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I guess I'd have to see it to have an opinion on that. Legolas Send a noteboard - 27/01/2011 08:00:53 PM
Jean-Luc thought much the movie's humour often relied heavily on obscure Belgian (or occasionally European) references.

He's right we missed a level of humour (at least all those he explained we had missed), but I suspect foreigners just saw a more universal level to the movie where Belgian saw a more Belgium-centric "commentary" (much as happened with Les Invasions Barbares. There are full of Québec-centric elements in it that foreigners miss - eg: all the health system details it targets - but not distracted by the specific shots Arcand took at this and that they see the universal resonance of the movie's situations better than us)

Yeah, makes sense. Rather like Asterix, or really anything that's a bit layered - people with different cultural backgrounds will appreciate different jokes and references.
Jean-Luc was also weirdly claiming Belgian humour doesn't export well, but we were quoting him back all the examples of Belgian humour we appreciate (from BD to stand up comics and so on) to show him how wrong he was on that!

I think that's a sentiment you'd hear from a lot of Belgians, from both sides of the language divide, but considering that Flemish comedians are also all the rage in the Netherlands these days, it seems to be wrong in both cases.
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A few thoughts on my Classic challenge book. Well, books, as it turns out. - 22/01/2011 11:48:21 PM 1487 Views
This month is just making me hate classics. - 23/01/2011 12:06:08 AM 1317 Views
Aw. That's a shame. - 23/01/2011 12:21:10 AM 1233 Views
Re: Aw. That's a shame. - 23/01/2011 12:55:44 PM 1342 Views
Hrm... a high fantasy classic... - 23/01/2011 01:15:05 PM 1118 Views
Yeah? Okay... *NM* - 23/01/2011 01:16:15 PM 586 Views
Yes. - 23/01/2011 01:17:18 PM 1269 Views
Dunsany is good. And Grimm, but - 23/01/2011 01:25:40 PM 1142 Views
There's really only one high fantasy classic, no? Or two, if you count the Silm separately. *NM* - 23/01/2011 01:35:03 PM 586 Views
Perhaps Gormenghast? - 23/01/2011 01:58:50 PM 1299 Views
Perhaps, haven't read either Dunsany or Peake. - 23/01/2011 02:02:51 PM 1253 Views
Re: Perhaps, haven't read either Dunsany or Peake. - 23/01/2011 02:05:31 PM 1414 Views
Maybe Alice's Adventures in Wonderland? *NM* - 23/01/2011 02:20:49 PM 592 Views
Re: Dunsany is good. And Grimm, but - 23/01/2011 01:37:56 PM 1173 Views
Re: Dunsany is good. And Grimm, but - 23/01/2011 01:59:18 PM 1301 Views
H. Rider Haggard. - 23/01/2011 01:24:01 PM 1250 Views
Sounds interesting. - 23/01/2011 01:34:45 PM 1279 Views
Re: Sounds interesting. - 23/01/2011 01:39:34 PM 1339 Views
King Solomon's Mines is also awesome. - 23/01/2011 03:52:04 PM 1098 Views
You can't love all of the classics, but it's not like it's a genre of its own that you can dislike. - 23/01/2011 12:32:01 AM 1317 Views
Precisely - 23/01/2011 09:40:26 AM 1523 Views
True true... - 23/01/2011 12:58:42 PM 1268 Views
Fortunately, that's precisely what this site aims to do! *NM* - 23/01/2011 01:34:16 PM 606 Views
You just aren't reading the right books (and reviews), it seems - 23/01/2011 12:41:07 AM 1331 Views
The Swiss Family Robinson is hardly a "classic", unless by "classic" you mean "old". - 23/01/2011 06:55:30 AM 1129 Views
Fine then. - 23/01/2011 01:02:48 PM 1198 Views
Re: This month is just making me hate classics. - 23/01/2011 09:05:52 AM 1313 Views
A lot of "classics" need proper context to be appreciated - 23/01/2011 12:22:44 PM 1491 Views
Well said. - 23/01/2011 12:46:35 PM 1317 Views
Re: Well said. - 24/01/2011 02:33:10 AM 1376 Views
Very true - 23/01/2011 01:04:56 PM 1251 Views
Speaking of Dumas... - 24/01/2011 02:45:02 AM 1116 Views
ooooh - 24/01/2011 08:51:46 AM 1426 Views
The Molière movie is called... wait for it... - 24/01/2011 10:21:48 PM 1256 Views
oooh - 24/01/2011 10:24:19 PM 1303 Views
Re: oooh - 24/01/2011 10:29:23 PM 1161 Views
Re: oooh - 25/01/2011 01:15:39 AM 1252 Views
I really should watch that movie. - 25/01/2011 09:43:35 PM 1207 Views
Re: I really should watch that movie. - 25/01/2011 11:15:10 PM 1357 Views
Why not? We liked Le Déclin de l'Empire Américain and Les Invasions Barbares. *NM* - 26/01/2011 06:45:26 PM 595 Views
Re: Why not? We liked Le Déclin de l'Empire Américain and Les Invasions Barbares. - 27/01/2011 12:26:48 PM 1499 Views
I guess I'd have to see it to have an opinion on that. - 27/01/2011 08:00:53 PM 1428 Views
Re: oooh - 25/01/2011 01:50:04 AM 1179 Views
Re: oooh - 25/01/2011 10:22:21 AM 1336 Views
Re: oooh - 25/01/2011 12:46:30 PM 1360 Views
That's it! - 25/01/2011 12:50:18 PM 1380 Views
Re: A few thoughts on my Classic challenge book. Well, books, as it turns out. - 23/01/2011 06:25:50 AM 1270 Views
The big problem with Dracula is that it's an epistolary novel. - 23/01/2011 06:58:25 AM 1269 Views
Yeah, agreed. - 23/01/2011 09:46:57 AM 1214 Views
But Frankenstein doesn't even have good writing to recommend it. - 23/01/2011 10:09:58 AM 1201 Views
The challenge is making me wish I hadn't already read Frankenstein - 23/01/2011 07:38:49 AM 1896 Views
Really? - 23/01/2011 07:52:24 AM 1171 Views
I didn't mind The Importance of Being Earnest too much - 23/01/2011 08:38:14 AM 1870 Views
Frankenstein - 23/01/2011 09:05:10 AM 1300 Views
... - 23/01/2011 09:08:03 AM 1144 Views
Thank you. *NM* - 23/01/2011 10:10:34 AM 574 Views
For, as usual, being my wonderful, divine self and bringing light to the world? *NM* - 23/01/2011 10:12:30 AM 605 Views
Something like that. *NM* - 23/01/2011 10:15:37 AM 530 Views
There's a reason why they include Wilde among the "decadents". - 23/01/2011 10:16:33 AM 1211 Views
Re: A few thoughts on my Classic challenge book. Well, books, as it turns out. - 23/01/2011 08:53:01 AM 1235 Views
Yes. - 23/01/2011 10:15:04 AM 1221 Views
Re: Yes. - 23/01/2011 10:18:02 AM 1220 Views
I just read A Christmas Carol as well. It's very short, alright. - 02/02/2011 08:46:16 PM 1277 Views

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