MovieChat Forums > Prisoners Wives (2012) Discussion > Anybody else see a similarity to '7 Days...

Anybody else see a similarity to '7 Days' (Les 7 jours du talion)?


I've seen the previews and am interested but think that perhaps it's because of the similarities to another crime drama/thriller I'd seen before. As with so many American re-hashes of popular foreign films, I surmise that this one will have a different ending, if not be altogether "cleaner" than the aforementioned film. In the French film, the father character is altogether brutal towards the suspected rapist/murderer of his daughter (as I imagine most fathers feel that they would act). I don't mind remakes of foreign films for American audiences but more often than not they water down the elements of the story, change portions of it to appeal to American audiences a la "focus groups", or God forbid, change the ending. Crime dramas/thrillers are, in my opinion, the most vulnerable to these alterations. Let's face it, crime is frequently committed without ever seeing any form of earthly justice. No matter the expertise or luck of the investigators. I'm not made happier or better by virtue of knowing the protagonist or antagonist succeeds in a given story. I see films made better when they are honest AND believable. If they seek to tell a human interest story, I want it told with reality with integrity so that I might better relate and/or feel drawn into the story as if I was more than an observer. Fantasy or Sci-fi films are, to a lesser extent, not bound by these necessities.
For your consideration: watch The Vanishing (Dutch version), then watch the American version with Kiefer Sutherland. Watch Let the Right One In (Swedish version), then watch the American version. Subtle differences but nonetheless profound.
I won't throw in the towel on all American films but I wonder how film making suffers when it cow-tows to the almighty dollar, instead of making honest films.

I could be horribly wrong about the similarities but it struck me that this might be ANOTHER watered down rehash only appealing to Americans because of the weight of its cast.

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