International directors’ English debuts
Joseph Cedar had already established himself as Israel’s most prominent director, with four feature films (two of which received Oscar nominations) and one documentary in Hebrew, before he wrote and directed his English-language debut, “Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer.” The film, starring Richard Gere and Israeli Lior Ashkenazi, presents an opportunity many international directors dream of — to have their work seen by a much wider English-speaking audience, in the hopes that Hollywood will keep calling. Some examples of other foreign directors and their successful, or in some cases forgettable, first movies in English:
PAUL VERHOEVEN, THE NETHERLANDS “FLESH + BLOOD,” 1985
The Dutch director’s medieval action film starring Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh wasn’t the pop phenomenon of his next three films, “Robocop,” “Total Recall” and “Basic Instinct,” but it did introduce U.S. viewers to Verhoeven’s bloody action sequences and great pacing.
WONG KAR-WAI, HONG KONG “MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS,” 2007
Critics agreed something felt lost in translation about Wong Kar-Wai’s colorful American road movie, despite its cast including Natalie Portman, Rachel Weisz, David Strathairn and singer Norah Jones in her acting debut.
ANG LEE, TAIWAN “SENSE AND SENSIBILITY,” 1995
Ang Lee’s earlier films exploring Chinese family dynamics, “The Wedding Banquet” and “Eat Drink Man Woman” (Oscar winner for best foreign film), proved Lee was a perfect match for Jane Austen’s comedy of manners.
BONG JOON-HO, SOUTH KOREA “SNOWPIERCER,” 2014
Bong Joon-ho rode a small wave of sensationally talented Korean directors, including Park Chan-wook (“Stoker”) and Kim Jeewoon (“The Last Stand”), who released their first English movies in quick succession. The dystopian sci-fi thriller “Snowpiercer” was the most celebrated of the three. Bong’s next film, “Okja,” is widely anticipated later this year.
ALEJANDRO G. IÑÁRRITU, MEXICO “21 GRAMS,” 2003
Iñárritu was quickly courted by Hollywood following his 2000 feature “Amores Perros.” Benicio Del Toro and Naomi Watts received Oscar nominations for their performances in his non-linear “21 Grams.” Iñárritu is now Hollywood royalty, the first director since 1950 to win back-to-back Academy Awards (for “Birdman,” 2015, and “The Revenant,” 2016).
YORGOS LANTHIMOS, GREECE “THE LOBSTER,” 2016
Lanthimos’ (“Dogtooth,” “Apls”) Englishlanguage debut starring Colin Farrell won the Jury Prize at Cannes and has divided audiences ever since. Some call it a symbolic masterpiece, while others are stumped by its absurdist plot. Up next: Lanthimos and Farrell reunite for an Amazon series on the Iran-Contra affair.