英语周记之「外网影评」系列(二):流浪地球
好吧,我得承认,电影我还没看过。大年初一国内上映,大年初二美国部分影院上映,我在遥远的北欧,就真想看也看不到。想写这部电影,初衷是蹭热度,这是赤裸裸的大实话。在被告知自己的第一篇周记被简书电影专栏收录后,我屁颠颠儿的跑过去浏览,结果被流浪地球清一水儿的刷屏了。于是赶紧Youtube上看预告,嗯!这阵势,不错呀!于是赶紧IMDB搜情报,哇!发生了什么???
amctheatres.com 图片截自IMDB官网评分就不说了,未来7+的分数,成绩可喜。截屏右下角的热度(popularity)更是涨得跟坐了火箭似的,估计这火箭也是中国造的。其实最让我惊掉下巴的还是图片左下角的影评数量:95篇(发稿时最后瞄一眼,128篇,一晚上更新三十篇。)。电影在美国上映还不到一周就能达到这个数字,我是惊讶啦!想想姜文的<让子弹飞>(Let The Bullets Fly),2011年4月24日在美国翠贝卡电影节(Tribeca Film Festival)首映,2012年3月2日在美国部分影院上映。截至目前仅有26篇影评。我又仔细看了一下<流浪地球>影评的发布时间,主要集中在6号和7号,也就是电影上映后的两天(美国上映时间是2月6号)。这是不是就说明了看完电影的观众,抑制不住兴奋激动的心情,赶忙儿去记录自己的观影体验呢?当然也不一定,如果是极度失望也会发生这样的情况。所以不卖关子,缩图请看。
内容来自IMDB,后期裁剪处理过是吧,是吧,不怪我蹭热度了吧。这“史诗级”,这“科幻巨制”,这“棒,棒,棒”!终于有一部中!国!科!幻!电!影!让我有一种打飞滴回国观影的冲动啦!当然,仔细看这些观众的注册昵称,多数应该是华侨。不过没关系,这个时候就应该大大方方的开心,大大方方的骄傲。
说了这么多,内心澎湃的爱国之情也抒发了,是时间言归正传,专心学英语了。短短几天涌出百十来篇影评,我可着英文好的,感情真挚的来哈。
第一篇:Hardcore and amazing截屏自Instagram
By yinanluo from IMDB
https://m.imdb.com/user/ur96420146/?ref_=m_tt_urv
I was hesitating whether to continue watching or not after the first ten minutes - I was almost driven away by its attempt to localize the story with popular expressions in China which is not fun at all. But after half an hour I was totally attracted. Its beginning, of course, reminds me of that of Interstellar - the conflict between human attachments and the exploration of universe. Just as the love between father and daughter finally brings hope for we mankind in the Interstellar, throughout this movie there is a strong calling for family bond, for earthly love - but not to return or even save home, but to carry it with us in a 2500-year long wandering in the universe. It reminds of so many ancient legends and tales I read when I grow up - The Foolish Old Man Removes the Mountains, Kua Fu chases the sun and so on, which sound ridiculous but romantically point to two virtues praised in ancient Chinese culture: down-to-earth and earnest. Anyway, its script, especially the dialogue, is not satisfying for me. But its view of the universe and human deeds are compelling. It's partly because it's adapted from a novel of the greatest sci-fi Chinese writer, Liu Cixin. He gives the story an overwhelming philosophical spirit. I started reading his novel since 15. Now, after almost ten years, I finally see its visualization. What a waiting!
这篇影评读起来质朴却感人,字里行间淡淡地带着一种华侨对祖国文化的追爱。
I was almost driven away by its attempt to localize the story with popular expressions in China which is not fun at all.:“localize”的意思是“本土化”,所以这句话可以意译为:电影通过使用中国当下流行语来叙事的本土化企图,让我觉得非常不舒服,差点中途离场。“attempt”具有名动双重词性。名词词性更高级。这里有几个例句:
He made no attempt to be social.
This is my second attempt at the exam.
They closed the road in an attempt to reduce traffic in the city.
None of our attempts at contacting the principle was successful.
Its beginning, of course, reminds me of that of Interstellar.
Its beginning, of course, reminds me of that of Interstellar.:这句话的语法难点是“that of”,它替代了“the beginning of”。如果完整说这句话,就是“Its beginning reminds me of the begining of Interstellar”,但句首已经有“beginning”这个词了,所以可以用“that of”。
Just as the love between father and daughter finally brings hope for we mankind in the Interstellar, throughout this movie there is a strong calling for family bond, for earthly love - but not to return or even save home, but to carry it with us in a 2500-year long wandering in the universe.:这句话中没有什么高级词汇和语法,但却清晰地将流浪地球和星际穿越做了比较,既说到了共同点,又分析了区别。
The Foolish Old Man Removes the Mountains:愚公移山
overwhelming philosophical spirit:“overwhelming”这个词不难,但是能做恰当使用的场景可不多,刘慈欣小说传达的哲学精神,嗯,完全可以用。
its visualization:这个表达很好,这里可意译为“小说的电影化”。如果是把小说改编成了舞台剧,电视剧等,都可以用这个表达,翻译时注意即可。
第二篇:A rare gem in the field of Sci-Fi截屏自Instagram
By ahdavidwu from IMDB
https://m.imdb.com/review/rw4631576/?ref_=tt_urv
After producing a string of sloppy, cringe-worthy sci-fi films, Chinese cinema has finally delivered one with awe-inspiring visual, and more surprisingly, a humanizing story.
