This is probably best answered from someone who lives in a non-English country, or someone who travels a lot, and watches movies from all over. Outside of English speaking countries, off-hand, what is the ratio of English/Your Language? And… how are those audiences? Do they just love whatever is a hit over here in the US?
Or if you’ve traveled and saw a movie in another language. How were those audiences compared to the ones in your country?
Also, are there many theaters playing older movies? If so, do you remember which movies specifically? Thanks.
I went to a couple in SF… One was in the Embarcadero, where I saw an average movie that became the Best Picture winner, but there was too much cell phone shit, and talking.
I thought going to a historical theatre like the one in The Castro to see classic movies would be better. Nope. Too much talking, especially men describing to their wives what just happened as if they were not there.
I go to movies in Panama regularly. A very large majority of movies are in English, mainly from the US. They are almost all subtitled in Spanish. Blockbusters and action movies will often be shown in both a subtitled and dubbed version. (Enough Panamanians understand English that there is an audience of undubbed versions.) Kids’ movies are often shown in only dubbed versions.
Occasionally there will be a Spanish language movie, or even more rarely a non-English movie. I saw Amelie in French with Spanish subtitles.
Only the most popular movies make it to Panama, and they tend to be action movies. There are no art house movie theaters, although sometimes such movies can be seen at film festivals at the university. But I usually have to wait until they are on Netflix or some other service to see them.
Because they don’t have to listen to the dialogue in subtitled movies, Panamanian audiences are more prone to talk during the movie, something that drives me nuts.
Interesting and thanks for sharing. I was thinking the same thing recently, about subtitles. I started a movie a few days ago, lots of noise outside, but it was a French movie, and so I didn’t miss as much if it was in English.
That’s too bad there are no art-house theaters. Let’s hope they are at least watching from home. There’s a ton of non-blockbuster, non-commercial movies from the 1930-70s that were great, too, as well as the “classics”.
I’ve been to the movies in Paris a lot. Rough guess, maybe 50/50 U.S. vs. European were playing, and American (and British) movies were widely shown both dubbed and subtitled (v.o., for “version originale”). In smaller towns and cities, though, U.S. films were shown, but only dubbed, never subtitled. Of course, this may have changed since I was there last.
There also are (were?) many art houses in Paris showing older American movies, everything from silent films to stuff made 10-20 years ago, always in v.o.
My 30-year-old recollection is that French audiences don’t deal well with honest emotion — they tend to laugh at tender, touching scenes. Other than that, they’re no different from American audiences.
I went to the movies in the Netherlands once. Saw an American movie in English with Dutch subtitles. Halfway through, right in the middle of a scene IIRC, the lights came up and the curtain closed. Everyone went to buy stuff at the concession stand. Then the lights went back off, the curtain reopened, and the film continued from the point it left off. As a cinephile, I was outraged.
I don’t go to French movies here. They are not subtitled and I just miss too much for it to be interesting. I once saw in Zurich the Swedish move of “The Magic Flute” with subtitles in German and French. The German was from the original libretto and the French was a translation which I could pretty much follow.
That’s too bad about the past - I wonder why they’ve gotten rid of older movies, art-house… VERY weird to stop a movie mid-scene. I can understand a short intermission to use the bathroom, but in the middle of a scene, to buy candy?
Maybe I answered my first question - lack of respect for the art itself. Maybe young kids go there so they can… kiss each other!
During our stays in San Cristóbol de Las Casas, Chiapas (southernmost Mexico) we regularly attended inexpensive film showings at a cultural center’s “theatre” room. Odd DVDs were projected onto a screen; the chairs were comfy; the audience was international and uttered comments. DVDs, the same as sold by street vendors for under one USA buck, might be subtitled - in English, Spanish, Russian, or Chinese - or not. The soundtracks might be dubbed. No matter. I’ll admit that seeing Dancer in the Dark there was one of the most depressing evenings of our lives.