The United States has been a filmmaking powerhouse for many years. Hollywood and indie films have dominated the minds of many. However, there has been a recent spike in interest in foreign films, with pieces like “Parasite” and “RRR” becoming box office hits.
Foreign films are films produced and released outside of the U.S. that are sold to theaters or streaming services here in the U.S. or are touring at film festivals.
This increase in consumption of foreign films could be due to the increased selection options and a lack of commitment from streaming services. You can sample any movie from an endless library, so you’re not limited by what your local theater or DVD store is showing. Depending on the streaming, you might not have to pay for an individual film, making it more likely you’ll try something new to you.
A notable example of foreign films making a significant impact in the U.S. is “Parasite.” The film won the “Palme d’Or” award in 2019 with a clean sweep of judges’ votes. “The Palme d’Or” is the prize for the best film at the Cannes Film Festival in France. Other films that have received this award in the past have been cult classics such as “Pulp Fiction” and “Taxi Driver.”
In the past, subtitles have been a substantial barrier to foreign films becoming mainstream in the U.S. Films made outside the U.S. in countries where English is not the primary language are either dubbed over in English by a voice actor or have subtitles. Many people are worried about getting lost in the film due to the consistent need to read to keep up with the story.
The director of “Parasite,” Bong Joon-Ho, said, “Once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films,” during his 2020 Golden Globe speech after winning Best Motion Picture. “I think we use only one language— the cinema,” said Joon-Ho.
“The film constantly threatens to come apart—to take one convoluted turn too many in ways that sink the project—but Bong holds it all together, and the result is breathtaking,” said Brian Tallerico, managing editor at RobertEbert.com and freelancer for Rotten Tomatoes, The New York Times and Rolling Stones.
The preconceived notion that Hollywood does it best and nothing else can top that has been another barrier foreign films have to overcome to gain popularity in the U.S. This could be from the massive amounts of money that are funneled into American blockbuster film companies. Making endless Marvel movies, “Fast and the Furious,” or just another Seth Rogen movie. Along with the fact that people often don’t want to step out of their comfort zones when it comes to films, they just decide to watch the good old reliable Marvel movie for the 50th time.
Not only are foreign films entertaining and equally as good as Hollywood blockbusters, but sometimes they’re much better. An example of this is the movie “RRR”, a Bollywood superhero movie; at least, the action is of that level. This movie’s reviews eclipse many Marvel movies in recent years. Getting reviews like “That excitement is electric when you watch RRR,” said John Powers, writer for NPR, “RRR” contains more exciting action scenes than all the Marvel movies put together.”
It’s important to get exposed to other cultures through film. “When you go watch films, for sure, because you get new perspectives and see what other cultures are grappling with or thinking about,” said Jeannie Redrejo, a French teacher at Ida B. Wells.
“We are going to see differences, but the reality is even though we live our lives differently, we might have common roles despite that, and that’s so revealing to students,” said Redrejo, when speaking on the helpfulness of showing foreign films in class, especially for language classes like French or Spanish.
The importance of foreign films is greatly understated when it comes to their quality and the cultural impact that they could have in the U.S. If we watch them more often, the ability to peer into other cultures and learn from a new perspective that’s not portrayed accurately in the U.S. is a valuable resource that should not be understated, not to mention the fact that some of these films are incredible pieces of art that everyone should experience.
