The remake of the 1961 classic, ‘West Side Story’, signed on this occasion by Steven Spielberg, will not subtitle the dialogues of the film that are made in Spanish and that this time they will have much more space in the plot since the intention is that the film has a greater political content and is a tribute to the Latino community. The plot, as is well known, updates the myth of Romeo and Juliet by placing it in the context of the struggle of the gangs in the slums of New York, specifically between a gang of Puerto Ricans and another of young people of Anglo-Saxon origin.
The director has made the decision not to subtitle Spanish to recognize a reality in the country in which two languages are de facto spoken. “I want English-speaking and Spanish-speaking spectators to congregate in the theaters and for the complicit laughter of those who understand certain things in Spanish to be heard during the projection”.
Only in Spanish
The film will be released next week and, for now, it has surprised viewers who have been able to see it because of this decision. “There are certain feelings that a Spanish-speaking person can only express in Spanish,” argued the film’s screenwriter, Tony Kurshner. An opinion that has also been supported by the actress of Puerto Rican origin Rita Moreno who became known in Robert Wise’s version and who at 89 years old returns to participate in his’ remake‘in a role created especially for her.
‘West Side Story’ is a musical originally created in 1957 for Broadway by the composer Leonard Bernstein, together with the librettist Arthur Laurents, with lyrics from recently deceased Stephen Sondheim. The 1961 film, filmed by Robert Wise, dazzled the critics and the public (it won 10 Oscars) and elevated its protagonists, especially a young Natalie Wood and the aforementioned Moreno, who won the Oscar for best actress high school and was the first Latina to do so.
New York decor
Spielberg has preserved the libretto, with the songs (‘America’, ‘Tonight’, ‘Maria’) that helped take the work of composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein beyond the realm of classical music.
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Like 60 years ago, New York is once again part of the scene. “The city of yesterday still exists today (…) we have filmed in places that had not changed”, explained Spielberg, although admitting that they have had to digitally eliminate many devices and installations that betrayed the passage of time.
With a budget of 100 million dollars (according to ‘Variety’) Spielberg has hired a host of new actors, some in their first roles on camera, such as Rachel Zegler, an actress of Colombian descent who plays María, the young Puerto Rican . Ansel Elgort, an actor who stood out in films such as “Bay Driver” (2017), plays Tony, his love interest.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com