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2004 |
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Learn
a language with a foreign language movie!
A special
feature by www.languageadvantage.com
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It's that time
of year again, when the darlings of the film industry put on their
glad rags for the 76th Annual Academy Awards® which take place
on Sunday 29 February 2004.
This year, there
are five films that have been nominated for the Foreign Language
Film category. And they are:
The
Barbarian Invasions *WINNER*
Canada
Directed by Denys Arcand
As Rémy Girard, very much attached to his left wing beliefs,
learns that he is dying of cancer, his estranged son, Sébastien,
whose stockbroker career in London is in full-swing, returns home
to Quebec to see his father. And he is not the only one - as his
ex-wife, ex-lovers and old friends gather to share time with him
to make this drama into a provocative comedy.
Evil
Sweden
Directed by Mikael Håfström
Erik has been abused all his life and has to learn how to use his
brain instead of his fists. In the meantime , he is expelled from
his school for violent behavior, but is given a final chance by
his mother when she sends him for an exclusive but eye-opening private
education.
The Twilight Samurai/Tasogare
Seibei
Japan
Directed by Yoji Yamada
Set in 19th century
Japan, a widowed samurai caring for his mother and two young daughters
has to decide whether he should sell his sword to pay for his mother's
funeral and stop following his traditional warrior life, while he
tries to protect a battered wife.
Twin
Sisters/De Tweeling
The Netherlands
Directed by Ben Sombogaart
In Germany during
the mid 1920s, twin sisters Anne and Lotte are separated after their
parents die. One sister is raised by a wealthy aunt in Holland and
the other grows up in difficult circumstances on a German farm owned
by an uncle.
Želary
Czech Republic
Directed by Ondrej Trojan
During the Second World War, a young Eliska is forced
to go into hiding in a backward mountain village in occupied Czechoslovakia
and meets up and develops a relationship with a rugged blacksmith.
The Academy®
selects five foreign language films from a list of films from 87
countries who have been invited to submit films for consideration.
It seems that out of all of this year's nominees, The Barbarian
Invasions is expected to win. It is the sequel to the 1986 film
The Decline of the American Empire and has had good press coverage
recently. It is also nominated for Best Original Screenplay.
There are also
a few other foreign language films which are included in the Oscars®
but outside the Foreign Film category. The Brazilian film City of
God/Cidade de Deus has been nominated in four categories: Best Director,
Best Film Directing, Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) and Best
Cinematography. The
City of God slum in Rio de Janeiro became one of the most dangerous
places in Brazil. The film tracks the lives of two young men - one
becomes a photographer and the other a gangland drug dealer saying
that if you fight you'll never survive and if you run you'll never
escape.
The animated
co-production of The Triplets of Belleville (France and Belgium)
has also been nominated in two categories: the Animated Feature
category and for Best Song.
Other foreign
language films to look out for that are showing now in cinemas or
will be out soon are: Valentin (Argentina/Netherlands), Infernal
Affairs (Hong Kong), The Three Marias (Brazil), Son Frere (France),
Vizontele Tuuba (Turkey) and Siddiq Barmak's debut film, Osama (Afaganistan/Ireland/Japan)
which won the award for Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden
Globes but has not been nominated for the Oscars® this year.
And finally,
one film which is an interesting depiction of the differences, problems
and nuances of the customs and languages that you can encounter
whilst abroad, is Lost in Translation (US /Japan). Directed by Sophia
Ford Coppola and starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson this
film is set in Japan. It portrays their loneliness and the subsequent
close relationship that develops during their short stay in a hotel
in Tokyo. Although the cultural differences are portrayed in a humorous
way, it proves that it is important to understand the culture of
another country, especially one as diverse as the Japanese culture,
or you can feel alienated.
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learn
a language with a foreign language movie
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Your next holiday
abroad may be some time away, but why not make good use of the cold
winter evenings to build up your language skills with a foreign
language movie. Turn the heating up high, snuggle under a blanket
on the sofa with a nice warm drink in your hands … and press play.
With a DVD, you can choose the language for the soundtrack and the
language for the subtitles. With a video, choose to buy it in the
original language version. Always check that the DVD or video is
in the right format and/or region for your particular country and
your particular player ... especially if you are buying on-line.
Click here for
a full list of all nominations
for the Academy Awards® this year is available on the BBC
website.
Academy Awards®,
Oscar® are the registered trademarks and service marks of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
DVDs now make
it very easy for us to get our favourite films in many different
languages. Most DVDs come with the soundtrack in a selection of
languages and accompanied by a selection of subtitles. On some DVDs
you can get up to 25 language and subtitle combinations - so you
could end up watching the film in Greek with Hebrew subtitles. A
language learning dream.
A word of warning
though. The film industry has adopted a Region system for all DVDs
- and consequently DVD players. You need to check closely that the
DVD you are purchasing is the correct region for your DVD player.
Even if you manage to buy a multi-region DVD player, still check
that the DVD that you are purchasing has the correct language and
subtitle combination. For example, you may have to buy your DVDs
from France to get the French/English language combination, as the
UK version doesn't have French, but may have Swedish, Danish and
Greek.
Visit Language
Advantage Films to browse
more foreign language movies!
Also,
visit our Language Advantage Films and Language
Advantage Courses for more of the best and most innovative language
providers in the world.
For other special features go to Language
Advantage Features.
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