Starring hallyu star Lee Min Ho, "Gangnam Blues" is about two friends/brothers literally plucked from a shanty to join a sabotage plot against a political party. In the midst of that chaos, however, Ragmen Jong-dae (Lee) and Yong-gi (Kim Rae Won) get separated and end up in different gangs. When they meet again, these two play politics, betrayal and murder to amass the rich fields of Gangnam to create a new capital in Korea.
SineAsia, a joint project of Viva Entertainment Inc. and SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Inc., provides Filipino viewers with premiere Asian films that have been “Tagalized” or dubbed in Filipino.
"Gangnam Blues" was an excellent choice to jumpstart SineAsia given the large Filipino fan base of Lee Min Ho, as well as the popularity of Korean popular culture, in general. Hordes of screaming girls gathered at a special screening on Tuesday night to lend support to their idol, who had just visited the country last week to launch a restaurant.
Lost in all that giggling, however, is probably the appreciation for the Filipino language.
Dubbing Korean shows is not new, what with the number of “Tagalized” Korean telenovelas being shown on local TV.
There are still debates until now on whether translating foreign shows to Filipino or leaving the film as it is (but with subtitles) would be the best option to truly enjoy a movie. The real voice of the actor coming out naturally to match his body movement, for one, is a big part in telling a story.
Academicians and language experts would be the best ones to assess whether the right Filipino words were used to complement the movie. Hearing conversational Filipino every day, however, there still seems to be a lack in that department.
Interestingly, the use of Freddie Aguilar’s “Anak” created a loud reaction from the audience on Tuesday night. Some probably laughed at the awkwardness of injecting the song, while others may have appreciated that a classic song was used to make the movie more “Filipino.”
SineAsia’s move to dub films to make the viewing experience “more enjoyable” is a good step in making the Filipino audience appreciate the language itself.
SineAsia has a lot of potential. For all its worth, the choice of words – Filipino is a rich language, to begin with – could hopefully start a debate among film enthusiasts and culture experts.
Chow Yun Fat's "From Vegas to Macau" and several horror films are next in the line-up as SineAsia vows to take on “various platforms” to present a line-up of films from South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, and other Asian countries.
"Gangnam Blues" opened Wednesday at the first SineAsia theaters in SM Megamall, SM Sta. Mesa, SM Fairview, SM Manila, and SM North Edsa.
Other SineAsia theaters will also open soon in SM Bacoor, SM Iloilo and SM Cebu.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
