Hidden Details You'll Miss In The Suicide Squad If You Don't Speak Spanish
Warning: Contains spoilers for "The Suicide Squad"
In a nutshell, "The Suicide Squad" is a far superior movie to its 2016 predecessor. And it's more than just that extra addition of a definite article that makes the film. It's beautifully shot, the pacing is on point, and the dialogue It's full of both chuckle-worthy levity and tender moments that'll bring a tear to your eye. It's also got lots of well-choreographed, action-packed battle scenes. What more could you want from a movie?
On top of all that, there are some extra treats that make the movie much better if you can read/speak/understand Spanish. Much of "The Suicide Squad" takes place on the fictional island of Corto Maltese. (Fun fact: Corto Maltese is actually the name of a series of graphic novels from the DC Universe, per HITC.) It's based on a couple of different Latin American countries, so of course, many of the characters speak Spanish. For those who aren't familiar with the language and want a little extra insight into the film, you've come to the right place. But clutch your pearls and get comfortable on your favorite fainting couch, because some of these details are likely part of the reason why "The Suicide Squad" received its R rating.
What the name of the night club 'La Gatita Amable' really means
Near the beginning of the movie, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) mentions the name of a nightclub that The Suicide Squad later visit in the middle of the film. The name of the nightclub in Spanish is "La Gatita Amable." if you do a straight literal translation, the name means "the kind little cat" or "the kind kitty." but it's actually a euphemism for something a little more sexually suggestive.
If you're a native English speaker, you're probably very familiar with the fact that referring to a certain part of the female anatomy with certain vulgar words that are synonymous with "cat" is very common slang. Guess what? Spanish speakers do the same thing. Also, in Spanish, the word "amable" has a very similar meaning to its English equivalent, "amenable." While amenable can mean "kind," it can also mean "open and accommodating." So when you put it all together, La Gatita Amable is a Spanish euphemism for a tight [part of the female anatomy] that is open and accommodating — and the implication is that it's open for sex.
General Suarez doesn't just want to 'destroy them all'
It's not uncommon for the subtitles to fail to match the dialogue that is spoken on screen. Some things just can't be translated literally. Then again, sometimes things are left out because they are commonplace and acceptable in the native language, but maybe a little too vulgar or offensive for the audience of the language it's being translated into.
In "The Suicide Squad," there's a scene where Thinker is showing Starro off to Presidente General Silvo Luna (Juan Diego Botto) and Mayor General Mateo Suarez (Joaquin Cosio). At one point as Suarez is conversing in Spanish with Luna, he mutters that Starro "lo harás mierda de todos." He actually says this phrase at a couple of different points in the film. It's pretty much his favorite slur. But it doesn't mean what the subtitles say it means.
The subtitles translate the phrase as "it will destroy them all," but he's actually saying something much worse. When you translate it more literally, what Suarez actually says is that "it will make poop of them all," except the English equivalent of the word he uses in Spanish for "poop" is not such a nice word. So what he's actually saying is "it will eat them up and s*** them out."
Speaking of profanity, they curse A LOT more than what the subtitles say
The first thing most people ask about when learning another language is how to curse. Let's be real: it's fun to swear in another language! You get to enjoy expressing your frustrations without the other person actually being offended — unless they actually speak the language you're cursing in, of course. Then you have quite an awkward situation on your hands.
General Suarez and his references to excrement aren't the only instances of characters in the movie swearing like sailors without the subtitles translating it fully or faithfully. There are also instances where the swear words spoken on-screen are changed into different ones in the subtitles for localization purposes. Also, in order to keep a specific rating and encourage more people to see the film, they have to keep the dirty words below a certain threshold. As it is, the violence, gore, and death are largely responsible for the film's R rating. But if the Spanish swear words were translated more precisely, it might have pushed things too far.
Flag's yellow bunny shirt is basically the theme of the movie
When the surviving members of The Suicide Squad meet up with the guerrilla resistance in the movie, they are given new clothes before venturing into town so that they can blend in and not be spotted by General Suarez's forces. Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) ends up with a yellow shirt that has a bunny on the front. The rabbit is holding a sign that says "obstáculos son oportunidades." Translated into English, it means "obstacles are opportunities." And if you think about it, that's basically the theme of the entire film.
In the beginning, when Waller is recruiting prisoners for The Suicide Squad, she's giving them an opportunity — in spite of the obstacle, which is their incarceration. Once they get to the island, the opportunity to serve their country ends up being an obstacle for them to remain alive. The rest of the movie is a roller coaster of ups and downs between success and failure for all of the main characters. And Flag's tongue-in-cheek bunny shirt is a bit of a nod to the overall theme of the story.