In his remarks on "Brotherhood of the Wolf" in the Feb. 7 Scene section, Matt Nania makes two over-reaching statements that point to unfortunate prejudice on his part.

The first of these has to do with French films — in his estimation/expertise, virtually all of them. In his initial rhetorical gambit where he seems to speak for a generalized population — always a dangerous move — Nania proposes that in our collective judgment and memory, French films are characterized by "stuffy characters and unexciting, artsy narratives."

Although I myself would be at a loss to define precisely what an "artsy narrative" is, I do understand what he seems to be getting at. Unfortunately, it is, at bottom, not much, in that it seems to be arguing for a simplicity of plot and character, which, strangely, are the very things he goes on to criticize in "Brotherhood."

Similarly, he takes a swipe at subtitles, an "unfortunate distraction," to quote him. To this, my own passion for film authorizes the airing of a basic fact: with a modicum of experience and open-mindedness, subtitles become wholly unintrusive. I will, however, admit they are often inadequate in representing what is actually mouthed on the screen. They are, however, entirely less distracting than dubbed dialogue.

Happily there is a solution to both of Mr. Nania's problems: learn French. Even more happily, one of the means towards that solution is to take on the "artsy," "stuffy" but remarkably rich, tradition called "le cinema français" — that's "French cinema" if there be need of a subtitle.

Louis MacKenzie

associate professor of French

Feb. 7, 2002

• Bush shines with State of the Union Address
  
• Quote of the Day
  
• Walker should `die by the sword' he chose
  
• Criticism of French film falls short
  
• Arafat should not be tolerated