In the new Argentinean movie The Past, Gael GarcÃa Bernal plays a guy who subtitles movies in Spanish for a living. But at a recent screening in Montreal, the film was without the English equivalent.
By FilmStew Staff, FilmStew.com
As the credits rolled recently at the beginning of a screening of El Pasado (The Past) at Montreal's 12th Annual FestivalÃssimo, hoots and hollers of appreciation could be heard when star Gael GarcÃa Bernal's name appeared. But for many, that was pretty much the height of the evening's excitement.
As sometimes happens at film festivals, the print provided had no subtitles. After 15 minutes of disgruntled whispers among the non-Spanish speaking members of the audience, an event organizer appeared on stage to confirm this fact, and announced that all those who wished to leave would be given their money back. McGill Daily reviewer Ben Fried was not one of those, and – with the help of a Chilean woman sitting next to him – soldiered on so that he could write a review.
He notes the irony in the fact that subtitles were missing from a movie in which Bernal stars as a man who writes subtitles for movies. We have to agree; that juxtaposition is going to be hard to beat this year for sheer film festival wackiness.
But here's the real question: should reviewer Fried have written up a review based on the unusual circumstances of having the film explained to him by a fellow audience member? He basically goes on to slam the film, and perhaps should have waited until the next FestivalÃssimo screening on March 25th.
Directed by Hector Babenco, The Past casts Bernal as a divorced man who finds his way to three hot and heavy love scenes in Buenos Aires. Or, as Reid puts it, 'goes to clubs, snorts a lot of cocaine, carries on a fantastic [and graphically depicted] sex life, and, in short, seems to be having a great time.' For those portions of the movie, a lack of subtitling was no doubt at best a minor problem.
In Theaters 
