International Strangers, or how can the same story be told eighteen not so different times

This project focuses on the Italian movie “Perfetti Sconosciuti” (“Perfect Strangers”, Genovese, 2016) and three of its international remakes: Spain (“Perfectos Desconocidos”, (de la Iglesia, 2017), South Korea (“완벽한 타인” or “Intimate Strangers”, Lee, 2018), and Germany (“Das perfekte Geheimnis”, Dagtekin, 2019). Eighteen international remakes have been released based on the original Italian film, making it the most remade movie in cinema history (Cordeschi, 2019). 

By comparing two scenes from the original film with the same ones taken from the three international versions, this project aims to show how the portrayal of mobile phones as a key plot element for the four stories is an example of remediation (extract 1) and to highlight how the same original plot twist can be presented and enclosed in four different cultural backgrounds while representing an example of intertextuality (extract 2). 

Introduction.

“International Strangers” is a video conceived as an audio-visual film essay, a relatively young genre that, through the recombination of images and sounds in a different editing and/or layout, analyse or pay homage to movies and TV shows:

“Audiovisual essays mobilize the epistemological potential of digital viewing and editing technologies to investigate cinema through the direct appropriation, fragmentation, and recombination of images, sounds and words.” (Baptista, 2016, p. 13) 

As a story that so widely captivated audiences around the world (1), “Perfetti Sconosciuti” and its numerous remakes are perfect subjects for this type of analysis.

By realising this project, it was my intention to explore and discuss the different narrative elements of each story. Of all the international versions released, I was able to gain access to the Spanish, German, South Korean, Mexican, Russian and French ones, although for the latter three I could not find any English subtitles, which forced me to work with/on only four of the movies.

“International Strangers” is composed of a short introduction to the original film it focuses on and two extracts consisting of the clips from the movies re-combined together. Each extract starts with a slide that introduces the narrative element chosen for the analysis; both extracts present four clips coupled together in two groups, one shown after the other (2); for every pair, I chose to feature the audio of only one clip to avoid confusion, while subtitles provide for the continuity of the stories. I used iMovie to edit the video while I used Photoshop to create the slides featured in it. 

Overview and analysis.

“Great films are not made. They are remade!” (3)

Remakes are a new versions of old movies, “a kind of reading or rereading of the original (Horton and McDougal, 1998, p. 15)”, “films to be watched with reference to the classic films they replace, but insist at the same time that they are not merely remakes by presenting their [new] models (Forrest and Koos, 2001, p. 58)”.

Thomas Leitch describes four types of remakes (4): the readaptation, the update, the homage and the true remake (5) (2001).
Since intertextuality is the “relation of a given text with another text, a group of texts, or with texts of culture that precede it in time (Kaźmierczak, 2019, p. 364)” and “[because] remaking can refer to more general structures of intertextuality (quotation, allusion, adaptation) (Verevis, 2005, p. 129)”, we can consider remakes from an intertextual perspective and divide them into two categories “according to whether [the] intertextual referent is literary (the ‘readaptation’, the ‘update’) or cinematic (the ‘homage’, the ‘true remake’) (Verevis, 2005, p. 23)”. In this sense, every international version of “Perfetti Sconosciuti” can be considered as a readaptation of the original Italian source (6). 

Though each international version of “Perfetti Sconosciuti” presents a nearly undifferentiated version of the key elements of the original plot, they all opt for changes and a local interpretation of several components of the story. This happens because, as Cuelenaere, Joye and Willems explain: 

“[Filmmakers] try to keep a balance between a more or less universal framework (i.e., dialogic structures, themes, narratives, spaces, characters, even production tactics) and a local interpretation or ‘reality’.” (2019, p. 8) 

While the main storyline (7) stays untouched, some smaller changes regard the characters having different jobs (G, SK) (8), being of different age (all), having more kids (SK) and, of course, different names (all), and major changes concern the movie genres (all) (9), the narrative element of the lunar eclipse (S),and the ending (G,S) (10).  