For fans of hard sci-fi, this film's premise is indeed a bit absurd and scientifically inaccurate; building ten thousand massive engines on the surface of earth to move the entire planet away from a dying sun. Still, the focus is not technology but people. The main plot focuses on grandfather, father and son (plus an adopted daughter) try to survive and preserve whatever dignity and humanity still remains on a chaotic frozen planet. The film hammers in the notion that anyone is somebody's child, parent or best friend, yet a single human life is merely an incredibly expendable resource in the bigger picture. The visual effects are total eye-candy, but a generous amount of practical effects and realistic props are constant reminders of the setting's 'earthiness'.
The Wandering Earth's biggest surprise for me is political. Usually, Chinese nationalism means that foreigners in sci-fi films are portrayed as either villainous or incompetent. Yet in this film, the Chinese characters struggles to save the day, and eagerly cooperate with an international force of largely nameless heroes. It's another reminder that in this depressing future, even the Chinese strength cannot succeed alone.
This movie has a lot of dialogues, more than that's necessary in most scenes. Unless its dubbed, I don't think an English-speaking audience could fully enjoy it. Another issue is the cast, almost entirely comprised of rookies. Though the acting is not bad, it's certainly not consistent either.
People who had read The Wandering Earth held high expectations for the film adaptation, those expectations have certainly been met.
这篇影评的英文水平非常高,语言结构特别好,英语造诣高的人可以好好研读一下。全篇最大的特点就是“去我化”,即造句很少以“我”为主语,所以读起来的感觉就是非常客观,非常专业,比如尾句:People who had read The Wandering Earth held high expectations for the film adaptation, those expectations have certainly been met. 笔者完全是以专业影评人的口吻在陈述,不掺杂一点点的主观感受。
从好文章中挑出亮点是强人所难,不过想挑出我不熟悉的,就 as easy as pie啦。
film's premise:科幻电影的难点之一就是故事的前提(premise)。
preserve whatever dignity and humanity:这些词不难,但“preserve dignity”,“preserve humanity” 这种动宾搭配要记下来。英语中的很多动宾搭配实际上都是几乎固定的,随便用虽然可以表达清楚,但会显得生硬。记得以前我在英语老师总是说我的文章读起来对,但就是觉得别扭,现在想想,应该就是这个原因。
hammers:hammer是锤子,也是动词“锤打”,但在这里取的是它的高级意思“不断重复,不断灌输”。想想看,一下下地把钉子敲进墙,不就是在不断重复,不断灌输吗?
The visual effects are total eye-candy, but a generous amount of practical effects and realistic props are constant reminders of the setting's 'earthiness'.:这句话的“but”把我搞糊涂了,我开始误解成了优缺点的转折,但又觉得哪里不对。后来咨询了一位英国的朋友,才算是搞明白了。“but”在这句话中的转折,类似中文中“又不失”的用法。整句话可以意译为“电影的视觉效果非常赏心悦目,而大量的现场特效(practical effects)和仿真道具(realistic props)的使用,让电影又不失它的“地气”。”
are portrayed as either villainous or incompetent:这里可以意译为“扮演的不是恶棍就是弱智”,又是一个形容词译成名词的例子。
Though the acting is not bad, it's certainly not consistent either.:“consistent”是这个句子理解的难点,这个词的意思是“始终如一的”,所以这个词想表达的是:好的表演并不是从头至尾的,并不是总是都是好的表演。
最后放上一篇读来非常过瘾的短评:Definitely Worth Watching截屏自Instagram
By shellingf from IMDB
https://m.imdb.com/review/rw4631146/?ref_=tt_urv
I mean, when is the last time you hear people clap in a cinema? And when is the last time you find 80% of them remained seated after the movie and waited until the lights up knowing there won't be any extra scene? I know there are some awkward lines and scenes but overall I can bear with it. And, besides the fantastic visual effects, it also surprised me with a couple Chinese(language) jokes - didn't expect that coming. It could be better but it is definitely worth watching. Much much better than the other Chinese movies. I really enjoyed that 2 hours.
remained seated:非常地道的表达。“还留在自己的座位上”的意思用两个词就说清楚了。“seated”在这里的词性是形容词。
I know there are some awkward lines and scenes but overall I can bear with it.:转折的句子结构一笔带过电影的不足,但重点是后半句:“I can bear with it”,即“我都可以接受”。这里用的是单数it,注意不是语法错误哦。
为什么说这段短评读起来爽呢?因为它生动形象。前两句的描写,一种“对呀,说的就是我”的感觉,所以感人的,往往是细节刻画,而不是什么形而上学。
如果你也刚好爱看电影,爱学英语,而且觉得我的笔记有帮助,留下个赞,好不好?