Toni Erdmann might have been my favorite film of 2016, I loved every minute of it. It lost the Golden Globe to Vehoeven’s Elle (which I hated despite my adoration for Isabelle Huppert) but, from the buzz it was getting, I thought it was a shoo-in for the Oscar… until Trump’s Muslim travel ban, which I think cinched the win for Asghar Farhadi’s The Salesman (which, in all fairness, was an excellent film but I have far greater affection for Toni Erdmann).
First of all, I am always inclined to wretch at remakes of films that are themselves new or only a few years old, remade for the sole reason to correct the sin of the foolish creators of the original who lacked the dignity to make their film in English, God’s chosen language. When it’s a remake of a film that I personally love, my wretching increases tenfold.
That said, even if I were not prejudiced, I think Nicholson is terrible for this role. Apparently, the entire reason this is happening is because he himself wanted to do it so, I guess, there never was a chance to cast anyone else.
I expect Wiig to take it very seriously and to commit to doing her best work. She’s had big films and she’s had films that show the breadth of her acting talent but two haven’t really overlapped. Her big films have been broad comedies that relied on schtick. Her serious acting has been in small films that never had a chance to reach a wide audience. So, with this, a big film costarring Jack Nicholson, she really has a chance to bring her A Game in the acting department with an assurance that it will reach a wide audience.
Still, even if she is is excellent, I can’t see this remake not completely missing the mark in terms of the tone and intimacy that made the original so special.
This could be great news, but probably not. I’m sure Jack Nicholson would like to cast Ingrid Bisu personally, though I highly doubt we’d see as much of her in the invariably bowdlerized American version. More seriously, attaching a female director to this project could mitigate some suckitude. Debra Granik? Miranda July? Alison Anders? I’m not sure anyone good is moving in the direction of Hollywood anymore.
I’ll also tend to retch at the American remakes. Even if they’re shot for shot remakes, subtle changes will always weaken them. This is even if you’re unaware of the original when watching them: there’s always a sense that something is off. I love the feeling of travel I get from foreign films. Being unable to read subtitles, which is always the ostensible reason given for remaking films for Americans, is not a problem for me. Much preferred the original Insomnia (O.K. narrowly), Brothers, Millenium Trilogy, on and on. One “remake” I’m looking forward to is John Turturro’s Going Places which should be an original, but likely still won’t be as controversial as the 1974 version. If it is that honest, It’ll be quickly pooh-poohed and buried.
It’s a touchy subject the more I think about this. Homages to older world classics like a remake of Les valseuses or Boudu sauvé des eaux are one thing, but instantly remaking successes in world cinema for “American audiences and tastes” then exporting them around the planet is pretty much analogous to building many, many walls.
It will be very hard for them to do a good job of this. The original was - er - highly original. It had a very distinct tone which you don’t see in most Hollywood films which was somehow able to reflect the complexity of this father and daughter’s situation and that neither character was completely in the wrong or right. I loved it, it was unique and made me think for days.