Furthermore, several differences revolve around the element of the food: although the Italian version does not mention it, the German and Spanish ones make fun of the master of the house - who is making dinner - by pointing out that he is not a great cook. Since the German version was released two years after the Spanish remake, this added plot element may have been inspired by de la Iglesia’s film, which would enhance intertextuality even more. At the same time, while each dinner displays its country’s traditional food, all of the four movies feature tiramisu, a typical Italian dessert and here, maybe, a homage to this story’s Italian heritage.

 

Two other story elements featured in each film, but portrayed in different ways, are those shown in “International Strangers”: the use of mobile phones as narrative elements (extract 1) and the coming out of one of the characters (extract 2). 

Mobile phones play a fundamental role in the movies, as they are instrumental in the narrative evolution of the story. Without them, no major reveals or plot twists would be possible and each remake uses them to sustain the original (Italian) idea behind the main story and, at the same time, to achieve different goals (11). In each film, though, the representation of this technology is the same, as shown in the first extract of the video. The protagonists receive messages and calls and the audience reads and listens to exactly what the characters read and listen to: the phones are part of the visual storytelling, incorporated in and fundamental for the narration. This representation of one medium in another one is what Bolter and Grusin call remediation, “a defining characteristic of the new digital media” (2000, p. 45).

 

In the second extract, the clip shows the four different ways that one of the protagonists comes out to his friends (three straight couples). As established before, intertextuality describes the relation that lies between texts or any kind of textuality. Verevis thinks that “the concept of remaking [...] – in its more general application – might be regarded as a specific aspect of a wider and more open-ended intertextuality (2005, p. 59)”. 

As a gay man, by choosing to display this scene, I wanted to highlight how homosexuality is depicted and how coming out is portrayed depending on each cultural background of these mainstream movies, while at the same time pointing out the connections between the four stories. 

For example, since Italy is historically a deeply Catholic country, it comes as no surprise to find out that the three straight protagonists are shocked about the revelation of their friend’s homosexuality. On the other hand, the Spanish film still shows the straight characters disbelief while moving the conversation forward to marriage equality and equal rights topics (12). Also, it should be noted that the three European movies introduce the theme of homosexuality by the use of the offensive word “faggot” (13); the Asian movie always uses “gay” instead. This is connected to the milder general tone that marks Lee’s film (especially when referring to sensitive topics like alcoholism or sexuality); nonetheless “Intimate Strangers” is the only story that implies a connection between homosexuality and perversion.

 

Every movie features the coming-out scene as a plot twist in the same way the others do, adapting the original story in an intertextual reference; and yet, in the remakes, the discussion that follows is always enclosed in and pushed towards different cultural scenarios that move the general conversation forward. 

Limitations and conclusions. 

Audio-visual essays are a powerful tool that enables further discussions on and analysis of the cinematographic medium, which is something I aimed to achieve with this project. Still, I encountered several difficulties in post-production because of the scarce editing and layout arrangement options offered by iMovie. For example, I would have preferred to display the four movies in a single layout - instead of having to pair them up - to intensify the potential of each extract’s end-result. Also, I think that a comparison between a larger number of the international versions would be of far greater interest (14), although it would be difficult for the viewer to follow multiple storylines simultaneously. I consider this factor, in particular, the biggest weakness of my project, as the length of each clip and their position next to one another makes it difficult to follow both stories at the same time. And yet, juxtaposing the clips was instrumental in proving my point and therefore essential: by using this technique I was able to showcase examples of remediation and intertextuality, establishing a connection between films and remakes in general, and this movie and its international versions in particular. 

Notes. 

