from Spain or South Korea accessible to mainstream audiences, and yet today Netflix’s 'Money Heist' (La Casa de Papel) has been viewed in nearly 70 million homes worldwide and the success of Squid Games saw it viewed in over 140 million.  

Those shows along with the likes of Lupin and the rise of Anime are certainly helping shift the needle on Western audiences' openness to international entertainment, and in many ways, streaming is paving the way for ‘local-global’ content, so much so that it's estimated that by 2030, half of the European content on Netflix and Amazon will be non-English content.

This will not only be no surprise to younger audiences who are not only used to ubiquitous and borderless entertainment experiences across all platforms but also a native expectation of access to other cultures and storytelling.

As someone who grew up with a hearing-impaired parent in the '80s/'90s, the introduction of DVDs and with them, subtitles, changed the game for us to watch and enjoy movies as a family. So I am not only used to watching them, my default viewing experience at home is to have them enabled, I have a great fondness for them, regardless of the language spoken.

There still seems to be an existing barrier to entry for broader cinema audiences, but as the exposure and demand of non-English films continue to grow across multiple platforms, I have faith in us not having another 92-year wait for the next Parasite.