- “West Side Story,” out Friday contains some scenes spoken in Spanish without subtitles.
- During the film’s press conference, Steven Spielberg explained that decision was on purpose.
- Spielberg said, “it was out of respect that we didn’t subtitle any of the Spanish.”
One of the most unexpected surprises of Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” is that, unlike the original film, Spanish is spoken on screen and not just in throwaway lines.
Though it’s not a significant portion of the film, non-Spanish speaking viewers may be shocked to find that the remake doesn’t include subtitles.
That’s on purpose.
During the film’s virtual press conference, which Insider attended last month, Spielberg said, “it was out of respect that we didn’t subtitle any of the Spanish. That language had to exist in equal proportions alongside the English with no help.”
The film follows the ill-fated romance between Tony (Ansel Elgort) and Maria (Rachel Zegler) in 1957’s NYC, which causes a rift between two warring gangs, the Caucasian Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks.
Niko Tavernise/20th Century Studios
Any time Spanish is spoken on screen, Lieutenant Schrank, who Spielberg pointed out is “clearly a racist,” tells anyone conversing in Spanish in the film to speak in English.
“It leaves in the minds of the audience to decide that they’re going to be more attentive, because you can tell pretty much what they’re saying,” said star and executive producer Rita Moreno, who won an Oscar for her performance as Anita in 1961’s “West Side Story,” of the decision.
As Moreno suggested, if you’ve taken a Spanish course or two, there’s not much you can’t figure out with context clues. But there are a few small asides where non-Spanish-speaking audiences may miss out on a joke.
Spielberg wouldn’t mind that happening though. If anything, hopefully, it creates a curiosity for those to seek out what is being said.
“I also want the audiences, Spanish-speaking audiences, English-speaking audiences, to sit in the theater together so the English-speaking audiences will suddenly hear laughter coming from pockets of the theater from the Spanish-speaking audience,” Spielberg said.
Jesse Grant/Getty Images for 20th Century Studios
To Spielberg’s point, screenwriter Tony Kushner added, “We’re a bilingual country.”
“We sure are,” said Spielberg.
While that choice may anger or confuse some monolingual-speaking viewers, the move is brilliant when considering the film’s context.
Throughout “West Side Story,” any Puerto Ricans are constantly told to “speak English” because the cops and Jets refuse to take the time to understand them.
By making this creative choice, Spielberg is challenging his audience to instead “speak Spanish,” and no longer be ignorant of a culture that represents 19% of the United States’ population (62.1 million) as of 2020.
It’s a bold and brilliant choice — one that other directors may not have gotten away with. Hopefully, it’s a decision that will embolden others to follow Spielberg’s lead in the future.
“West Side Story” is in theaters on Friday. You can read our review here.