This paper examines the way in which different semiotic elements of a given film, as a textual 'whole', are combined to produce and intended effect. The author takes a case study of the film Bruce Almighty, considering the types of translation problems involved in creating a dubbing track which takes into account the different semiotic functions of visual, linguistic and auditory units of this film. In looking at the translation problems posed for dubbing by this film, the author then considers the market for Anglophone films in France and suggest how a functionalist framework can help in identifying some of the problems inherent in the intercultural transfer process.