Babel
A couple of months ago while assisting at a charity casino for the Calgary International Film Festival I watched The 13th Warrior (1999). Not a bad film overall, but one particular part of it impressed me a great deal.
Antonio Banderes plays Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan Ibn Al Abbas Ibn Rashid Ibn Hamad, an Arab poet sent to the barbarian lands to the north. When the film begins Ahmed understands none of the Norse being spoken by the other characters. Ahmed and Melchisidek (Omar Sharif) supposedly speak Arabic, but on screen we hear it as English, a fairly common cinematic technique. Not only does it save the problem of subtitles or actors having to learn different languages, but audiences are also much more likely to empathize with a character that speaks their own language. That is what makes the beginning of The 13th Warrior so brilliant.
We immediately identify with Ahmed because he speaks the same language as we do. The Norse characters on the other hand speak in apparent gibberish (It may actually be Norwegian but I can’t verify that). Ahmed can’t understand them, so neither can we. Its through this very simple technique that we’re drawn into Banderes’ character, his sense of alienation and displacement in a strange new world. Through this very simple technique we see Europe and Europeans through Arabic eyes.
Of course having the Norse speak in gibberish for the entire film would be tedious so Ahmed quickly learns Norse and the remainder of the film proceeds with all the characters apparently speaking in English. Those first few minutes of linguistic difference however have already had a profound impact on the way we will digest the rest of the film.
First impressions are as important in films as they are with people. The conditions that are set in the first few minutes of a movie define the entire universe, they set the tone for the whole remainder of the film. The 13th Warrior illustrates this wonderfully, demonstrating that small details can make a huge difference.
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