访谈录 2008-06-06&06-08 政府鼎力支持，法兰西电影蓬勃

"The class" wins the Palme d'Or at Cannes. The French docudrama starring a cast of non-professional actors features the rough and tumble of school life in a tough multi-cultural section of Paris. It's the first French film to win the festival's most prestigious¹ prize in more than 20 years, another badge of pride for the country's resurgent cinema.

 

This story, this woman, who is still alive by her voice, her songs， I mean, she wrote LA VIE EN ROSE.

 

Earlier this year, Marion Cotillard's portrayal² of iconic French singer, Edith Piaf, in La Vie En Rose, won her an Oscar, the first for a French actress since Juliette Binoche in the English Patient 12 years ago.

 

The French have always taken film-making seriously. After all, it was in Paris that the first cinematograph was demonstrated in 1895. Louis Lumière screened his single reels of film clips to patrons of the Grand Café in Paris, not long after singing clubs were dotted in the country.

 

But French filmmakers really made their mark in the late 50s and early 60s with the New Wave movement. Among those pioneers of the Jean Rose were such great François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard. They provided inspiration for a younger generation of American directors like Francis Ford³ Coppola and Steven Spielberg.

 

Today, France is the second largest exporter of films in the world after the US. The health of the country's cinema is largely due to the French state, which protects and promotes the industry. Movies made in France are heavily subsidized by the country.

 

It's important every country to have its own cinema, to be able to, to, to see images, to export its images, to see also, for them and probably for the others, the characters, what is going on in the society. I think movies are in a certain way, the private life of a country. So it's important the private life to be known outside.

 

France also places its quota⁴ limits on the import of foreign films. Still, subsidies⁵ and quotas⁶ can't keep Hollywood out of France. US movies took almost 50% of French box office receipts through last year. But there is a difference. Truffaut once said he preferred the reflection of life to life itself. And French movies have always been thought provoking rather than action packed. So, no danger at Cannes of confusing the French production Class with the Hollywood blockbuster Indiana Jones.

 

Fionnuala Sweeney, CNN, Paris.

1 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

2 portrayal   

n.饰演；描画

参考例句：

• His novel is a vivid portrayal of life in a mining community.他的小说生动地描绘了矿区的生活。
• The portrayal of the characters in the novel is lifelike.该书中的人物写得有血有肉。

3 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

4 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

5 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 quotas   

（正式限定的）定量( quota的名词复数 )； 定额； 指标； 摊派

参考例句：

• In fulfilling the production quotas, John made rings round all his fellow workers. 约翰完成生产定额大大超过他的同事们。
• Quotas of the means of production are allocated by the higher administrative bodies to the lower ones. 物资指标按隶属关系分配。