Eat, pray love - problems with translation in movies

Hi there!

For one of my courses that I am taking this semester I have to write an essay about problems with translation in movies. To do that I chose 4 different American movies in which the whole action or just a scene is happening in Italy. “Eat, pray, love” is one of them that I would like to present.

This movie is based on the best-selling book with the same title. When it first came out, it received mixed reviews but at the end it was a financial success. This movie is about a woman that has everything - a husband, a house and a successful carier (she is a writer). Despite that she found herself lost and confused about the world around her. One day she decided to change her life, and she went to Italy, India and Indonesia. During her stay in first place she discovered the true pleasure by eating. In second place - the power of prayer. Finally, in Indonesia she fell in love.

Comparing the original version with the Italian dubbing it’s really interesting. In some parts they changed completely dialogues. For example in a scene where a man is teaching main character some Italian words, in Italian dubbing they change it. He is teaching her Latin. There are more scenes like this one. This comparative task is very fascinating.

To sum up, I’m not a huge fun of this movie, because for me it’s quite boring. I recommend watching a few versions and pay attention to the difference in translation. It can turn out to be a very interesting activity.

Thanks

Kasia