The Uncanny Absence of Idioms in Subtitles

I've never translated anything except the most basic sentences from foreign language textbooks, so I can't totally sympathize with their conundrum, but I feel for those tasked with writing subtitles for foreign films. I think a big reason why foreign films are often considered aloof or incomprehensible has to do with the crevasse between the words as heard uttered from the actors' mouths and the words as read on the screen. There's a lot of alienation going on there and it is reasonable that it puts off most people.

The weirdest thing, though, for even experienced subtitle readers (anime, foreign films, very-very-quiet screenings) is the total lack of idiomatic language in many subtitles. It's difficult, because even if what the actors are saying basically means something equivalent to an idiom in American English, the translator can't really use that idiom. It would sound really bizarre if Marcello Mastroianni said someone was a "dead ringer" or a "flash in the pan." But idiomatic language is an essential element of almost all communication in English and probably is everywhere in the dialogue of most foreign films. Just one of those layers of meaning that I'll probably never be able to unravel...

2009 is the year of indie adaptations of kids' books

Here's the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are, which comes out in October. I probably read that book. I probably owned that book. But the book was not beloved to me and in my memory, only a gray blur comes to mind. So, while this trailer is probably meant to target people in my demographic from several angles - indie director, indie band, childhood memories - it doesn't fully succeed for me personally. But it probably does for people who like Spike Jonze or liked the book a lot. I always knew that Arcade Fire song was meant for a trailer, though.

Fantastic Mr. Fox apparently intends to pull at the same heartstrings. I'll definitely be going giddy over that one, even though that particular Dahl novel never really made an impact on me at a young age. I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple other films pop up over the next 18 months that follow this curious little mini-sub-genre forming.

Krzysztof Kieślowski is the Anti-David Lynch

Lynch:
Surreal, confusing, phantasmagoric; willful concealment of meaning.

Kieslowski:
Concrete, real ethical issues; upfront with themes and meaning.

This guy has no idea

Here's an article written quite some time ago which is somehow still on the internet about the chronology of the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Because I am totally gullible to think excessively about frivolous things, the article provoked me. Yet, I completely disagree with many of the assumptions of the article and would like to put forward a FBDO chronology of my own.

The Film's Ten Major Time-Sensitive Events:

1. Sears (Willis) Tower trip
2. CBOE trip
3. Art Institute trip
4. Lunch at Chez Quiz
5. Cubs game (no earlier than the 3rd inning)
   
6. German heritage parade
7. Stop on the side of the road to check on Cameron
8. Swim in Sloane's pool
9. Go back to Cameron's and trash the Ferrari
10. Ferris walks Sloane home (explicitly ends at 6pm)
    

A Step-By-Step Examination

• Preliminarily, all calculations assume that Ferris knows exactly what he has to accomplish and is busting his ass trying to get it all done in time. Because Ferris is portrayed as more of a cosmic force than a teenage kid, this seems reasonable. (Another interesting teenage cosmic force - Zack Morris apparently has the ability to control space-time by calling "Time Out!", making him more powerful than many, if not all, fictional superheroes. The teen-god trope is taken to its broadest extreme in Haruhi Suzumiya.)
  
• Jeanie leaves for school at 7:45am. Ferris immediately calls Cameron, hacks into the school's computer system, and fucks around at home before Cameron arrives. This could plausibly take an hour, putting Ferris at 8:45am.
• Cameron and Ferris trick Ed Rooney, so by the time Ferris picks up Sloane, it's probably about 9:30am.
• Ferris speeds the 25 miles down the Dan Ryan from Northbrook to the Loop, taking 30 minutes, including the time it takes to tip the parking attendants. It's 10am.
  
• Ferris gets to the Sears (Willis) Tower and takes a very rapid trip. This is plausible because very few other people appear to be touring the Tower at the time. He arrives at the CBOE, where there are also no lines, by 10:45am. Taking a brief moment to reflect (doesn't really seem like Ferris's style except to bemoan the drudgery of the place), he heads to the Art Institute and arrives by 11:15am.
• Realizing there's a lot to do, they check out La Grande Jatte and the Chagall windows and leave, departing by noon. Presuming that Chez Quiz is somewhere in Lincoln Park between the Art Institute and Wrigley (a precursor to Charlie Trotter's?), lunch begins by 12:30 and ends at 1:15.
  
