‘Amistad’

Re “A White Man’s Film Slips Over My Wall,” Commentary, Dec. 22: Donna Britt laments that director Steven Spielberg uses too few subtitles when the Mende language is spoken in “Amistad.”

I have a different opinion. With the paucity of subtitles, I felt left out of some of the action and uncertain about what was going on. During these times in the film I thought, “Brilliant! Spielberg is giving me the experience of hearing people talk around me while I cannot understand what they are saying.” The resultant feeling of insecurity is powerful. This technique of limiting the subtitles is a sensitive, perceptive shading in the film director’s creation of an authentic artistic, emotional experience.

JOAN KUNSELMAN

Duarte