{"id":8341,"date":"2018-12-27T07:32:44","date_gmt":"2018-12-27T07:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.blog.thatsmandarin.com\/?p=8341"},"modified":"2018-12-27T07:32:44","modified_gmt":"2018-12-27T07:32:44","slug":"mandarin-chinese-in-western-movies-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/api.thatsmandarin.com\/blog\/mandarin-chinese-in-western-movies-i\/","title":{"rendered":"Mandarin Chinese in Western Movies"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tFor the past two weeks, we’ve been exploring Mandarin Chinese spoken by actors and actresses<\/a> in Western TV Shows<\/a>. Some of them\u00a0turned out to speak Chinese really well! So today, we’re going to turn to movies\u00a0– and explore\u00a0Mandarin Chinese in Western movies.<\/p>\n

The questions are the same: What phrases did the characters use? How good was their Chinese? And especially, how good was their pronunciation? Could native speakers understand them?<\/p>\n

Ready… Steady… Go!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mandarin Chinese in \u2018The Day the Earth Stood Still\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u00a0\"Mandarin<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Day the Earth Stood Still (\u5730\u7403\u505c\u8f6c\u4e4b\u65e5 D\u00ecqi\u00fa T\u00edngzhu\u01cen Zh\u012b R\u00ec)<\/strong>\u00a0is a 2008 American science fiction thriller film, a loose adaptation of the\u00a01951 film of the same name.It\u2019s a story of an alien who arrived to our planet with a warning: if wars and destruction do not stop, planet Earth will be destroyed, as it poses a threat to the rest of the Universe. The cast was impressive: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Kathy Bates.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Keanu Reeves Speaks Chinese<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"Mandarin<\/p>\n

There is a part in which Keanu Reeves (Klaatu) meets with an old Chinese man (Mr. Wu, another alien) and they speak Chinese.\u00a0Let\u2019s see what they are talking about:<\/p>\n

Klaatu: \u6211\u4eec\u548c\u4f60\u5931\u53bb\u8054\u7cfb\u5f88\u4e45\u4e86\u3002W\u01d2men h\u00e9 n\u01d0 sh\u012bq\u00f9 li\u00e1nx\u00ec h\u011bnji\u01d4le. (\u2018You’ve been out of contact for a long time.\u2019)<\/em><\/p>\n

