A couple of years ago, when Life Is Beautiful was getting a lot of Oscar-season attention, a couple of friends of mine told me they walked out of it. They couldn't understand why the Fort Worth Star-Telegram gave it a positive review. Theaters and video stores have to deal with it, often warning people that what they'll be seeing isn't in any form of English. Reviewers, when we have our heads about us, include notations that movies are subtitled.
Truth is, most people want to see a movie, rather than read it.
But every now and then, a film can break through our subtitle-phobic society. And this time, people aren't asking for their money back. And they can get a little indignant about subtitle-avoiders. But as it turns out, U.S. audiences are more receptive to subtitled films than their overseas counterparts. Kimmel, the Boston critic and film professor, thinks U.S. audiences used to be less resistant to foreign-language movies, even though the grosses for some are now higher.