Skyespace

It's Near Switzerland...

We saw The Interpreter last night and while it was fine for a mediocre action/drama, it fell short of my expectations. I had read reviews about how it was a "smart, sophisticated thriller" and although it was decently acted by Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman, there was just something about it that really irritated me. I couldn't really define why I was having a hard time enjoying myself and the longer it went on, the worse it got.

Was it the way Nicole Kidman's hair hung over her right eye? Was it the sophomoric "love story" that the writer tried to sneak in there at the end? Was it the self-important cameo by director Sydney Pollack? Well, yes, it was all of those things. Mostly, though, it was Motobo.

Motobo is not a real country which is not really situated on the eastern coast of Africa. They are not really in the midst of a brutal civil war. Furthermore, there are no Motoban peoples. They do not speak Motobish nor do they do eat Motobanese cuisine. Therefore, I found it increasingly difficult to suspend disbelief let alone give a good shit about this angry white woman from a make believe African country. Not to mention that I felt more than a little insulted that the producers of The Interpreter thought they could slip that one past the audience, unnoticed.

Look, I'll admit that most Wal-Mart shopping Americans don't know Kazakstan from Istanbul, but can't Hollywood admit that some of us may actually own a globe? I wonder if filmmakers in other countries, the ones that actually teach their children geography, would be so bold as to release a film which takes place in "Yankland" or some other such equally fantastical place on the North American continent just to sell a few tickets. I'll bet if they did, they wouldn't have the balls to call it a "smart, sophisticated thriller."