Speaking Volumes

    I have a lot of friends that groan when I suggest renting or watching a movie with subtitles. “If I wanted to read I would get a book” (not a bad idea either by the way).

    Over the past year or so I have grown to really love a number of subtitled foreign films. Part of this new love stemmed from living within walking distance to a small, cheap, indie movie theater, The Roxy, when I lived in downtown Burlington, VT. In fact, I almost never went to the movies, subtitled or not, before living so close to a cheap, interesting, theater like the Roxy. Of course now that I am at the library daily I have all the latest and greatest DVD's at my fingertips and I take full advantage of it. And for those of who who don't already know, we have an EXCELLENT rotating foreign film collection at the library. These are films purchased by The Connecticut Library Consortium, we borrow them in sets or 'packets' that rotate in and out of our library every three months. They are located in their own section near our DVD's and check out for 2 days. The titles are include special interest films, independent films, and of course subtitled foreign films, many of which we don't own.

    If this post sparks your curiosity in foreign or subtitled films in any way, allow me to fill you in on some of my recent favorites:

Amelie (French w/subtitles) I could almost call this my favorite movie ever. Sweet and beautiful.

Persepolis (French w/subtitles) This one is animated and has subtitles – Ooh la la! It's based on Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel about growing up in Iran during the Iranian Revolution and the rise of Islamic fundamentalists.

Lives of Others (German w/subtitles) Before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, East Germans were closely monitored by the Stasi, the Secret Police. Playwright George Dreyman attracts their attention when his girlfriend becomes involved with a government official.

Pans Labyrinth (Spanish w/subtitles) A mix of fairy tale, horror, and fantasy all taking place in post Civil War Spain in 1944. Stunning film, creepy monsters.

In addition, I will be taking home these three movies from our CLC Foreign Language Film collection this weekend:

              Nada

          Moolaade

              Klimt

    Foreign films give you a glimpse into the culture, language, and history of places and people we may not encounter in American made films. It's always good to get a different perspective on the world around us. If you text, email, or read the news scrolling by on the bottom of your TV screen, then making the jump to subtitled films shouldn't be too bad. Plus, a little extra reading never hurt anyone!