Sunday, July 20, 2008

Batman in Spanish is Still Batman

We went to see Batman last night, but unfortunately it was NOT in English as I'd hoped. I understood the majority of what happened and really enjoyed the movie, especially all the Chicago scenes. Quite a few outdoor shots were filmed very close to my old stomping grounds, including the recently closed Buzz, where Ibis and I met.

If you're going to watch a movie in a language other than that which you are most comfortable, an action movie is the best choice. Especially one based on a comic book. It's pretty easy to figure out the good guy, bad guy, girlfriend, and crooked cop. I was able to follow along up until the end - you know, when the moral of the story is revealed and everyone confesses their secrets? Yeah, I missed that. My husband tends to fall asleep in movies and dozed a bit during the longer talking scenes, so he wasn't much help.

This was the first movie we'd gone to see since late Fall 2006, and we used to go to three or four movies per month. We weren't sure what to expect with a Mexican movie theater, but it was very clean, the chairs were comfortable, AND, there was an intermission! The lights came on at the halfway point and everyone went to the bathroom and concession stand. I think that's a brilliant idea because no one got up during the movie. They knew they'd have a chance midway through the movie so we didn't have to deal with people getting up and down. Smart thinking, I say.

On the drive home it occurred to me that Batman was still Batman, even in Spanish. Spiderman, you see, in called el Hombre de AraƱa. I got to thinking and asked Ibis about Superman. Is he called el Hombre Super?

Nope, still Superman. Now I want to find out about all the super heroes.


ETA: Absolute Write has a Batman thread that answered all my questions. Phew!

17 comments:

Kristine said...

We saw Batman last night, too. How funny. We thought it was really good. So happy since Indiana Jones was such a disappointment. I noticed Chicago right away. Brad noticed that the license plates were Illinois, but the top said Gotham, tee hee. He also mentioned that when the girl falls, at the beginning it was filmed in Chicago and the ending, in London, or vice versa. Funny bit of trivia.
Ciao!

Anonymous said...

I saw Batman yesterday too! Whenever you get a chance you HAVE to see it in English - the way Heath portrays the joker cannot be translated.

Spy Scribbler said...

I want to see Batman! I saw a couple movies in Germany. Look Who's Talking, I think. The different voices just killed me. I also watched Alf on TV, and spent the whole show rolling on the floor because his voice was so different.

I memorize people's voices like others memorize people's faces. When someone calls me on the phone, they NEVER have to introduce themselves, even if I've only talked to them once. So it's very weird for me to see a person with a different voice. I get hung up there, and lose the rest of the storyline. :-)

Melanie Hooyenga said...

I forgot to mention that we missed the first ten or fifteen minutes. The website said there was an English version at 9:30, but when we arrived at 9:10, the only show was in Spanish, at 9pm.

And who would've thought that the country known for always running late would start the actual movie at the schedules time. No previews, nothing!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Kris, the part that made me laugh was when they showed the buses outside the hospital, they altered CTA to say GTA. Just a little extra line and voila!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Janet, is that YOU?

Anonymous said...

I'll have to wait for Netflix. Glad you liked it though!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Oh yeah - tickets are 50 pesos each, or roughly $5. Woo hoo!

Kristine said...

We only paid $7 for Movie Tavern. Not bad now-a-days. We love Movie Tavern, beer and margarita's during a movie, awesome! Even fudge sundaes!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

That sounds lovely. Brew & View in Chicago is similar, but they don't have new released. Mmm... hot fudge sundae...

Robin said...

Hi Melanie! I'm visiting your blog! I've read your comments on Spy's blog, and you always seem so lovely!
I speak Italian, and saw a movie in Italy years ago - Italian with no subtitles. I thought I was going to be so cool, and translate for all my friends, but the actors spoke so fast, I didn't understand a thing! I lost all lingual credibility!
I agree that an intermission sounds brilliant.

Aimlesswriter said...

How long have you been in Mexico? Are you taking Spanish lessons?
I haven't seen Batman yet but my kids tell me it's awesome.
After reading Kristine's post I wonder what they call Indiana Jones? El Jonesy de Indianao?
I speak a little Spanish, I can follow along pretty well with TV shows until they start talking too fast.
$5 for a movie? Its like $8 here in NJ. Yikes!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Welcome Robin! You'd think having my Spanish-speaking husband next to me would've helped, but whenever I missed something, he couldn't understand because of the accent or whatever. I was proud of how much I understood.

Janna Leadbetter said...

We were thisclose to seeing the movie this weekend, too, but our preggars friend was too pooped. Which is okay; that'll be a good one for Hubs and me.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Aimless, I studied Spanish for eight years in school, including as a minor in college. I was fluent in high school but gradually lost it over the years. Now my comprehension is pretty good & I can typically follow a normal conversation (missing a few words here and there). My speaking isn't AS good but my pronunciation is excellent thanks to a phonetics class, lol.

I'll look at the Indiana Jones disc and see what they call it. I know it's for sale here.

Tickets in Chicago are $10, so we're getting two for one!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

It's good Janna, and not to gory, which made me happy. Just creeeeeepy.

colbymarshall said...

I have never seen ANY of the Batman movies (runs and hides, but pokes head out) but I recorded Begins on my Tivo!