At least half of the movies in Paris right now are American films. English films are almost always dubbed in french although I was surprised to see that many films in Paris are also now available "VO" (version originale, i.e., subtitled). So....French or American. We had some choices:
- See an American film subtitled. Good american fun but not much french value,
- See an American film dubbed. Non-starter (I thought). To me dubbing is horrific. I cannot believe how horribly a great film can be destroyed when dubbed.
- See a French film. Great experience but very hard to follow and appreciate with our french level. Appreciating a film in another language is a very advanced language skill. Also, I have watched ALOT of french films. While I might laud their skill, I am rarely enthusiastic. This is, perhaps, simply because I am not French: understanding a nuance sometimes requires some life experience in the culture.
Our choice was 2: American film dubbed. We picked an animated film so it would be simpler to follow: "Moi, moche et méchant" ("Despicable Me" in the U.S.). And...the dubbing is not a problem with animated characters.
It was delightful! We understood most of it and the parts we lost were not a problem because of the simplicity of the storyline. It was curious to me that the film was totally translated, including titles, into French. There was hardly a smell of English except a few subtitles (the cardboard box with the words "Box of Shame" need to be translated) but the credits suggested that Steve Carell and a swath of Americans were the voice stars. Hmmm. At least the poster gave credit to Gad Elmaleh (Steve Carell's french stand-in).
We tried to see this film last night (Sunday) but the crowds were huge. It would seem that Sunday is a movie night but Monday is dullsville (there were only a dozen of us in the theatre tonight).
Cost: 11€ each.
Meet you for lunch Thursday? Baguette and coffee!! Don't I wish!!!
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