Beckett: What Happened to Subtitles for Greek Dialogue?

“Beckett,” the action thriller shot entirely in Greece, which reached the number one spot on the Netflix trending list days after its release, has no subtitles for its Greek dialogue, which is used at many points in the film.

Many viewers have been asking why the film doesn’t have subtitles for when characters speak Greek throughout the movie.

Beckett director Ferdinando Cito Filomarino says that it was not an oversight, but a deliberate decision so that viewers will relate to the confusion and disorientation of its protagonist, John David Washington, even more.

“Creative decision” not to include subtitles in Greek

“Absolutely (it was a creative decision not to have subtitles),” he told ComingSoon.

“The premise was to have a relatability with this character, somebody that you could almost feel like, what would I do when that situation, as opposed to the kind of superhuman, slightly elevated tone of other movies in this genre, I liked the idea of, of experiencing it together with him and that entailed both sort of discovering elements of the plot of what is happening to him alongside him and also not being able to decipher what’s what people are saying in Greek simply because he doesn’t speak Greek. And that definitely informed the subjective experience,” Filomarino added.

The film immediately shot to #1 on Netflix’s combined Top 10 movies and shows list in the US. That’s despite the fact that Netflix only just released it on Friday, August 13.

Beckett, starring up and coming actors including Washington, Boyd Holbrook, Vicky Krieps, and Alicia Vikander, is keeping audiences at the edge of their seats while providing beautiful Greek scenery as a backdrop.

The synopsis reads, “While vacationing in Greece, Beckett (John David Washington), an American tourist, becomes the target of a manhunt after a devastating accident. Forced to run for his life and desperate to reach the U.S. Embassy in Athens to clear his name, tensions escalate as the authorities close in, political unrest mounts, and Beckett falls even deeper into a dangerous web of conspiracy.”

Beckett was filmed in several locations across Greece

Beckett stayed true to the movie’s setting as the production crew shot in genuine locations throughout Greece.

Filming began in April 2019 and took place in the Greek capital of Athens as well as in and around the cities of Ioannina in Epirus and Trikala, the latter hosting Beckett’s train station scene.

Other filming locations include Zagori, which is where the stone bridge in the movie can be found, as well as the ancient ruins at Delphi.

Speaking in about the filming process, Filomarino, said: “Everyone was so generous and excited to participate.

“My collaborator Stefanos Koutsardakis was key in showing me to explore lesser-known areas and guided me through the culture.

“The movie is shot in so many different locations. We barely shot two days in the same place, so the local crew was key in helping us understand how to portray them truthfully and specifically.