The uncertain nationality of The Artist

On 26th February, The Artist swept the board at the Academy Awards, winning five of the twelve categories it was nominated for.  This included Best Picture, Director (Michel Havanavicius) and Actor (Jean Dujardin). However, something has bothered me since the release of this picture. It is a film with French actors in the two leading … Read more

French – champion of the language learning world?

I remember the moment when we knew we were officially grown up in primary school – during French lessons with the headmaster. MFL lessons are the norm nowadays but back in my time, French lessons were a weekly highlight, as they meant me and about a dozen classmates spent half an hour learning something the … Read more

To Dub or Not To Dub?

As a British-born Chinese citizen, I adore old Hong-Kong martial arts films.  By the time Jackie Chan had made his Hollywood debut, I had seen a number of his critically acclaimed films such as Project A, Wheels on Meals (set and filmed in Barcelona) and Armour of God (where he almost died after a stunt … Read more

There’s something different about this one…

I see myself as a moderately well-travelled person, having visited most of Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and the southern states in the USA. Many memories are made on each trip, whether they are about trying strange food, meeting friendly locals or even having the odd moment of hilarity – but one thing I always find is … Read more

The World on Film – well, part of it

I spent nine months studying translation in Barcelona in 2003, so the other night, I watched the film Pot Luck (the original title: L’Auberge Espagnole) for nostalgic reasons.  Alongside the memories, another thing that struck me about this film was the variety of languages that were spoken. You had English, French, Spanish and Danish – … Read more