Top Image: Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Ulrich Thomsen in Brodre (Brothers).Bottom image: Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal in Brothers, the US remake. Note the wearing of woollen beanie to signify "I'm the 'bad' brother") in each film.
"A simple piece of advice regarding this film: don’t bother watching it until you have at least seen the excellent Danish original, also called Brothers (Brodre) and readily available in Australia on DVD. Even then I’d have to ask why you’d want to bother..."
That's the first paragraph of my review of the Jim Sheridan-directed Brothers, which went up at the SBS Film website yesterday (Thursday).
The final sentence: "This may be a remake with integrity, but really, what’s the point?"
I can't help wondering what I would have felt about the film had I not seen Brodre. Because our expectations of any film based on another source - be it a foreign film, novel, play, magazine article or comic book- are inescapably conditioned affected by our feelings about, and experience of, the original.
The first telling creates a sense of what it ought to be like, and that tends to stick, no matter how many times you tell yourself you're approaching the adaptation with an open mind. You might call this a prejudice - albeit a frequently benign one.
Those who haven't seen the first version will necessarily approach with a different set of expectations. It's impossible to say what I would have felt about Brothers had I not seen Brodre first- but it's certainly possible I might have liked it considerably more. What I can say with certainty is that my experience of it would have been quite different.
I recall seeing the original version, which its director Susanne Bier co-wrote with Anders Thomas Jensen, in a DVD viewing cubicle at the San Sebastian film festival in Spain six years ago (no, folks, it's not all galas and partying on the international glamour circuit!).
It impressed me enough to invite the film to screen at the Sydney Film Festival the following year, where it went on to win the inaugural audience prize - leading directly to an Australian distribution deal. So you might say I feel a small personal connection.
Of course it would be easier if US audiences simply went to see the original. The unwillingness of mass audiences to read subtitles reflects an appalling defecit in the education system. (I'm sure my comfort with reading subtitles springs from having been exposed as a young teen to foreign movies at my enlightened UK state school's teacher-run film society - Battleship Potemkin, Throne of Blood, et al).
US audiences for foreign movies may have declined by a staggering 40% in the US over the last five years, according to an article in yesterday's Los Angeles Times.
"Of the nearly 1,000 foreign-language films released in the US since 1980, only 22 have grossed more than $10 million, with more than 70% of them taking in less than $1 million, according to boxofficemojo.com."
So it should be no surprise that two other recent Swedish hits, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (released here next week) and Let the Right One In, are due for the Hollywood remake treatment.
I can hardly wait.
3 comments:
I missed Biers' Brodre but saw the theatrical trailer at the time so that, when I saw Sheridan's Brothers I immediately recognised it as a remake of Biers' film (I didn't know before-hand). Knowing what the story was about, and that it was a remake, was a hurdle I had to get over. Ultimately, I did overcome it with difficulty, simply on the strength of the excellent performances of the three leads, as well as Sam Shepard's quietly understated support role.
I understand what you're saying about expectations. This whole discussion is not dissimilar to the that about Haneke's two versions of Funny Games. If you've seen one, is there any point seeing the other? If you've seen the original, probably not, though now having sen the remake I'd like to see the original.
I used to despair at the local aversion to sub-titles in foreign films. But then Europe, which screens lots of American films, most commonly dubs them with local actors. It's big business, and yet I consider dubbing a terrible abomination. I remember the first time I watched the Run Lola Run DVD - the default setting was English dubbing. It freaked me out and so much was lost.
I just attempted to post a comment on your SBS post and received a message saying the verification I entered didn't match and to try again. But my message had been lost, which is a real pain in the ass. This is what I think happened last time I mentioned this.
oh geez i can hardly wait myself.
on the one hand, if the remake somehow inspires a few audience members to try out the source material, there is hope for our species.
on the other hand... remakes are generally an abomination. with the exception of Insomnia. and The Departed. ... Solaris....
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