Going to the Cinema in Spain
Our part of Almería has a few small cinemas. Whilst the majority screenings of films at these cinemas are in dubbed Spanish, they do show the majority of most popular films in the original language (mainly English) with Spanish subtitles. In an ideal world I would love to go to the cinema and watch a film that is originally made in Spanish. I don’t do well with the old dubbed type as I end up focusing on the lips not syncing and the voices not matching the character, then subsequently losing the plot to the film. Maybe AI will make it possible to lip sync and dub naturally in the future.
Last night we went with to the cinema with a friend. Watched Conclave. All I can say it’s a very well made film. What struck me was the number of languages that were in the film. It was listed as being shown in its original language with Spanish subtitles. The original languages were English, Italian, Latin and Spanish. In theory this was great in the context of the film, but confusing if a film is being shown in its original language with Spanish subtitles. It meant that every spoken word was subtitled in Spanish. There was not subtitling into English of the spoken Spanish, Italian and Latin. I needed to tune in my language listening and reading skills. It seemed to work. I listened to all three languages and understood most of the spoken word, mainly because Spanish, Italian and Latin are very similar being the European romance languages. English being the odd one out having possible more Germanic connections.
Anyway, what I then did find very handy was that if I wasn’t sure what was being said I could read the Spanish subtitles. I also find watching film or TV programmes with Spanish subtitles or visa versa a bit of a Spanish lesson as I tend to learn new words that I wouldn’t normally come across in my usual Spanish learning journey. Words that I don’t need in a supermarket or bar, but I may need if I want to have a meaningful conversation in Spanish with a Spanish friend.
Its since dawned on me that as I was able to understand the non English spoken word with the aid of Spanish subtitles. Then maybe I am ready to take the plunge and watch a Spanish film in the cinema. It will be a big leap of faith to do this, ultimately my language skills need to be at this level. The only way to know is to try it. If its difficult that means I’m still learning which can only be for the better.