《我们诞生在中国》 生生不息的故事

 　　Following the sweeping¹ success of Zootopia and The Jungle Book, Born in China (《我们诞生在中国》) is Disney’s third animal-centric film of the year. But unlike its *duo of animated² predecessors³, Born in China is a live-action feature, starring five of China’s native animal species – the red-crowned *crane, snow leopard⁴, golden snub-nosed monkey, Tibetan *antelope, and, of course, the giant panda.

　　继《疯狂动物城》和《奇幻森林》席卷全球、大获成功之后，《我们诞生在中国》是迪士尼本年度第三部以动物为主题的电影。但与先前两部动画片不同，《我们诞生在中国》是一部实景拍摄的故事片，五种中国本土的野生动物——丹顶鹤、雪豹、金丝猴、藏羚羊、当然，还有大熊猫——担任主角。

　　I went to the theater with expectations of a Discovery-style documentary, but was surprised to be met with a drama-like feature, which focused on five animals’ *intertwining tales.

　　在观影前，我以为这是一部探索频道式的纪录片，但后来，我却惊喜地发现，这是一部有剧情的电影，它讲述了五种动物命运交错的故事。

　　The beasts’ stories sometimes mirrored the everyday life of humans, including the mother panda who is reluctant to see her daughter grow up, no longer needing her care, but also tell a more *savage tale – including the *gut-wrenching arc of a mother snow leopard who dies of starvation, leaving her two young *cubs fighting to survive. The five animals’ narratives⁵ eventually meet to reveal the grand theme of the film: the Lion King-esque circle of life.

　　这些野生动物们的故事，有的是人们日常生活的写照：大熊猫妈妈不愿意看到女儿长大，那样的话女儿就不再需要自己的照顾了；也有的更为残酷——雪豹妈妈饿死了，留下两只幼崽艰难生存。这五种动物的故事最终殊途同归，都揭示了这部影片的宏大主题：电影《狮子王》式的生生不息。

　　I found it to be a story well told, with the right amount of thrill, humor and heart, until I discovered how the film was made – the production team had a pre-conceived story, editing the footage around it – that some of that sentiment was lost.

　　我认为故事讲得很好，影片将令人紧张激动、开怀一笑以及调动情感的情节运用得恰到好处。然而，当我发现这部电影的制作过程时——制作团队事先有一个设定好的剧本，并根据剧本剪辑镜头——我感觉这部影片中的一些情愫荡然无存。

　　Even though the director himself, Lu Chuan, said that the film is meant as a “narrative feature” rather than a documentary, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the tears shed at the movie’s most *poignant parts were shed in vain, and the emotions evoked⁶ in me by these animals’ lives I’d come to be so moved by were evoked under false *pretenses.

　　尽管导演陆川自己表示，本来就打算将这部电影拍成一部叙事性的故事片而非一部纪录片，但我还是无法接受，那些催人泪下的悲剧情节竟都是虚构的，而那些令我深深感动的动物生活，竟然也都是伪装的。

　　The movie’s narration⁷ is provided by Chinese actress Zhou Xun who, apart from presenting facts and background knowledge in a documentary style, also provides the “voices” of the film’s animal *protagonists.

　　本片的旁白是中国女演员周迅，除了讲述一些纪录片式的事实和背景知识外，她也为片中的动物主角们献声。

　　This “humanizing” seems *presumptuous though; how is a human to know what a wild animal is thinking and feeling?

　　虽然，这样的“拟人化”看起来有些自以为是；人类如何能知道野生动物们的想法和感受呢？

　　Perhaps this is just me being picky. After all, Born in China is one of the better films to hit Chinese screens this year and the outcome exceeds expectations considering its *excruciating production process. According to Lu, shooting took three years – the first month on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau went by without capturing anything usable due to the unpredictable habits of snow leopards⁸.

　　但或许是我太过挑剔了。毕竟，《我们诞生在中国》是今年登陆中国大银幕的最佳影片之一。而考虑到它极其艰辛的制作过程，这部影片的收效也远超预期。据陆川介绍，这部影片费时三年拍摄——由于雪豹的习性难以预测，在青藏高原的头一个月，制作团队连一点可用的素材都没有拍到。

　　Personal criticisms aside, if you simply want to see beautifully shot scenery alongside *stunning close-ups of majestic⁹ Chinese wildlife, Born in China is definitely worth your time.

　　不论个人评价如何，如果你只是想看到自然美景和令人惊叹的中国野生动物特写，《我们诞生在中国》绝对值得一看。

1 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

2 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

3 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 leopard   

n.豹

参考例句：

• I saw a man in a leopard skin yesterday.我昨天看见一个穿着豹皮的男人。
• The leopard's skin is marked with black spots.豹皮上有黑色斑点。

5 narratives   

记叙文( narrative的名词复数 )； 故事； 叙述； 叙述部分

参考例句：

• Marriage, which has been the bourne of so many narratives, is still a great beginning. 结婚一向是许多小说的终点，然而也是一个伟大的开始。
• This is one of the narratives that children are fond of. 这是孩子们喜欢的故事之一。

6 evoked   

[医]诱发的

参考例句：

• The music evoked memories of her youth. 这乐曲勾起了她对青年时代的回忆。
• Her face, though sad, still evoked a feeling of serenity. 她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。

7 narration   

n.讲述，叙述；故事；记叙体

参考例句：

• The richness of his novel comes from his narration of it.他小说的丰富多采得益于他的叙述。
• Narration should become a basic approach to preschool education.叙事应是幼儿教育的基本途径。

8 leopards   

n.豹( leopard的名词复数 )；本性难移

参考例句：

• Lions, tigers and leopards are all cats. 狮、虎和豹都是猫科动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• For example, airlines never ship leopards and canaries on the same flight. 例如，飞机上从来不会同时运送豹和金丝雀。 来自英语晨读30分（初三）

9 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。