Well, let's see... Here's the movie that swept up a lot of people in it's magic (although not me) and here... Miramax is trying to see how much more money it can yank in by doing an allegedly classy DUBBED version of the Academy Award winning film. So if you are one of those that refused to see it, on account of having to read them dang yellow letters... Well, you might enjoy this more. THOUGH I am 100% opposed to dubbing films. I generally hate this process, and would much rather hear the original voices. But then... That's me. Here's Il Monstro...
It's a classic scene, something right out of a typical slapstick comedy. The film opens with the two guys driving down a windy road, the brakes fail, and comic mayhem ensues. Yes, there's Ferruccio, shouting in the kind of beautiful Italian accent that makes American women feel all giddy inside, "The brakes are out!"
The film, of course, is Life is Beautiful. However, it's not La Vita E Bella, the record-breaking Roberto Benigni love story. It's dubbed in English, so you're free from the burden of subtitles. But is this really a good thing? Since my college semester is over, I've been free to give this a lot of thought.
The dubbing is solid; there's fine work in that department. The stand-in for Benigni's voice was such a close match that his key phrase, "Bonjourno Principessa!" was left in Benigni's own Italian (the only reason I know this is from a blurb in Entertainment weekly. I probably would not have even noticed on my own). As for Nicoletta Braschi (who played Dora), Giorgio Cantarini (Giosue -- "Joshua") and the others, the voices were near perfect. This wasn't dubbed like those oft-mocked versions of the old Japanese Godzilla movies, and safe to say this is about as good as dubbing gets.
Also, just for a little more background, the film's the same, and I loved every minute of it. When it came time at the end to evaluate the movie, I could not fill in anything for "scenes you didn't like." Even the hokey comedy, which I thought had an occasional weak moment during my first viewing (in Italian), seemed to fit in place once the whole movie came together. Benigni made a truly great film, so it was with mixed feelings that I went to attend the preview screening.
On one hand, I knew Benigni was involved with the production of the English version. This comforted me. A man who could pull off a story like this knew what he was doing. He wasn't going to make this suck. Also, I read that he was pulling for dubbed versions of the movie so people wouldn't have to read the subtitles. He felt the reading distracted the audience from fully appreciating all the visual beauty that the film had to offer.
Still, La Vita E Bella was such a great film that changing it in any way would be detrimental to the quality. A friend of mine remarked that this was a film that could only be done in Italian. It just wouldn't work in English. I had to agree with him. Even the music behind it was distinct. James Horner, while able to put a little salsa sizzle into The Mask of Zorro and some Irish reels into Titanic, could not have done anything for this film.
And then came the film. In a nutshell, it worked, but not as well.
I was still moved by some of the plot twists, still familiar to me after seeing it a few months back. This is a film that leaves an impression. I'm not getting into spoilers, but the scenes that made me laugh the hardest or made my jaw drop the most still had an impact during the second viewing. It was sort of jarring at first, hearing the English. I was a bit too fixated on seeing the mouths move to Italian but speak English words (although there wasn't a huge difference, surprisingly). Then, a few minutes into the movie, I heard the voice of Roberto Benigni whisper inside my head, "Watch the movie... Watch the movie... I want to make love to you and let the juices pour out of you like a bursting watermelon... WATCH the movie." So, with the exception of the "watermelon" bit, I decided to listen to the man.
It worked. I stopped watching the mouths move, and I started noticing the setting, hand gestures, little intricacies of foreshadowing in the dialogue which would have been impossible to catch in the subtitles. I relaxed, and tried to enjoy the movie a second time. I was able to enjoy it, not as much as the original which was so sweet and ripe that you just can't possibly expect to relive the experience. It's like when Nicolas Cage bit into the pear in the lesser love story City of Angels; I guarantee the second pear didn't taste as good as the first.
What we have in Life (as opposed to La Vita) is a movie which serves two purposes: to help do away with the sometimes-bothersome subtitles, and to make the movie more accessible to those who wouldn't see a foreign film. Safe to say that had this been an American film, like if Steven Spielberg and John Madden got together to make this movie (and somehow the quality were to match La Vita), it would have broken $150 mill instead of $50. Most Americans don't see foreign films. Subtitles scare them. As much as I'd try to drag them into the theaters, I even offered to buy their tickets if they'd just try to see the movie, some people would not go. Most of the country needs the security of the actors speaking their native tongue.
It's funny though, I still don't think many of those foreignfilmophobics will see Life. While the story is accessible to anyone who has a full spectrum of emotions, there's the distinctly Italian feel. The music, the comedy, the body language, none of that can be translated. Even an endorsement by the Pope can't get everyone out to see it (he put La Vita in the top ranks of the best films ever made).
For those who have seen it in Italian, should you see it in English? Don't bother. Even when you rent it, or more likely buy it (I'll be of the first on line at the video store), make sure you get the Italian version. You'll likely be a bit bothered by the English version, and it'll lessen your appreciation of the film.
For those who have never seen it, should you see it in English? Sure! I'd still recommend the Italian, but frankly, this is a film worth seeing. Even if you don't love the film, you'll still walk away realizing this is something unlike any other film you've ever seen. It's different than any film I've seen in ANY language, and it's definitely worth checking out for the originality alone.
What we have here is a great film, no matter what language its dubbed in. Still, it's always better in the original text. I almost want to spend the next 5 years of my life learning Italian so I can really appreciate this movie. Il Postino made me willing to give foreign films a chance. La Vita E Bella made me realize just how wonderful cinema can be. Yeah, Spielberg and Lucas and Kubrick and Coppola and the Coen Brothers have all done the same for me at one point or another, but Benigni puts a whole new spin on it, and it's something you can't get from American cinema.
Wait... another voice in my head... "I want to bring the moon and the stars and turn them into a cake with frosting that sticks to the corner of your mouth that you'll never be able to lick off..." ummm... too many voices... I guess I should be signing off.
--Il Monstro
