Dear Swiss movie theaters
This country has been a global role model for a working multicultural and especially multilingual society. 'The back of the box' was in Italian, German and French, nobody gave two s*its about what religion you're practicing and most importantly movies had their original audiotrack. We relied on the English learned at school to understand the spoken words or if we couldn't decipher Robert Downey Jr.'s mumbling we relied on subtitles.
All that is in the past.
Now, dear Swiss cinema, you're nothing but a uni-language, corporate-obedient whore catering to an increasingly lazy audience. The closest cinema playing Clash of the Titans or Kick-Ass in English are in Zurich. That's a two hour drive. I know you have more prestigious customers but if you think those who will not accept French movies to be dubbed define you why are you alienating them? Yes, I did notice those posters advertising a dubbed version of Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, a movie in which the different French dialects are integral to story and characters. That is lost in translation. You are turning into a dull creature, indistinguishable from a big, fat 12 auditorium theater abomination in a mall in which the selection of snacks is more important then the movies playing. Your menu used to be exquisite. Movies from all around the globe were playing and often an Iranian drama, a British comedy or an American Indie would be the most seen movie for weeks. Hollywood and the rest of the world lived in harmony and balance. The very idea of Switzerland, peaceful coexistence, was nowhere more evident then on Thursday's newspaper with reviews of new releases and the boxoffice charts. Variety was key. Now only independent cinemas in major cities can afford playing smaller movies and only specialized theaters show blockbusters in English - major cities being Zurich and Bern. I hear Basel has fallen.
I give up. I'm beat. DVD is my new home now. For the record: Swiss cinema, go CINECAST! yourself.