• Presuming a typical 1:20pm start, Ferris arrives at Wrigley just after the first pitch. The baseball game provides John Hughes with the greatest flexibility, as the only concrete information we are given comes when the pizza guy tells Ed Rooney that it's the third inning when Ferris catches a foul ball. So, Ferris could have left Wrigley as early as 2pm. However, assuming Ferris stayed at least a little longer, let's say that Ferris, being a force for good and not really caring about the Cubs (Hughes himself is a Sox fan) leaves the game before it ends at 3pm.
• They get back down to the Loop for the German heritage parade by 3:30 and Ferris sings a couple of songs. Let's say they're done by 4pm.
• Getting back to the garage by 4:15, they drive back to Northbrook. Including 15 minutes to care for Cameron's mental health, it's now 5pm.
• Swimming at Sloane's and reviving Cameron takes half an hour. It's 5:30.
• The entire series of events ending in the Ferrari's destruction takes another half an hour, putting us at 6pm.
• Sloane lives near Cameron and the walk takes a few minutes. Here we are given more concrete evidence; Sloane's watch reads 6pm. So we are forced to cut Hughes a bit more slack and say Ferris leaves the baseball game slightly earlier than 3pm. From here, the chronology is completely plausible and Ferris makes it safe at home in bed no later than 6:15.
  

So while I commend the guy who I've linked above on his close attention paid to the film, I think my analysis is superior based on knowledge of Chicago geography and some slightly more plausible interpretations of events. It would have been tough, but Ferris indeed could have done all of these things in one day if he were strictly on the ball.

It's kind of weird to think that a kid as chill as Ferris could be so strict about his time in one day, but he's clearly driven and really smart. Or maybe he held some sort of time-freezing powers akin to Zack Morris (but different in that everyone is still moving while time stands still). Anyway, all of this is clearly irrelevant because you have to give the benefit of the doubt to John Hughes in order to enjoy the film. I mean, thinking about this is about as reasonable as asking yourself if it's realistic to create a woman to do your bidding using a computer.

Also, check out this link for more great FBDO reflections.

Rocky Road To Dublin

Rocky Road To Dublin is a documentary about Ireland in the '60s that I first saw at a screening during undergrad. It's more than worth watching for many reasons, and essential viewing if you have any interest in Ireland. Not only does it strike at the heart of the romantic Irish myth that permeates culture today, but it uses many techniques of the French New Wave - both interesting visually and substantively. The repression in the country at the time is palpable, and despite some heavy-handed commentary, the theme of forsaken revolution still remains relevant. You've seen the caricature of Ireland - so check out how it really was.

Furthermore, the film was banned in Ireland for 30 years and its screening at Cannes in 1968 was shut down in sympathy with the May '68 strikes. So that's kind of cool. Also, for geek appeal, you've got cameos by John Huston, Truffaut, and Godard. And Godard's the villain. Heh.

Unfortunately, Youtube's quality limitations trashes much of the film's nuance, but it at least gives you a taste of what the film's all about and whether you should take the trouble to import the DVD.

Film Proper:
Part 1/7 - Part 2/7 - Part 3/7 - Part 4/7 - Part 5/7 - Part 6/7 - Part 7/7

Making Of:
Part 1/3 - Part 2/3 - Part 3/3

Shoot the Piano Player is such a gem

• It's a ridiculously well-rounded movie that hits every emotional tone while maintaining and overall playfulness and never diving into deep cynicism. There are suicides, murders, and tragedy, but its charm is relentless.
• It really doesn't seem like a movie that's less than 90 minutes long - and that's a really good thing.
• Obviously very new wave, but doesn't fall prey to the worst stereotypes of the genre.
• Lena is a true ride or die girl.
  
• I identify with Eduard Saroyan.
• A film whose villains carry a musical lighter has to be at least okay.
  

