They cast a german man with a THICK german accent to play a russian? What the *beep*? Are you SH ITTING me?
You mean to tell me you couldn't find ONE russian actor who you thought could fill the role?
I'm very let down about this. I really hate it when we viewers are asked to swallow such obvious horse sh it.
"Your mother's in here with us, Karras. Would you like to leave a message?"
How would one russian actor fill in all the roles of Russians in the movie? ))
And, who would you suggest? (Remember he must be good to look at when stark naked)))
I think the OP meant Armin Mueller-Stahl, the man who played Semyon. Viggo Mortensen is Danish-American.
shareOh, my bad. I had in mind Germanic origin or appearance as opposed to Latin or Slavic. But how is that, I mean casting Mueller-Stahl as a Russian, different from casting Mortensen or Cassel as Russians? I don't get it ))
I think the OP is just looking for something to get mad about. The director said that he couldn't find Russians who he thought were right for the part and could act well enough in English to do what he wanted. He knew AMS could do it.
AMS does make an effort at the accent. He doesn't sound as he usually does when he is acting as an English-speaking German (which he is). And there is nothing at all wrong with his acting in the film. He does Semyon quite well, the mixture of geniality and menace is fine.
My family is Russian, so I am basing my opinion on that. I think Semyon's accent sounds like that of a Russian born man who has travelled and lived among other accents (perhaps German - I know a lot of KGB were trained to mimic German accents perfectly and stationed there for years and years; could be something like that?).
My uncle was born in Russia and lived in Australia for about ten years. His accent is still decidedly Russian, however it's not a normal Russian accent anymore. Very interesting.
Are you suggesting that there aren't any good Russian actors out there who have great physiques?
shareWhat is "bubonicplaque"? Yersinia pestis on the teeth?
If you are addressing me, I was only reporting what the director said. He did the casting, and he got the people he wanted. You would have to take the matter up with him. ☺
Who are you addressing? "bubonicplaque"? What are you talking about?
I just threw up a little in my mouth.
I thought all movies that take place in Europe were supposed to have characters British accents? Or is that just the medieval movies?
shareNo, I think director and producers think that the majority of the people who watch this movie are not russians and dont have a clue about russian accents.
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According to the filmmakers, they worked very hard to get the accents as good as possible, suited to each character's origin and time in Britain. There was a lot of talk about it when the film came out. David Cronenberg likes his actors to take an interest in getting the details right.
There is always controversy over accents, since most people think they can judge them and most haven't a clue (my linguistics professor in college was very scathing about that, but he was an expert 😃). In this case, the coments ranged from the Moscow reviewer who thought VM must be Russian, through the entire gamut, both on IMDB -- not the most trustworthy source -- to real reviews and audience comments. It was very interesting.
The tattoo artist, BTW, was also the Russian coach. Coaching and acting were his jjobs, but he faked using the fake tattoo instruments very well, I thought.
So, you think that 51% or more of the viewers know russian accents?
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Zbrden,
Not sure what you are talking about -- I've lost the nesting pattern somehow -- but just a point: the film was shown and reviewed in Moscow. One reviewer there said he thought VM must be Russian. I have no idea where if anywhere else in Russia it showed, or what people thought.
Davic Cronenberg tried to get the accents as accurate as possible -- with the enthusiastic help of the actors and coach -- because he wanted to do it. He's just that kind of filmmaker.
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"They are saying "fk you" to the Russian audience".
That's exactly what the Rooskie needs to be told. Make no mistake though - your argument is still silly.
Samantha is quite right though - Mortensen does get both the accent as well as the mannerisms quite spot on.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan
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gabypanama, if you mean me, did I say any such thing?
shareMic drop.
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I didn't notice and I doubt very many other people did either. It has nothing to do with stupidity. I'm not familiar enough with Russian accents to tell if one is bad or not. I imagine it is the same for much of the intended viewing audience of this movie. So *beep* the *beep* off *beep* *beep* *beep*
shareI side with the OP more or less. Often movies cast people who are obviously not from the character's country of origin. Which is fine when it's only one main character or two supporting actors, but not two main actors. I know Vincent Cassel from La Haine and absolutely could not get 100% into the movie because of that. Although I know Viggo Mortensen is Danish, I definitely bought it. He looks vaguely Eastern European enough. As for Semyon, I wasn't sure but his acting was so good I didn't care.
I also don't buy this "Couldn't find anybody right for it". Come on, Russia has a population of 143 million with a diaspora of around 25 million, you couldn't find one good enough? Gtfo, everybody already had to use a broken English accent and spoke russian 20% of the time so what gives? It really is insulting. Hell, what about the myriad of people in former Soviet Repubic whose language is Russian more or less? No Ukranians either? Not one of them couldn't play Kirill? Stop making *beep* out of all of us directors of today.