1. A New Wave in Subtitles
This article was originally published on the Acclaro blog.
Category: Culture, “Spot” on Language
The legendarily obtuse Nouvelle Vague (New Wave)
French director, Jean-Luc Godard, premiered his new and
perhaps, last movie at the Cannes Film Festival on May
17. Entitled "Film Socialism", it has created quite a
whirlpool of chatter due to its densely packed themes,
images, and a multilingual cast whose lines are subtitled
into "Navajo English."
First, a little background on Godard and the French
cinema culture. In France, le cinema is considered a high
art form and is discussed with the same fervor as
philosophy, politics and the French language. In Paris,
there are over 100 movie theaters, ranging from the 10-
screen mega multiplex playing the latest Hollywood
blockbusters to the 25-seat sous-sol (basement) art
houses playing foreign, classic and truly independent
movies that would never see the light of the screen in the
States.
In one day of cine-trolling within one single Parisian arrondissement, you could see, for
example, a film from Mali by a first-time director, a $300 million Hollywood thriller, a classic
Italian spaghetti western, a French comedy, and a collection of animated short films from
Japan.
As for Godard, he literally blew onto the movie scene with A bout de soufflé (Breathless) in
1960 (this original version is not to be mistaken for the inferior Hollywood remake of 1983).
Since then, he’s directed (or co-directed) over 60 feature films. Many of his films have political
overtones and are mired in controversy — some of them have even been banned or boycotted.
He’s alternatively revered, hated, dismissed as a has-been, adored as an innovator, but always
seems to be the center of discussion, especially when he releases a new film.
With “Film Socialism,” Godard continues his controversial streak with a movie about a group of
Page 1: A New Wave in Subtitles Copyright © Acclaro 2012

2. people on a cruise ship (full disclosure: I have not seen the film, just the trailer and the
commentary by bloggers and critics). As the title suggests, there is a political aspect to the
movie, although what the film truly means has been anyone’s guess (you yourself can try and
understand Godard’s thoughts on the film). Critics have said it was anything from “dribble” to
the best film shown at Cannes (Irish critic Mark Cousins’ assessment).
The film’s characters are from a variety of countries, hence the need for the now somewhat
infamous subtitles. According to the BBC, Godard himself chose to describe the language of the
subtitles as “Navajo English” — a staccato pidgin of sorts.
You can get a taste for the movie via the trailer below. Note that this video shows English
subtitles that are not Godard's; they are supplied by a translator not associated with the film.
You'll have to see the movie in the theaters in order to get the full experience of "Navajo
English" subtitles.
What is Godard thinking? The "Navajo English" language can be viewed as derogatory due to
stereotypes of Native American speech popularized in old westerns. Or, conversely, it could be
his way of giving homage to the Navajo. Perhaps he was minimizing sentences to arrive at a
raw meaning, forcing the audience to think of ideas rather than being limited by the written
word. Perhaps they are “keywords” intentionally left obscure because that’s how languages (and
people) are — subtle, difficult, beautiful. Perhaps it’s a political statement — giving everyone
the same tone in all languages. Perhaps it’s just Godard being Godard.
Just how these subtitles will be translated for, say, a Spanish audience is anyone’s guess. The
original speech may be in Russian, then it’s already been translated into “Navajo English” and
then that needs to be translated into Spanish. Or will the translators work directly from the
Russian and try to create an equivalent to pidgin Spanish. (This is rarely done in business
translation; usually non-English “source” text is first translated into English and then into the
final target language, be it Spanish, Japanese or Swahili).
Whatever the case, the movie will create controversy and buzz in any language. If you see the
film, just make sure you have a clear sight line to the subtitles. Or, just ignore them and
experience a Godard film in a whole new way.
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Page 2: A New Wave in Subtitles Copyright © Acclaro 2012