Alexia Lawson, Arts Editor
Featured image courtesy of Cynthia Lam
I’ll be the first to admit, the thought of international films scared me when I was younger. Memories of humourous voice-over and the strain of reading subtitles while I brushed past the “Foreign Film” aisle of video rental stores in my childhood resurfaced. Who would have known that international film is a hidden treasure not often dug up.
Meet international film buff, Tom Greenwald. With a conservative estimate of viewing over 7,000 films, 60 per cent of them being international, Greenwald is a hub of knowledge on films from all corners of the earth. Greenwald has packed his years of expertise into his book, Beyond Hollywood: 21st Century International Film, compiling nearly 700 film reviews from over 70 countries.
The book, released early March, was edited, published, and marketed by York’s very own micro-publishing house Leaping Lion Books and a collective of students from the Book Publishing Practicum course. From Hungary to Argentina, Greenwald somehow found a way to condense a world of knowledge into your coffee-table read.
We sat down with Greenwald to talk about the foreign world of foreign film.
Subtitles seem to be the primary suspect preventing people from viewing international films.
“People just don’t want to read subtitles,” says Greenwald.
“What they don’t realize is that it only takes two or three movies to get used to it, and then you hardly notice the subtitles anymore.”
Subtitles are not the only culprit. People assume that viewing foreign film may seem pretentious, according to Greenwald.
“Younger readers are put off by that. They don’t want to be called that,” he says. “But my argument is, it’s not pretentious to go out for Chinese or Thai food, why is it pretentious to go out to a Chinese or Thai movie?”
A point that had me convinced.
While international film is not my area of expertise, Bollywood films are up my alley and were a common ground that we found. “I think they have production values that are second-to-none,” says Greenwald. “They’re fun to watch. They’re beautiful to watch.” While the musical aspect is common in most Bollywood films, not everyone, namely in the West, seem to be a fan of them. Greenwald explains that the song and dance numbers come with the turf of this genre. “Sort of like learning to like olives or oysters … If you’re going to get into them, you have to learn to accept the rules that come with it.”
While the controversial #OscarsSoWhite came up in our discussion, Greenwald expressed that Hollywood is not the only one guilty of lack of representation in film.
“Equal diversity is a problem everywhere.” We can even look in our own backyard here in Canada, says Greenwald. “How often do you see Native Canadians represented?”
His diagnosis to the problem? Representation at the production level of the industry. “You have to normalize the industry so that it’s not this bailiwick that is owned and operated by one tiny part of the cultural spectrum.”
For those hoping to look beyond what Hollywood offers, Greenwald offered this advice: “Subtitles are your friend. If you ignore international film, you’re ignoring 90 per cent of the ocean. You’re swimming in just 10 per cent of the ocean,” he continues, “there is lots of beautiful fish all over the place. Subtitles are really the key to the ocean of fish.”
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