The Great Beauty won the Golden Globe for best film in a foreign language this year, but critics remain question how the film will be received in a British market.
When it comes to justifying avoiding non-British films, the arguments used are familiar. But, can the movie going public in Britain be summed up so easily?
Childhood
“I don`t like it!” And when this statement is followed up by the very reasonable question “how do you know if you haven`t tried it?”, the answers are “I just know”.
Children already know what they like and are not willing taking the risk of trying something new.
What if these new directors, writers or actors aren`t any good?
Adolescence
If judging a book by it`s cover isn`t a valid enough argument, leave it to the teenagers to explain.
Free, with the whole world figured out and safe in the knowledge that work is a waste of time.
Because that`s what subtitles are: work.
Having said that, there are a selected few who have an influence at this stage, and they are the leaders of the gang. In this case, that will be the Oscars. This year they have put their stamp of approval on five films in a foreign language.
But what about the others? Will they be left standing alone in the school yard? Or is it time to grow up?
Adulthood
The older we get, the more we realize that we didn’t have all the answers when we were young, and sometimes we even find ourselves a bit embarrassed over what we used to think was cool.
Part of growing up is discovering more of what the world has the offer.
One of those things is movies with subtitles.