One of the things about living in a country not your own is how aware you become of your own cultural identity and homeland, and how the distance works to allow you to see your country from a different perspective. For instance, one of the first things I had to stop doing when I moved to Poland is stop using “How are you?” as a greeting. In America, the question is often used as a substitution for “Hello” with no particular emphasis on being answered. In Poland, I discovered that when I was walking down the street and used “How are you?” as a greeting, often the people would stop and then proceed to explicitly answer the question: “Not so good, not so good, Christian,” one would begin. This, of course, would never happen in the States, because we are always in the perpetual state of “fine” and “okay”.

This week I’d like to look at some of the movies that have affected me in ways which would’ve been impossible if I hadn’t the experience of living abroad for the last six years.

Take Lost in Translation, for instance. I have yet to meet an expat who doesn’t appreciate this movie. While the love story is perfectly entertaining in its own right, it’s the little details of watching Bill Murray’s character acclimate himself into a clearly-overwhelming culture that makes the movie so effective. The way he holds out his open hand with change for the bartender to pick the correct amount, or the Russian roulette way of ordering from a foreign menu, are good honest examples that make you grin with recognition. Julie Delpy’s 2 Days in Paris does a spot-on job of exploring the strengths and precariousness of a multi-cultured relationship, its opportunities for miscommunication and the joy of defying two overpowering forces of cultural conditioning, that had me and my wife simultaneously laughing and cringing throughout the film’s run time. (continue reading…)