10 August, 2007

Deutsch and Español at the Sinny

When was the last time there were so many films by Germans here in Madison? (Not counting festivals, mind you.) Die Große Stille (Into Great Silence) has returned to Sundance where it is accompanied by Werner Herzog's Rescue Dawn. I may be seeing Herzog's latest this evening with a friend whose birthday was earlier this week. Rob Thomas of The Capital Times interviewed Herzog recently and you can read what he had to say here. To complete this Teutonic trifecta is Das Leben Der Anderen (The Lives of Others) over at the cheap seats of Market Square.

Sean over at Dane101 has the movie round-up for the week so I won't repeat much of what he said. However, I do want to mention the Found Footage Festival which is at the Orpheum tonight and that sci-fi/fantasy/Neil Gaiman types will be pleased to know that Stardust opens today.

One thing Sean neglected to mention was that Westgate will be showing Pirates of the Caribbean 3 with Spanish subtitles and Spider-Man 3 dubbed in Spanish and with English subtitles. (Why the subtitles?) I don't know how many Latinos read Dane101 but I think it deserved a mention as they're part of our community as well. Anyway, I'm unsure if the folks at Westgate are feeling the pinch from Sundance or whether it's just business as usual in trying to enter a different market. I'm hoping The Dulcinea, who is learning Spanish, will take me to one of the showings. She can learn a new language and I'll get to see a film for free.

The Latino community in Madison seems to really be making its presence felt. Shops & restaurants, a Spanish-language radio station and publications, films in Spanish or with Spanish subtitles, and it has apparently wrestled Hispanic Fest from politically correct hands and made it their own. With the ubiquity of cable, Madison is spared that period when Spanish language channels sprout up with all those cheesy soap operas. Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for the Wisconsin Los Lobos to appear. I want to hear a band which mixes norteño with polka, blues, and rock.

If Jesse Russell is reading this – have you considered finding someone to write at Dane101 in Spanish for the Latino community?

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