Legends of the fall 《燃情岁月》（视频精讲之四）

影片对白

Samuel: Tristan, get back to your unit.

Tristan: Those boys are boring. I'd rather have you watching my back.

Man: Go, mate .

Samuel: February 3rd, 1915. Dear Susannah. The horror of this place is indescribable. Nothing is as I thought it would be. Tonight as I prayed for the souls of those who died so terribly yet so bravely, I admit that I also prayed for personal glory. Is that wrong to want to distinguish myself gloriously in combat as my father did? Tristan and Alfred watch over me so carefully that I may never get the opportunity.

Man: Charge !

Tristan: God damn it! Are you hit?

Samuel: It's just a scratch. 

Samuel: Susannah, I see now not that my father was right but that I was naive¹.

Samuel: Let me get up! Damn it!

Tristan: Stay down!

Man: Fall back!

Samuel: Still, we place our bodies in God's keeping. We go into battle honorably. Full of confidence, with His name on our lips.

Man1: We're pinned here.

Man2: We'll wait.

Man3: Give him a hand.

Man4: Help him down.

Samuel: Susannah, I try to guard against despair , but there are moments when it seems all human decency² is broken done. Alfred will recover from his wounds. But he and Tristan seem to have drifted apart, or worse. And I cannot understand it. I miss you more than you can imagine. You're all that's clean and cool and pure. I close my eyes and fix my thoughts on you. I now regret that we listened to everyone and agreed to wait to marry. Even more, I regret that I left before we could be together as we planned to be, my love. Please stay on at the ranch³ and wait for me. Don't let Father worry. I know God's mercy will protect me, aided considerably⁴ by Tristan, who seems to come to France less to fight the Germans than to act as my nursemaid. Be well, my love. Your own, Samuel.

妙语佳句，活学活用

1. Mate

这是一个男人之间常用的词，意思是“哥儿们，老兄，伙计”。比如：Sorry mate, you have to wait. 对不起，伙计，你得等着。

2. Distinguish oneself

“使出名/杰出”的意思。Samuel 这句话的意思是：我想像我父亲那样在战斗中建功立业，难道错了吗？

3. Are you hit?

“Are you hit by bullet?”的简略说法。

4. Scratch

“擦伤”的意思。

5. Stay down

“蹲下！”在一些打斗游戏中常可见这类说法，其他的还有 take cover 找掩护，move 走（行动起来的意思，也可以表示跑），charge 进攻，fall back 撤退。

6. We're pinned here.

“我们被困在这里了。” Pin 的本意是“大头针”，也可以做动词表示“钉住，别住，困住”，例如：The passenger was pinned under the wreckage⁵ of the truck. 卡车翻车后，乘客们被卡住了。

7. Guard against despair

Guard against 的意思是“提防，预防”，这里 Samuel 的意思是“我试着让自己不要绝望”。

文化面面观

第一次世界大战 World War I

1914～1918年同盟国集团和协约国集团之间为重新瓜分殖民地和势力范围、争夺世界霸权而进行的第一次世界规模的战争。这场帝国主义战争历时4年3个月，战火燃遍欧洲大陆，延及非洲和亚洲，大西洋的北海海域、地中海和太平洋的南部海域都曾发生激烈的海战。先后卷入这场战争的有33个国家，人口在15亿以上。

整个战争大体分3个阶段。影片中所展示的是战争第二阶段的西线战场。

1915年德军在西线处于战略防御状态，部署着200万军队。法英联军共有300万人，以法军为主。1915年春，法英联军先后在香槟、阿杜瓦等地区对德军发动进攻，联军伤亡巨大，收效甚微 。这就是影片中出现的进攻镜头。4月下旬，德军反击法英联军，发动第二次伊普尔战役。德军不择手段，在伊普尔以北英法军结合部放置6000个毒气罐，借助西北风向英军阵地施放大量氯气，英军1.5万人中毒，其中约5000人死亡。这是德军第一次在战场上使用毒气。在影片随后的片断中，Samuel 出外侦查时，被德军的毒气毒瞎了眼睛，而后被德军的机枪打死。

思想火花

理想与现示：Samuel 的人生转折

Samuel 是个典型的理想主义者。他受过高等教育，从小在父兄的宠爱下长大，他找到的未婚妻 Susannah 也是美好的如他梦中所想，所以才会一见钟情。至此，对 Samuel 来说，人生可谓事事如意。当战争来临的时候，Samuel 的理想主义和社会责任感，还有想要像父亲那样建功立业的强烈愿望促使他上了战场，去进行他所谓的"伟大战争"。但是这一切都被战争的残酷击碎了。

看着身边的同伴一个接一个地在炮火中倒下，Samuel 开始对战争的残酷有所了解：The horror of this place is indescribable. Nothing is as I thought it would be. 他开始明白父亲极力劝阻他参战是正确的，但是却还是梦想能建立 personal glory：I see now not that my father was right but that I was naive. 真实的战 争带给他的是绝望：I try to guard against despair, but there are moments when it seems all human decency is broken done. 他更加思念远方的未婚妻，后悔没有在走之前和她在一起。

战争的残酷和炮火的洗礼本来可以使 Samuel 变得成熟，如果他不是贸贸然地上场送死的话。但是，人物的性格决定命运，人生没有偶然。Samuel 在Tristan 去探望受伤的Alfred 时，贸然到前线去侦察。Tristan 闻讯后立马上前线寻找Samuel。就在 Tristan 找到Samuel 时，被毒气弄瞎眼睛的Samuel 被德军机枪扫死。这一次渴望建功立业的行动使得没有经验的 Samuel 命丧战场。他的理想、他的责任还有他的激情由此结束。

萨姆的死对后一段故事的影响是具有决定性的。阿尔弗莱德与崔斯丁的彻底决裂就是由萨姆的死所触发的。应该说两人积怨的根本原因还是对苏珊娜的爱，阿尔弗莱德以萨姆的死为由责怪崔斯丁，而崔斯丁也因萨姆的死而深感自责。其结果直接推动了阿尔弗莱德的离开，进而推动了故事向后发展。阿尔弗莱德与崔斯丁的心结一直就以萨姆的死为外化物贯穿二人关系始终。这也推动了本片中“兄弟之情”一线剧情的发展。

Legends of the fall 《燃情岁月》（精讲之三）考考你 参考答案

1. 你应该对这些学生们宽容一点。毕竟他们还都是孩子。
You should be easy on these students. After all, they are kids.

2. 我赌15美元，你驯服不了那匹马。
I've got 15 dollar that says you can't break the horse.

 

1 naive   

adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的

参考例句：

• It's naive of you to believe he'll do what he says.相信他会言行一致，你未免太单纯了。
• Don't be naive.The matter is not so simple.你别傻乎乎的。事情没有那么简单。

2 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

3 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

4 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

5 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。