Mr. Wu: \u6211\u4efb\u52a1\u5f88\u5371\u9669\u7684\u3002W\u01d2 r\u00e8nw\u00f9 h\u011bn w\u00e9ixi\u01cen de. (\u2018I had a dangerous assignment.\u2019) \u8fd9\u4e2a\u5730\u65b9\u4e0d\u662f\u5f88\u53cb\u5584\u3002Zh\u00e8ge d\u00ecf\u0101ng b\u00f9sh\u00ec h\u011bn y\u01d2ush\u00e0n. (\u2018This is hostile territory.\u2019)
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Klaatu: \u6211\u6ce8\u610f\u5230\u4e86\u3002W\u01d2 zh\u00f9y\u00ec d\u00e0ole. (I’ve noticed.) \u6211\u4ee5\u4e3a\u80fd\u548c\u4ed6\u4eec\u8bb2\u9053\u7406 W\u01d2 y\u01d0w\u00e9i n\u00e9ng h\u00e9 t\u0101men ji\u01ceng d\u00e0ol\u01d0. (I was hoping I could reason with them.)
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Mr. Wu: \u6211\u60f3\u4ed6\u4eec\u4e0d\u9700\u8981\u7231\u597d\u548c\u5e73\u7684\u3002W\u01d2 xi\u01ceng t\u0101men b\u00f9 x\u016by\u00e0o \u00e0ih\u00e0o h\u00e9p\u00edng de. (I’m afraid they are not a reasonable race.) \u6211\u8ddf\u4ed6\u4eec\u4e00\u8d77\u751f\u6d3b\u4e03\u5341\u5e74\u4e86 W\u01d2 g\u0113n t\u0101men y\u012bq\u01d0 sh\u0113nghu\u00f3 q\u012bsh\u00ed ni\u00e1n le. (I’ve been living amongst them for seventy years now.) \u6211\u5f88\u4e86\u89e3\u4ed6\u4eec\u3002 W\u01d2 h\u011bn li\u01ceoji\u011b t\u0101men. (I know them well.)
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Klaatu: \u8fd8\u6709\u5462\uff1f H\u00e1i y\u01d2u ne? (And?)
\nMr. Wu: \u00a0\u4efb\u4f55\u89c4\u529d\u90fd\u662f\u6ca1\u7528\u7684\u3002R\u00e8nh\u00e9 gu\u012bqu\u00e0n d\u014du sh\u00ec m\u00e9i y\u00f2ng de. (Any attempt to intercede with them would be futile.) \u4ed6\u4eec\u5177\u6709\u6bc1\u706d\u6027\uff0c\u53c8\u4e0d\u80af\u6539\u53d8\u3002 T\u0101men j\u00f9y\u01d2u hu\u01d0mi\u00e8 x\u00ecng, y\u00f2u b\u00f9 k\u011bn g\u01ceibi\u00e0n. (They are destructive, and they won’t change.)
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Klaatu:\u00a0 \u8fd9\u662f\u4f60\u5bf9\u4ed6\u4eec\u7684\u6b63\u5f0f\u8bc4\u4f30\u5417? Zh\u00e8 sh\u00ec n\u01d0 du\u00ec t\u0101men de zh\u00e8ngsh\u00ec p\u00edngg\u016b ma? (Is that your official report?)
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Mr. Wu: \u6700\u53ef\u60b2\u7684\uff0c\u662f\u4ed6\u4eec\u660e\u660e\u77e5\u9053\u7ed3\u679c Zu\u00ec k\u011bb\u0113i de, sh\u00ec t\u0101men m\u00edngm\u00edng zh\u012bd\u00e0o ji\u00e9gu\u01d2\u3002(The tragedy is, they know what’s going to become of them.) \u611f\u89c9\u5230\u4e86 G\u01cenju\u00e9 d\u00e0ole. (They sense it.) \u4e0d\u8fc7\u4ed6\u4eec\u4e0d\u77e5\u9053\u600e\u4e48\u529e\u3002 B\u00f9gu\u00f2 t\u0101men b\u00f9 zh\u012bd\u00e0o z\u011bnme b\u00e0n. (But they can’t seem to do anything about it.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Klaatu: \u90a3\u5c31\u8fd9\u4e48\u89e3\u51b3\u5427\u3002N\u00e0 ji\u00f9 zh\u00e8me ji\u011bju\u00e9 ba (It’s decided then.) \u6211\u4f1a\u5c3d\u5feb\u542f\u52a8\u7a0b\u5e8f\u7684\u3002 W\u01d2 hu\u00ec j\u01d0nku\u00e0i q\u01d0d\u00f2ng ch\u00e9ngx\u00f9 de. (I’ll begin the process as soon as possible.) \u6211\u4eec\u505a\u597d\u79bb\u5f00\u7684\u51c6\u5907\u3002 W\u01d2men zu\u00f2 h\u01ceo l\u00edk\u0101i de zh\u01d4nb\u00e8i. (We should make preparations for our departure.)<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How good is his Chinese, really?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Keanu tries very hard to say his lines right. His tones are good, and the pronunciation ain’t bad overall. It was still a bit hard for Chinese audience to understand what he said, but Keanu put a lot of effort into it! So despite the accent, we believe his Chinese is really good.<\/p>\n

Some might think he is just good at learning and remembering his lines; but Keanu Reeves actually has some Chinese ancestry. According to his own words: “My grandmother is Chinese and Hawaiian so I was around\u00a0Chinese art,\u00a0furniture, and\u00a0cuisine\u00a0when I was growing up.”. That means, he’d really had some experience\u00a0speaking Chinese before. Good job, Keanu!<\/p>\n

Chinese level: \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mandarin Chinese in <\/strong>\u2018Limitless\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"Mandarin<\/p>\n

Limitless\u00a0(\u6c38\u65e0\u6b62\u5883 Y\u01d2ng w\u00fa zh\u01d0 j\u00ecng)<\/strong> is a 2011 American science fiction thriller, directed by Neil Burger. The plot is simple: Eddie Morra is a struggling author who lives in New York City. His girlfriend Lindy, frustrated with the lack of progress over his book contract, breaks up with him. Eddie encounters Vernon, the brother of his ex-wife Melissa, who gives Eddie a sample of a new drug called NZT-48. Then, the movie stars to turn into something like \u201cLucy\u201d, but without Scarlett Johansson.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bradly Cooper Speaks Chinese<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"Mandarin<\/p>\n

There is a scene in which the main character, Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) meets Lindy at a Chinese restaurant, where he orders lunch in fluent Mandarin. He speaks it in a proud and show-off manner, obviously wanting to surprise Lindy. Yet only he thinks that he speaks Chinese well. Or if he speaks it at all. Let\u2019s go through the whole Chinese dialog with the waiter here and see what is Eddie trying to say. (And I have to tell you that in is almost impossible without subtitles. He\u2019s trying to order sweet chicken):<\/p>\n