1. Thanks to its international success - the film won the best screenplay prize in the international narrative competition section at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival (McNary, 2017) - and the subsequent release of the local-language remakes, “Perfetti Sconosciuti” started what is now considered a movie franchise that generated more than 270 million dollars globally (Vivarelli, 2020) and has told audiences from Mexico (Fuente, 2018), Russia (Shapovalova, 2019), India (Express News Service, 2017), France (Lemercier, 2017) and many other countries in the world the same story, though each time in a slightly different way.

2. The first pair is composed by the clip from the original Italian film together with the South Korean remake, followed by the second pair composed by the German remake together with the Spanish one.

3. (Forrest and Koos, 2001, p. 3)

4. The reasons behind the choice to produce a remake instead of promoting the (foreign) original movie in a different regional market may vary. By considering remakes a “special type of brand extension ​(Bohnenkamp ​et al.,​ 2014, p. 19)​”, moviemakers may decide to invest in an already successful concept, but wanting to ​translate it ​into more local tastes because, usually, audiences respond better to a cultural product that presents familiarities with their local “language, ethnic appearance, dress, style, humor, historical reference, and shared topical knowledge ​(Straubhaar, 2007, p. 26)​”. Not to mention that the idea of adapting or re-shaping a formula proven to be already successful entails lesser risk from an economic perspective ​(Verevis, 2005)​.

5. For a more detailed explanation of the four different type of remakes, see ​Leitch, 2001, p. 45​, 47, 49.

6. When interviewed about the upcoming release of the Russian-language version of “Perfetti Sconosciuti”, one of the actors corrects the interviewer that refers to it as a ​remake,​ pointing out that it is actually an a​ daptation​ (Shapovalova, 2019).

7 The story revolves around seven friends having dinner together deciding to share the content of every text message, email and phone call they receive.

8. From now on I am going to refer to each remake by using the country’s initials.

9. “Perfetti sconosciuti” and “Intimate Strangers” are categorised as comedy-drama films, “Perfectos desconocidos” as a comedy film, and “Das perfekte Geheimnis” as a romantic comedy-drama film.

10. The German remake is the only one presenting a totally different ending, deviating from the characteristic final plot twist of the original story that the other three movies share.

11. The characters that call the protagonists during the dinner are almost the same in every movie, though conversations vary according to what each story wants to achieve or what the established background of the protagonist is. That said, texts and emails differ more: in “Das perfekte Geheimnis”, for example, the reason why one of the protagonist is not wearing her underwear is different from any other movie (because of a work stunt, rather than a sexual challenge), while the South Korean plot feature all the key elements of the Italian plot, but always in a milder tone (i.e. the protagonist is wearing her underwear, but instead of the usual one, she opts for something sexier than what her conservative husband would allow her to wear).

12. ​Same-sex ​marriage in Spain has been legal since July 3, 2005, while in Italy same-sex ​civil unions have been legally recognized since June 2016.

13. “​Frocio​” in Italian, “​maricón”​ in Spanish and “​schwuchtel​” in German.

14. It would be interesting to see, for example, how the theme of homosexuality is depicted in the Russian remake, a country that has strongly conservative views regarding this topic. 

Bibliography. 

Baptista, T. (2016) ​Lessons in looking: the digital audiovisual essay.​ doctoral. Birkbeck, University of London. Available at: http://vufind.lib.bbk.ac.uk/vufind/Record/561245 (Accessed: 5 January 2021).

Bolter, J. D. and Grusin, R. (2000) ​Remediation: Understanding New Media.​ New Ed edition. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

Cordeschi, F. M. (2019) ​‘Perfetti Sconosciuti’ da Guinness, la commedia di Genovese è il film con più remake di sempre,​ ​Repubblica TV - Repubblica.​ Available at: https://video.repubblica.it/spettacoli-e-cultura/perfetti-sconosciuti-da-guinness-la-commedia- di-genovese-e-il-film-con-piu-remake-di-sempre/339676/340267 (Accessed: 3 January 2021).

