2006年VOA标准英语-Most Nominees for Best Foreign Language Fi

By Alan Silverman
Hollywood
03 March 2006

 
View outside Hollywood's Kodak theater
  
Sunday March 5, Hollywood honors the best on screen in 2005 as chosen by members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nominees² for the top international Oscar include a pair of historical dramas inspired by real events from World Wars I and II, a contemporary woman's journey to the emotional scars of her past, the journey of two young Palestinian friends as they prepare to become suicide bombers³ and a South African street thug's discovery of his own humanity thanks to a tiny baby. Alan Silverman has a look at this year's contenders for Best Foreign Language Film.

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The Foreign Language category was established in 1956 and since then films from Italy have received 27 nominations⁵. The latest is Don't Tell, the intense story of a young woman haunted by suppressed memories of childhood abuse.

"Dear Daniele, I couldn't tell him" she writes to her brother, explaining why she can not share the secret with her lover. "I don't want his sympathy," she writes; "I wouldn't have the courage to look him in the eyes." Don't Tell stars Giovanna Mezzogiorno, whose performance earned Best Actress at the 2005 Venice Film Festival. It is co-written and directed by Cristina Comencini, who adapted the screenplay from her own best-selling novel La Bestia Nel Cuore.

The next nominee¹ is from Germany.

Sophie Scholl: The Final Days tells the true story of a young college student who was part of the 'White Rose' underground movement in World War II Germany.
 

Sid Ganis  
  
Arrested for distributing anti-Hitler leaflets, 21-year-old Sophie stands up to her interrogator⁷ who scolds her saying: "Our German soldiers are fighting for a free Germany. Never again will Germany be occupied." Sophie responds: "Until the war is over and foreign troops march in and the world points its finger at us for tolerating Hitler." The film directed by Marc Rothemund is the sixth nominated feature from Germany since reunification in 1990 and it made a strong impression on Motion Picture Academy president Sid Ganis.

"When I think of Germany I think of Sophie Scholl. My goodness gracious. I saw this beautiful, exquisite⁸ story just last week and these days when I think of Germany I think of Sophie," Ganis says.

German is one of three languages heard in the Oscar nominee from France - Joyeux Noel.

December 1914: British, German and French field commanders meet on a snowy clearing between their trenches⁹ and decide to stop fighting and celebrate together. The legendary¹⁰ Christmas Eve Truce¹¹ is re-enacted in Joyeux Noel, written and directed by Christian¹² Carion.

"It is not a documentary. It is a fiction ... but the facts are true: the soccer, the burial, the mass in Latin for everybody, the German tenor¹³ singing for the others, the bagpipes¹⁴ playing for him. Everything is true," he says.

Carion based much of his script on letters he found in the British military archives.

"I remember a letter from a British soldier who wrote to his mother and said: 'I met a German. He showed me the picture of his family and, you know, it's the same as mine.' It kills the idea of 'enemy.' When you meet each other it starts to be difficult," explains Carion.

Joyeux Noel is the 34th film from France to be nominated in the Foreign Language Film category.

  
  
A Palestinian filmmaker earns his territory's first-ever Oscar nomination⁴ for Paradise Now, the story of two lifelong friends from Nablus recruited to become suicide bombers.

"As long as there is injustice¹⁵, someone must make a sacrifice" says Said; but his friend Khalid, who now has misgivings¹⁶ about their mission, responds: "That's no sacrifice; that's revenge. If you kill then there is no difference between victim and occupier." Answers Said: "If we had airplanes, we wouldn't need martyrs¹⁷, that's the difference."

Paradise Now writer-director Hany Abu-Assad says he tried to take audiences inside a world they might experience only through a film.

"The only thing I want from my film is not to give a message, but to open questions and open dialog: to try to put yourself in the place that, in reality, you will never be ... that person or be in that place. This why movies are made," he says.

The selection of Paradise Now by the Academy nominating committee posed a thorny¹⁸ political challenge: how to list its country of origin. The first label was "Palestinian Authority," but the Oscar telecast producers have decided¹⁹ to describe as from the "Palestinian Territories." 

 
Scene from Tsotsi
  
The powerful rhythms of Kwaito music star Zola punctuate²⁰ the second Oscar nominee from South Africa in as many years. Tsotsi, which means thug or gangster²¹ in the street language of the township ghettos, is also the nickname of the main character: a teenage thief and murderer who steals a car only to discover a baby in the back seat and the infant leads Tsotsi on a journey toward redemption. South African stage actor Presley Chweneyagae makes his film debut²² as the title character.
 

Scene from Tsotsi   
  
"Almost every scene in the movie is emotionally demanding and it was difficult for me to leave the character and be my own self, even after shooting the whole thing," he says. " After we finished the movie it was very difficult for me to detach myself from the character .. because Tsotsi is an island and when I played the character I tried to stay away from people and put myself in this guy's shoes."

Tsotsi is directed by Gavin Hood⁶, who adapted the screenplay from the novel by famed South African playwright²³ Athol Fugard.

Tsotsi, Paradise Now, Joyiex Noel, Sophie Scholl: The Final Days And Don't Tell - the nominees for Best Foreign Language Film at the 78th annual Academy Awards.

1 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

2 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

3 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

5 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

6 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

7 interrogator   

n.讯问者；审问者；质问者；询问器

参考例句：

• No,I was not mad, but my interrogator was furious. 不，我没疯，只是质问我的人怒不可遏。 来自互联网
• Miss Fan lacked such an interrogator with whom she could whisper intimately. 范小姐就缺少这样一个切切私语的盘问者。 来自互联网

8 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

9 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。

10 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

11 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

12 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

13 tenor   

n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意

参考例句：

• The tenor of his speech was that war would come.他讲话的大意是战争将要发生。
• The four parts in singing are soprano,alto,tenor and bass.唱歌的四个声部是女高音、女低音、男高音和男低音。

14 bagpipes   

n.风笛；风笛( bagpipe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Yes, and I'm also learning to play the bagpipes. 是的，我也想学习吹风笛。 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Mr. Vinegar took the bagpipes and the piper led the cow away. 于是醋溜先生拿过了风笛，风笛手牵走了奶牛。 来自互联网

15 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

16 misgivings   

n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧

参考例句：

• I had grave misgivings about making the trip. 对于这次旅行我有过极大的顾虑。
• Don't be overtaken by misgivings and fear. Just go full stream ahead! 不要瞻前顾后， 畏首畏尾。甩开膀子干吧！ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

17 martyrs   

n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情）

参考例句：

• the early Christian martyrs 早期基督教殉道者
• They paid their respects to the revolutionary martyrs. 他们向革命烈士致哀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 thorny   

adj.多刺的，棘手的

参考例句：

• The young captain is pondering over a thorny problem.年轻的上尉正在思考一个棘手的问题。
• The boys argued over the thorny points in the lesson.孩子们辩论功课中的难点。

19 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

20 punctuate   

vt.加标点于；不时打断

参考例句：

• The pupils have not yet learned to punctuate correctly.小学生尚未学会正确使用标点符号。
• Be sure to punctuate your sentences with the correct marks in the right places.一定要在你文章句子中的正确地方标上正确的标点符号。

21 gangster   

n.匪徒，歹徒，暴徒

参考例句：

• The gangster's friends bought off the police witness.那匪徒的朋友买通了警察方面的证人。
• He is obviously a gangster,but he pretends to be a saint.分明是强盗，却要装圣贤。

22 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

23 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。