I have found it to be a kind of thing you learn. I have seen many american, japanese, french and german films equally stunning and somehow you learn to take in the visually photographic aspect of such films while still getting the subtitles. But initially it was difficult i agree. You looked too much at the subtitles so you missed some thing. But then you got the technique of multitasking so you could take in both. At least thats my experience.In the case of my collection of Ingmar Bergman films. I will re-visit them multiple times because many of them are visually stunning and subtitles can distract from the photographic aspect.
Ahhh, Bergman..... Yes i understand you. One thing about him was that he really didnt have many subjects. Familydramas. They are very good but i wish for a little bit more variety.