Moving to Chicago for the Summer

Ok, so tomorrow I'm headed to Chicago for the summer.  I feel that there's no better way to get ready for this massive move than watching a bunch of movies that take place, at least in part, in Chicago.  You know, in order to build up huge expectations that cannot help but be dashed in reality.  Here's what was on my list:

Ferris Bueller's Day Off: shows off Chicago better than any other movie I've seen

Weird Science: actually makes me kind of excited to one day live in Chicago suburbs

Risky Business: In Chicago, at least they have really sympathetic call girls.  Also, I now want to buy a pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarers.

Sixteen Candles: This film never really resonated with me like other Hughes films, but it's still pure gold.

The Breakfast Club: Yes, I have visited the high school in this movie.

Rookie of the Year: Despite my hatred for all things Cub, this movie is a reminder of a time when they were truly pathetic, not just a let-down in the clutch.

Home Alone: An all time Christmas classic, higher than Miracle on 34th Street in my book for Chicago Christmas movies.

The Blues Brothers

She's Having a Baby: Hughes' shift away from teen comedies is regrettable, but this is still a good film.  Perhaps it is best that he left his excellent record in that sub-genre alone.

Ordinary People

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: The best Chicago holiday-themed movie.

National Lampoon's Vacation: Another verfied classic.  Even though the family only begins in Chicago, this movie, the major theme is: wherever you go, there you are.

Something might strike you about this list.  Chicago, apparently, was huge in the movies in the late-70s to early-90s era.  Much, but not all, of this can  be attributed to John Hughes.  I am an avowed John Hughes fanatic, which probably accounts for my affinity toward both the 80s and Chicago.  Risky Business has striking similarities to many films in the Hughes oeuvre, and you could easily see Rookie of the Year fitting in with the later Hughes family-friendly films.  The others are fairly solid films, too.  Nothing like taking the edge off of a major life-changing week than warming up to some classic movies.  Very comforting, indeed.

I also intend to continue blogging as frequently as time and creativity permit.

I know I'm the last person in the world to see Juno, so I'll keep this short

I hated Juno. I was completely uncharmed by Ellen Page. I hated how it included every marginally overrated indie movie star on the planet (which now includes Page). The super-cute pun-zingers (e.g., "Phuket, Thailand") in the film's first fifteen minutes alone made me puke, the rest elicited other graphic bodily functions last described in the mid-90s. I also found the moral overtones a bit unsettling. The entire thing really just enriched my enjoyment of Gilmore Girls, which is wittier, and Me and You and Everyone We Know, which is simultaneously more cynical and touching. Somehow, I knew I should have followed my initial instinct and watched Blade Runner tonight.

On the plus side - Sean from Degrassi's cameo.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is the most emotionally demanding, devastating, and fulfilling film that I've seen in a very long time. I won't reduce the power of this film to a synopsis, but suffice to say, it is equally worthy as 2007's other great films and definitely required viewing.

The eye is a dominant theme, and each woman character has spectacularly sympathetic eyes.  Peering into these eyes from the camera's first-person perspective, you can see the pain, frustration, hope and understanding in such a subtle performance. Schnabel knows this too; his evocative Velvet Underground track says so.

The humanity of main character, his utter futility, his previous nature, makes for a more whole image of the fate of somebody who is "locked-in."  Tuesdays with Morrie or Requiem for a Dream engage in either Oprah-approved sap or graphic, cacophonous scare tactics.  This film, in an elegant and, most importantly, realistic and credible manner, strikes through my hardened armor and illuminates the value of life.  Can't believe I said that.

Helvetica - The Movie

I did not expect much but this documentary about the font Arial ripped off was quite brilliantly done and thought provoking; simply a must for anyone even mildly interested in graphic design or visual culture.  Instead of being dry [it's a documentary about a typeface, after all], the film travels through the evolution of Helvetica's uses and artistic statements from its inception in the 1950's as an attempt to put the pieces of a shattered post-war society back together to falling out of favor and being redeemed in contemporary design. The interviews illuminate the underlying issues of design as politics, design as identity, and design as truth.  Like the font itself, the narrative is short, direct, and powerful with numerous fascinating interviews with influential designers.  Also, it's available on Netflix Watch Instantly, so you really have no excuse not to watch.  Five stars; if you're of a mildly artistic temperament it will definitely make you think about redoing the design of your blog...