‘My Italian is ok, I can understand and speak relatively well. But I’m looking for some films that are easy-going, light-hearted, feel-good (romantic comedies for example), just so I can focus on understanding the language, without having to concentrate too much on the plot. Do you have any recommendations?”
This was from an email I got from a reader that spoke for a lot of us; we’re not fluent, but we want to be, we love movies, and we use them to improve our Italian. But nothing is more frustrating than a really talky Italian movies, no subtitles, not even Italian ones, and 120 minutes of not really getting what the movie is about.
My husband likes to brag that his wife is “fluent” but I’m not. I do alright, but I still do a lot of shaking my head “yes”, when I really didn’t understand at all.
I have studied the grammar and I know more about Italian grammar than I do English grammar (sad, because I teach English grammar to immigrants). Speaking and understanding Italian is still a lot of work for me and may never become effortless.
I started going to Italian movies as a means to improve my Italian and I have a few suggestions for those of you who are like me:
1) Turn on the Italian subtitles when you are watching a DVD. Most DVDs have the option for Italian subtitles for the hard of hearing even if there are no English ones. This is great for those of us aiming to improve our comprehension and vocabulary.
1) Shy away from movies with heavy dialect until you are really fluent. They’ll just confuse you. Don’t forget, even Italians needed subtitles for a movie like Nuovomondo (The Golden Door) with its old-fashioned Sicilian dialect.
3) Modern stories are better than historical ones. Again, you’ll have enough of a challenge with the way people talk now; don’t get even more confused with people talking like they did 100 years ago.
4) Choose movies with more action. When I watch a movie that is extra-heavy on the dialogue I rely extra heavily on the Italian subtitles. Movies like Sorrentino’s “Il Divo” and Martone’s “Noi Credevamo” would have been impossible without them.
5) If you get RAI Italia there’s plenty on TV like cooking shows and soap operas that are easy for a beginner.
6) As far as light-hearted and romantic comedies, try to get your hands on the guys who are no stranger to slapstick and funny even with the sound turned off, Aldo, Giovanni and Giacomo , and also Carlo Verdone, who is very visual in his comedy.
I Love Italian Everything 