Foreign cinema sparks inspiration in Hollywood
By Laurie Lo
Oct. 20, 2004 9:00 p.m.
Some say imitation is the best form of flattery. If this is the
case, then Americans have been paying foreign filmmakers the
biggest compliment to date.
While there has always been a bevy of foreign remakes ““
some unfortunate, like the Madonna flop “Swept Away”
““ it seems this trend has taken on a whole new fervor in
recent years, particularly in the Japanese horror market.
“Hollywood is always looking for something that works
elsewhere, and that they can adapt or remake using their stars,
directors and marketing departments,” said critical studies
Professor Chon Noriega.
The floodgates opened after the surprise success of
DreamWorks’ 2002 remake of the Japanese cult hit
“Ringu,” a story about a cursed videocassette that
kills its viewers one week later. The Americanized version,
“The Ring,” combined the rich visual imagery of
Japanese filmmaking with a strong plot line and the high production
values of the American tradition.
For the most part, this is a welcome change, considering the
current American wave of trendy teen horror movies. Many critics
praised the quiet moments, which suggested horror rather than
blatantly displayed it. American horror films are known for their
clichés and predictability, while Japanese films rely on
understatement.
“”˜The Ring’ was unlike anything we had seen
before. The horror was subtle,” said Elizabeth Branham, a
fourth-year English and history student. “It was scary
because most of it was left up to your imagination.”
There must be a better reason why Hollywood is suddenly
embracing the idea of foreign remakes than that Americans are just
too lazy to read subtitles or the mass appeal of Japanese zombie
schoolgirls. Once deemed too artsy or weird for American mainstream
tastes, foreign films have been homogenized and packaged for an
American audience. But not everyone agrees with this answer.
“There is a genuine interest in foreign countries; just
look at the success of “˜Lost in Translation,'”
said Branham. “Seeing modern Japan brought an awareness of
just how beautiful a city it is.”
Despite its popularity, some people remain cautious of the
crossover. Many foreign films are significant because of their
cultural depth. But this feature is automatically brushed aside
when movies are adjusted for an American audience.
“Films often respond in interesting ways to specific
cultural and social phenomenon in their own societies,” said
Michael Bourdaghs, an East Asian studies professor. “Much of
that specificity gets lost, not surprisingly, in the Hollywood
remakes.”
For example, according to Bourdaghs, the Japanese original
“Ringu” drew upon modern Japanese anxieties over the
children of single mothers and the behavior of high school girls.
The underlying motives and the cultural contexts of these films are
unfortunately lost on Western audiences.
Nevertheless, American movie studios will continue to churn out
foreign remakes. Due to the success of previous Asian horror films,
a number of American replicas are slated to come out soon,
including “Dark Water,” “The Eye” and the
most recent, “The Grudge.”
But American studios do not view the task of remakes as an
artistic license to do whatever they wish. Rather, foreign films
are treated as a foundation in which studios believe they can make
better, by adding special effects and big name actors.
“The appeal has to do with having a ready-made, proven
product. But it would seem that most films lose a lot in
translation,” said Noriega.