Eddie Morra: \u70b8\u9171\u9762\u3001\u4e24\u4e2a\u8471\u6cb9\u997c\u3001\u9752\u8471\u70e7\u9f99\u867e\u3002Zh\u00e1 ji\u00e0ng mi\u00e0n, li\u01ceng g\u00e8 c\u014dng y\u00f3ub\u01d0ng, q\u012bngc\u014dng sh\u0101o l\u00f3ngxi\u0101. (Noodles with fried bean sauce, two onion oil cakes, spring onion roast lobster.) \u5343\u4e07\u4e0d\u8981\u7ed9\u6211\u5473\u7cbe\uff01 Qi\u0101n w\u00e0n b\u00f9y\u00e0o g\u011bi w\u01d2 w\u00e8ij\u012bng! (Absolutely do not give me MSG!)<\/em><\/p>\n

Waiter:<\/em> \u56f4\u5dfe\u4f1a\u4fdd\u62a4\u4f60\u7684\u8863\u670d\u3002W\u00e9ij\u012bn hu\u00ec b\u01ceoh\u00f9 n\u01d0 de y\u012bf\u00fa. (A scarf will protect your clothes.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Eddie Morra:<\/em> \u53ef\u662f\u4e0d\u4f1a\u4fdd\u62a4\u6211\u7684\u80ae\u810f\u624b!\u00a0 K\u011bsh\u00ec b\u00f9 hu\u00ec b\u01ceoh\u00f9 w\u01d2de \u0101ngz\u0101ng sh\u01d2u! \uff08But it won’t protect my dirty hands!\uff09<\/em><\/p>\n

Joke?<\/h3>\n

It planned to be a joke in Mandarin. And it is really funny, if you say the whole joke properly. Not in our case. The whole joke is built on Chinese pronunciation. The thing is that these words \u201cmsg\u201d and \u201cscarf\u201d have the same pronunciation but different tones: w\u00e8ij\u012bng for msg, and w\u00e9ij\u012bn for scarf.<\/p>\n

The waiter jokes that a scarf (instead of msg, what Cooper really means) would protect his clothes whilst eating the lobster. Cooper says that it wouldn\u2019t protect his dirty hands. See the difference? It can work out only if you know how to say it properly. The joke was lost here. Even more, this scene has two jokes! The other one is Cooper\u2019s mentioning his \u201cdirty hands\u201d, which obviously has a figurative meaning. But this joke can\u2019t work because the expression \u201cdirty hands\u201d don\u2019t have this figurative meaning in Chinese. Adding the awful Cooper\u2019s Chinese pronunciation, we get an epic fail! And that\u2019s a pity for such a good movie.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How good is his Chinese, really?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Of course, the Chinese audience couldn\u2019t understand a word Eddie Morra said in this scene. They couldn\u2019t help laughing. We are sure that Bradley Cooper put a lot of effort into this movie, but when it comes to his Chinese skills – he hasn\u2019t really succeeded.<\/p>\n

Chinese level: \u2605\u2606\u2606\u2606\u2606<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mandarin Chinese in \u2018Batman Begins\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u00a0\"Mandarin<\/strong><\/p>\n

Batman Begins (\u300a\u8759\u8760\u4fa0\uff1a\u4fa0\u5f71\u4e4b\u8c1c\u300bBi\u0101nf\u00faxi\u00e1: Xi\u00e1 y\u01d0ng zh\u012b m\u00ed)<\/strong>\u00a0is a 2005 superhero movie based on DC Comics Character Batman, directed by Christopher Nolan. This movie\u00a0explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight’s emergence in Gotham.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Christian Bale Speaks Chinese<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"Mandarin<\/p>\n

There\u2019s only one scene in which Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) speaks Chinese. It\u2019s just a short phrase, which he said to the policemen when they found him:<\/p>\n

\u6211\u4e0d\u662f\u72af\u4eba\uff01<\/em> W\u01d2 b\u00f9sh\u00ec f\u00e0nr\u00e9n! (I\u2019m not a criminal!)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How good is his Chinese, really?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s really short, so perhaps it would be unfair to test Christian Bale\u2019s Chinese skills based on it. But we must say \u2013 he said it perfectly well! The pronunciation, the tones and the intonation are all good. Good job, Christian Bale! Maybe someday, Batman will speak more Chinese on the big screen.<\/p>\n

Chinese level: \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To learn about more movies and more Western actors speaking Chinese, read Mandarin Chinese in Western Movies, Part 2<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

What movies have we missed?<\/em><\/p>\n

Share in the comments below \u2013 or tweet us at @thatsmandarin<\/a>.<\/em>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the past two weeks, we’ve been exploring Mandarin Chinese spoken by actors and actresses in Western TV Shows. Some of them\u00a0turned out to speak Chinese really well! So today, we’re going to turn to movies\u00a0– and explore\u00a0Mandarin Chinese in Western movies. The questions are the same: What phrases did the characters use? 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