MovieChat Forums > Spring 1941 (2007) Discussion > Language

Language

posted 14 years ago by groggo
3 replies | jump to latest

Is anyone else bothered by the fact that this film takes place in Poland, but everyone speaks English with heavy Polish accents? The leading actors -- Joseph Fiennes, Kelly Harrison, Clare Higgins and Neve McIntosh -- are all from the United Kingdom, but there they are: playing Poles while speaking English with thick accents. This, to me, is goofy, and it steals credibility from the film as a whole. I can't suspend disbelief when confronted with this kind of stuff, which used to be common in films 50 years ago, but is mercifully rare these days -- for good reason. It's very distracting. Even the Nazis speak English in this film.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] MountainMan 11 years ago

Well, it's either that or sub-titles all the way through. I've had movies with horrible handling of sub-titles, such as not being able to read lettering that is improperly contrasted with the background. Some modern movies make the base language clear by often starting talking parts in the native tongue and then continuing at some point in English. Even if the entire dialogue is in English, viewers know the situation and it doesn't bother me at all.
Mountain Man

[–] nicoledesapio 8 years ago

OP: I don't understand. You think the film should have had everyone speaking Polish? Or, you think the actors should have just used their natural, native accents? Personally, I thought Joseph Fiennes' Polish accent was excellent (I'm not Polish, admittedly, but it convinced me). While I don't believe such an accent to be a requirement -- he could just as well have used his own English accent -- the fact that he affected a Polish accent didn't bother me in the slightest.