"Immortal" Thoughts, Part II
Part II --
What is it that's so attractive about foreign actors?
A huge subject, but "Immortal" and listening to Thomas K. interviews these past few days and remembering behind-the-scenes bits on the "Frankenstein" DVD have made me want to bring this up here. I'd also like to say as a disclaimer that I am not actually obsessed (or even intensely interested) with him so much as his arrival in my consciousness coincided with a time when I'm feeling particularly reflective.
So -- There are three ways that I can think of in which a foreign actor can be irresistibly sexy just by using his (or her, as you prefer) voice: speaking English (or your native language(s), for you Danes and such) with an accent, whether or not it's also his/her native language; speaking his/her native tongue(s); and speaking a third language that isn't his/her own nor yours. "Immortal" had a few, erm, effective examples.
First and simplest, Thomas K., who like everyone else in the movie was clearly not from an English-speaking country, saying his comic-book-terse lines with twice the flavor because they were tinged with German. Breathless lines like "I'll never be able to move" sounded lovely instead of boring or stupid only because of this.
Second, a song that played at two different points in the film, sung in a language I thought sounded Balkan but turned out to be Icelandic: "Hjartað Hamast" by Sigur Rós. It was moody with a strong deep string instrument, and the singer's voice strained in a hoarse softness, rolling out foreign "r"s at the end of lines like a purr. I had no idea what he was saying, but -- or rather, and -- it was beautiful. Same goes for listening to those interviews with Thomas K. on German talk shows or at press conferences. synn and I talked about this sort of reaction while listening to a Josh Groban album last year and we decided it was easier to enjoy his songs in languages we didn't know because we couldn't be distracted by the triteness of lyrics we didn't understand. Trite or not, taking out semantic comprehension leaves pure sounds, just the vowels and consonants and voice. ETA: I just read that half the album with "Hjartað Hamast" on it is sung in a made-up language called Hopelandic that only the band members understand, so it looks like they wanted everyone to listen to these songs for the sheer sound of them.
Third, a combination of the first two categories listed in the beginning: an actor speaking your language predominantly, then switching to a phrase in his own language, then coming back again. This pleasantly startled me during "The Queen of the Damned" when Vincent Perez as Marius was talking to Lestat in English and suddenly slipped into his natural Swiss-French in pronouncing "de Lioncourt," a zing of sudden sexiness in the middle of a conversation. Chatting up our blue-haired friend at a bar in "Immortal," Nikopol rattled off a list of alcohols she might like to try. In the middle was one I (mistakenly) heard as German, and as Thomas K. is German, he flicked it off tongue and teeth with such beautiful ease. (Slivovica -- "SHLEE-vo-vit'-suh" -- turned out to be Croatian, but (a) T.K. lived in that area for a while when he escaped from East Germany and (b) he Germanized its pronunciation, so the argument still holds here.) It only took him a second to say it and the word was nestled between the aforementioned other items, but it sent a jolt through me. Is it something sensual, sexual, in the actor's momentary relaxation amidst the tension of speaking in a language not his own? Is it that, by his speaking only one word or phrase in his own language, we can digest it, puzzle out its meaning, drink in the sounds of it, in a way we couldn't when he speaks his own language for an extended time?
And fourth... Is it just me, or is it doubly sexy when the actor in question says "f*ck"? Does it have something to do with the sexual charge of the word itself, the relative rarity of its use in English, the pleasure of hearing it pronounced differently than usual? For instance, in the movie, Nikopol swore in many inventive ways, the most brain-melting of which was shouted at Horus: "I'm not sharing my body anymore, is that clear? Not for fucking or for anything else. That's the end of the line." I wish there were an audio file so you could hear it in all its accented glory. Or if this word doesn't do it for you, is there another one that does? An equivalent in your preferred language? Anyone?
ETA 2/6: (No, I don't know why I keep updating this when no-one comments, but I just can't stop.) Watching "U-571" last night opened one more category: actors from your country (or another country that speaks your language primarily) who, for whatever reason and whatever length of time, speak another language in a movie. In "U-571" it was Jake Weber (Claire Forlani's character's semi-evil boyfriend Drew in "Meet Joe Black") playing an American government official in 1941 who in his first scene addresses a young Naval officer in German to find out whether the kid can serve as a translator. (Irrelevantly, the younger man was played by Jack Noseworthy, who played Armand in "Lestat" in San Francisco until they reworked the character.) He spoke for at least a minute in total and sounded convincing to me, though I had the volume set low and wasn't expecting it so didn't pay close attention at first. I don't know if Weber is fluent in German, had a hell of a good coach, or carried it off with pure thespian confidence, but I liked it.
