If a film is particularly good, or even great, superficially at least it seems nonsensical to wish to remake it in another language. Good writing, and good film making in general, is as worthwhile in one culture as the next with, admittedly, certain distinctions and exceptions for the most complex and specifically nebulous experimental cinema. However, why a successful film from Western Europe would require translation and re-shooting in English is harder to discern. Except of course in America where subtitles are indulgence of sneering elites and foreign languages are spoken only by terrorists and communists. Now, even if this simply stereotypes a mere substantial minority of the Great Satan, there still remains an ingrained cultural resistance to film as anything other than entertainment- a shallow and escapist indulgence to deaden the mind to returning to whatever soulless employment about which they are so keen to boast- and to combine such a practise with a modicum of literacy is to engage a populations synapses in such a manner is to practically assault a nations collective paradigm of perception. The consequence of this ubiquitous national ignorance is a healthy trade in the rights to successful European and Asian films being purchased and reshot- often word by word and frame by frame- and at other times altered to subdue ambiguities and cerebral elements in favour of superficial action- Paul Haggis The Next Three Days (a remake of Anything For Her) being a typical recent example.
Variety say the latest victim of this philistine practise is
Loft, the most commercially successful Flemish language film of all time. It concerns five wealthy men who timeshare an expensive loft apartment in order to indulge their carnal desires with various mistresses out of sight of their wives and girlfriends. The system works as it should until one of them finds a dead woman chained to the bed and a retrospective thriller of suspicion and intrigue unfolds in pursuit of the culprit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw6JKNrDeDQ The film will retain the original director,
Erik Van Looy, with the original script by Bart De Pauw being rewritten by
Wesley Strick, who was also responsible for the thoroughly horrible Nightmare on Elm Street remake.
Patrick Wilson (Watchmen) and
James Marsden (The Box) have been announced as stars and Steve Golin, Paul Green, Matt DeRoss and Adam Shulman from Anonymous Content will co-produce with original Belgian outfit, Woestijnvis. No firm timeframe for production has yet been declared, although principle photography is likely to begin towards the end of spring.