Cuelenaere, E., Joye, S. and Willems, G. (2019) ‘Local flavors and regional markers: The Low Countries and their commercially driven and proximity-focused film remake practice’, Communications​, 44(3), pp. 262–281. doi: 10.1515/commun-2019-2057.

Dagtekin, B. (2019) ​Das perfekte Geheimnis​. Constantin Film.

Express News Service (2017) ​Shiva Tejas gets to make some noise with Loudspeaker,​ ​The New Indian Express​. Available at: https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/kannada/2017/nov/29/shiva-tejas-gets-to- make-some-noise-with-loudspeaker-1713319.html (Accessed: 5 January 2021).

Forrest, J. and Koos, L. R. (eds) (2001) ​Dead Ringers: The Remake in Theory and Practice.​ Albany: State University of New York Press.

Fuente, A. M. de la (2018) ‘Morelia: Pantelion to Release Manolo Caro’s “Perfect Strangers” in the U.S. (EXCLUSIVE)’, ​Variety,​ 23 October. Available at: https://variety.com/2018/film/news/morelia-pantelion-manolo-caro-perfect-strangers-u-s-120 2989742/ (Accessed: 3 January 2021).

Genovese, P. (2016) ​Perfetti sconosciuti.​ Lotus Production, Medusa Film, Leone Film Group.

Horton, A. and McDougal, S. Y. (eds) (1998) ​Play It Again, Sam: Retakes on Remakes​. 0 edition. Berkeley: University of California Press.

de la Iglesia, Á. (2017) ​Perfectos desconocidos.​ Crea SGR, Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales (ICAA), Mediaset España.

Kaźmierczak, M. (2019) ‘Intertextuality as Translation Problem: Explicitness, Recognisability and the Case of “Literatures of Smaller Nations” | Kaźmierczak | Russian Journal of Linguistics’, ​Russian Journal of Linguistics​, 23(2), p. 362—382. doi: https://doi.org/10.22363/2312-9182-2019-23-2-362-382.
Lee, J. Q. (2018) 완벽한 타인. Drama House, Film Monster Co.

Leitch, T. (2001) ‘Twice Told Tales: Disavowal and the Rhetoric of the Remake’, in Forrest, J. and Koos, L. R. (eds) ​Dead ringers: the remake in theory and practice​. Albany: State University of New York Press, pp. 37–62. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ABER/detail.action?docID=3407946 (Accessed: 6 January 2021).

Lemercier, F. (2017) ​Fred Cavayé helming Nothing to Hide, a remake of Perfect Strangers​, Cineuropa - the best of european cinema.​ Available at: https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/343209/ (Accessed: 5 January 2021).

McNary, D. (2017) ​Weinstein Company to Remake Italian Comedy ‘Perfect Strangers’​, Variety.​ Available at: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/139-big-ticket-28955447/ (Accessed: 3 January 2021).

Shapovalova, Y. (2019) ​«Не нужно брать свои идеи, если есть чужие хорошие»: «Квартет И» о новом фильме и неудавшихся телевизионных проектах​, ​RT на русском.​ Available at: https://russian.rt.com/nopolitics/article/592601-kvartet-i-film-intervyu (Accessed: 5 January 2021).
Article translation: “No need to take your ideas if there are good others”: “Quartet I” about a new film and failed television projects”. Available at: https://www.tellerreport.com/life/--%E2%80%9Cno-need-to-take-your-ideas-if-there-are-good -others%E2%80%9D--%E2%80%9Cquartet-i%E2%80%9D-about-a-new-film-and-failed-tele vision-projects-.SJgz0OMjME.html (Accessed: 8, January 2021)

Verevis, C. (2005) ​Film Remakes.​ Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Vivarelli, N. (2020) ‘Nadine Labaki to Star in Arabic “Perfect Strangers” Remake’, ​Variety,​ 29 December. Available at: https://variety.com/2020/film/news/nadine-labaki-to-star-in-arabic-perfect-strangers-1234875 978/ (Accessed: 5 January 2021).

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