What is it that's so attractive about foreign actors?
A huge subject, but "Immortal" and listening to Thomas K. interviews these past few days and remembering behind-the-scenes bits on the "Frankenstein" DVD have made me want to bring this up here. I'd also like to say as a disclaimer that I am not actually obsessed (or even intensely interested) with him so much as his arrival in my consciousness coincided with a time when I'm feeling particularly reflective.
So -- There are three ways that I can think of in which a foreign actor can be irresistibly sexy just by using his (or her, as you prefer) voice: speaking English (or your native language(s), for you Danes and such) with an accent, whether or not it's also his/her native language; speaking his/her native tongue(s); and speaking a third language that isn't his/her own nor yours. "Immortal" had a few, erm, effective examples.
First and simplest, Thomas K., who like everyone else in the movie was clearly not from an English-speaking country, saying his comic-book-terse lines with twice the flavor because they were tinged with German. Breathless lines like "I'll never be able to move" sounded lovely instead of boring or stupid only because of this.
Second, a song that played at two different points in the film, sung in a language I thought sounded Balkan but turned out to be Icelandic: "Hjartað Hamast" by Sigur Rós. It was moody with a strong deep string instrument, and the singer's voice strained in a hoarse softness, rolling out foreign "r"s at the end of lines like a purr. I had no idea what he was saying, but -- or rather, and -- it was beautiful. Same goes for listening to those interviews with Thomas K. on German talk shows or at press conferences. synn and I talked about this sort of reaction while listening to a Josh Groban album last year and we decided it was easier to enjoy his songs in languages we didn't know because we couldn't be distracted by the triteness of lyrics we didn't understand. Trite or not, taking out semantic comprehension leaves pure sounds, just the vowels and consonants and voice. ETA: I just read that half the album with "Hjartað Hamast" on it is sung in a made-up language called Hopelandic that only the band members understand, so it looks like they wanted everyone to listen to these songs for the sheer sound of them.
Third, a combination of the first two categories listed in the beginning: an actor speaking your language predominantly, then switching to a phrase in his own language, then coming back again. This pleasantly startled me during "The Queen of the Damned" when Vincent Perez as Marius was talking to Lestat in English and suddenly slipped into his natural Swiss-French in pronouncing "de Lioncourt," a zing of sudden sexiness in the middle of a conversation. Chatting up our blue-haired friend at a bar in "Immortal," Nikopol rattled off a list of alcohols she might like to try. In the middle was one I (mistakenly) heard as German, and as Thomas K. is German, he flicked it off tongue and teeth with such beautiful ease. (Slivovica -- "SHLEE-vo-vit'-suh" -- turned out to be Croatian, but (a) T.K. lived in that area for a while when he escaped from East Germany and (b) he Germanized its pronunciation, so the argument still holds here.) It only took him a second to say it and the word was nestled between the aforementioned other items, but it sent a jolt through me. Is it something sensual, sexual, in the actor's momentary relaxation amidst the tension of speaking in a language not his own? Is it that, by his speaking only one word or phrase in his own language, we can digest it, puzzle out its meaning, drink in the sounds of it, in a way we couldn't when he speaks his own language for an extended time?
And fourth... Is it just me, or is it doubly sexy when the actor in question says "f*ck"? Does it have something to do with the sexual charge of the word itself, the relative rarity of its use in English, the pleasure of hearing it pronounced differently than usual? For instance, in the movie, Nikopol swore in many inventive ways, the most brain-melting of which was shouted at Horus: "I'm not sharing my body anymore, is that clear? Not for fucking or for anything else. That's the end of the line." I wish there were an audio file so you could hear it in all its accented glory. Or if this word doesn't do it for you, is there another one that does? An equivalent in your preferred language? Anyone?
ETA 2/6: (No, I don't know why I keep updating this when no-one comments, but I just can't stop.) Watching "U-571" last night opened one more category: actors from your country (or another country that speaks your language primarily) who, for whatever reason and whatever length of time, speak another language in a movie. In "U-571" it was Jake Weber (Claire Forlani's character's semi-evil boyfriend Drew in "Meet Joe Black") playing an American government official in 1941 who in his first scene addresses a young Naval officer in German to find out whether the kid can serve as a translator. (Irrelevantly, the younger man was played by Jack Noseworthy, who played Armand in "Lestat" in San Francisco until they reworked the character.) He spoke for at least a minute in total and sounded convincing to me, though I had the volume set low and wasn't expecting it so didn't pay close attention at first. I don't know if Weber is fluent in German, had a hell of a good coach, or carried it off with pure thespian confidence, but I liked it.