For the second time in two weeks a director who made his name in world cinema is seeing his English language debut appear on screens in American multiplexes. Danish filmmaker Niels Arden Oplev, who directed the original Swedish adaptation of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” directed the Colin Farrell-staring “Dead Man Down,” which hits theaters today. This comes a week after “Stoker,” the first film shot in English by Korean director Park Chan-Wook, hit U.S. theaters. With this in mind, we thought it was a good time to go over some of the best English-language debuts of the recent past.
“Brother”
Director: Takeshi Kitano
The Japanese Renaissance man (in addition to being a director, he's also an actor comedian, gameshow host, singer, author, and painter) came to the attention of American film buffs with his bizarre and hypnotic 1990 movies about the Japanese mob. For his first foray into filming in English, Kitano stuck with what he knew and wrote, directed, and starred in a film about a lone Yakuza officer who flees Japan and sets up shop in America.
“21 Grams”
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
The Mexican director followed up his critically acclaimed debut, “Amores perros,” by exploring the fall out of a car crash from multiple view points. The 2003 film – which starred Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, and Benicio del Toro– was a hit with critics and was one of those rare indie films that actually manages to succeed at the box office, tripling its $20 million budget.
“The Constant Gardner”
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Released three years after his breakthrough, “City of God,” the Brazillian's 2005 movie is an adaptation of spy lit legend John le Carré's novel of the same name. The movie starred Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz, who took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress that year.
“My Blueberry Nights”
Director:Wong Kar-wai
For this 2007 film, the Hong Kong-born director left his native country for a film about a woman, played by Norah Jones, trying to cure a broken heart with blueberry pie and a cross country trek. Though interesting in its own right, the film is mostly of note because it features Kar-wai working with cinematographer Darius Khondji– the director had worked with Christopher Doyle on his previous seven films.
“Funny Games”
Director:Michael Haneke
The Austrian director, whose film “Amour” won this year's Academy Award for best Foreign Language film, went a strange route for his English language debut. He took his own film, which was only a decade old, and created a shot-for-shot remake with only the film's setting (now in America), cast (which now featured Naomi Watts and Tim Roth), and language changing.