I think the opposite. Because you don't know the language, you only have the acting iself to go on - the expressions, the reactions, the tonality in the voice. Just like a blind man who finds his other senses heightened, when understanding of language is removed, all other aspects of the actors' performances are elevated to greater prominence.
You are reading subtitles when you watch a film in foreign language. Which does not heighten your ability to read the physical performance, it distracts it (Still better than dubbing, thought). I've read subtitled TV and movies every day for closer to 25 years now, so I'm as fluent in it as anyone. Subtitles affect the way you read a physical performance.
Judging tonality of voice is very hard if you don't know the language and the culture. It's not just the words you don't understand - It's also the tone. My own native Finnish language is tonally completely different than English. Only Finnish-speaking people in the Finnish culture can accurately judge whether slight variations in tone ring true or false. Others simply don't have the ear for it. Same goes for example to many Asian countries - The voice register is completely different than what Westerners are used to.
About physicality: In different cultures people use their body and face in different ways. Moreover, the cultural context of the scene affects the performance. The way Americans carry themselves and socialize with each other is very different from Finnish people. A scene in a Finnish movie with American behavior would easily read false to Finnish people, but an American viewer would buy it easily.
While basic human behavior is universal, the finer details are not. Expressions, reactions, tonality in the voice, etc, often vary greatly in different cultures.
Moreover, you can't judge dialogue if you don't know the language. Dialogue affects the performance. Often subtitles misrepresent the finer details of the dialogue - and they also misrepresent the emotion the actor is trying to convey.
Of course you can recognize bad, good or a great performance in a foreign film. But it's harder. And it's easier to miss the false notes, because you are not tuned into the finer details of that particular language and culture.
Aren't they remaking this? I remember seeing De Niro attached to an American adaptation of Tell No One.
Wasn't it Ben Affleck to both direct and rewrite the Kurtzman & Orci script?
As for the acting: it's pretty good. French acting in general has a very different tone than American acting, but that doesn't make it less adequate. I'm not fluent but know enough French to ignore the subtitles long enough to judge.
Tell No One is an amazing film all around. The French just have this ability to make commercial films without dumbing them down, like they actually respect the audience.
I was not impressed with Tell No One. It seemed like an anti-thriller...a thriller without thrills. Just ordinary execution for what could have been a pretty captivating story. I actually prefer the script for the remake.
Here are some I did enjoy:
Black Swan
The Sixth Sense
Vertigo
Rear Window
A History of Violence
Hard Candy
Exam
Session 9
Frailty
Buried
The Game
Tell No One is an amazing film all around. The French just have this ability to make commercial films without dumbing them down, like they actually respect the audience.
Black Swan
The Sixth Sense
Vertigo
Rear Window
A History of Violence
Hard Candy
Exam
Session 9
Frailty
Buried
The Game
I'll vote for this ^
Have not seen them all but it looks like a great list. Loved A History of Violence and the Hitchcock picks. Sixth Sense too, and Buried... I heard Black Swan was worth seeing but haven't seen it yet...
Think I would add Sleuth to this list... stellar cast, one of the special plays that was also a fine film.
I was not impressed with Tell No One. It seemed like an anti-thriller...a thriller without thrills. Just ordinary execution for what could have been a pretty captivating story. I actually prefer the script for the remake.
Here are some I did enjoy:
Black Swan
The Sixth Sense
Vertigo
Rear Window
A History of Violence
Hard Candy
Exam
Session 9
Frailty
Buried
The Game
I'll cosign everything on this list except Frailty (which I haven't seen) and Black Swan... definitely wasn't a fan of that film, but it's obviously psychological I just wasn't all that thrilled.
Was Frailty pretty original or different from most films that's out? Not sure how I missed this one.
One must be fearless and tenacious when pursuing their dreams. If you don't, regret will be your reward.
Actually, that film is pretty faithful to the comics. Bad dubbing doesn't help, though. And then you have the fact that humor doesn't always travel well, even if it's comic book humor like in this case. I loved Asterix comics when I was a kid, but never cared much for the movies; the older animated films were much better.
I'll cosign everything on this list except Frailty (which I haven't seen) and Black Swan... definitely wasn't a fan of that film, but it's obviously psychological I just wasn't all that thrilled.
Was Frailty pretty original or different from most films that's out? Not sure how I missed this one.
Great list, though I'd add memento and deduct Exam. IMHO that film was littered with clunky dialogue, a weak twist and god awful stereotypes that continue to saturate British films. All it needed was Danny Dyer, teenage pregnancy and Noel Clarke thrown into the mix and it'd ticked every box...
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