经济学人57:最强拍档 Friends united

 　　Books and Arts;New French film；Friends united；An unlikely comic hit；

　　文艺；法国新片；最强拍档；独特的喜剧冲击；

　　French film-makers are good at turning out silly comedies that foreigners find unwatchable. They have a better export record with highbrow, low-plot movies, set in chic¹ apartments with parquet² floors, that feel moodily³ French. Just occasionally, however, they come up with a comic gem⁴. “Intouchables”, directed by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, is one of those cleverly pitched, well-scripted, feel-good comic films typically crafted in Hollywood; it is a delight to see that the French can sometimes pull them off too. With more than 4m tickets sold since it opened earlier this month, the film is set to be a boxoffice smash.

　　法国电影制作人擅长导演让外国观众看不下去的无厘头喜剧。电影的口碑也多为孤芳自赏和缺乏情节，多以别致的公寓，干净的木地板为背景，让人能感觉到沉闷的法国风格。然而偶尔，他们也会有好的喜剧作品。由奥利维·那卡和艾力克·托兰达导演电影《不可触碰》就是一例。该电影制作精良，剧本精心推敲，倒像是典型出自好莱坞的喜剧片，很高兴看到法兰西人能时不时突破自己。影片自11月初首映以来就已突破400万张票房业绩，这部电影势必会成为一部轰动票房之作。

　　Based on a true story, it follows the improbable relationship between Philippe, a quadriplegic aristocrat⁵ (Francois Cluzet), and Driss (Omar Sy), a gregarious⁶ Senegal-born youth from the banlieues, the grim housing estates that ring Paris. On his release from prison, Driss is hired by Philippe in a moment of recklessness as a live-in help at his Paris mansion⁷. Philippe is warned that banlieue youths have “no pity”. No pity, replies the wheelchair-bound former paraglider wryly⁸, is just what I want.

　　电影根据真实故事改编，讲述的是菲利普，一个四肢瘫痪的贵族（弗朗索瓦·克鲁塞饰演）和Driss（奥玛·赛饰演）一位来自巴黎郊区破房子里的塞内加尔裔青年之间建立的一段几乎不可能的主仆友情。Driss刑满出狱后，菲利普没有经过考察便立刻雇佣了他，让他负责照顾自己在巴黎豪宅里的生活起居。当别人警告菲利普说这位郊区青年毫无“怜悯之心”时，没有怜悯之心？坐在轮椅上的这位曾经的跳伞健将冷冷的回到：这正是我要找的。

　　Less deftly⁹ handled, the treatment of such a subject could have fallen into a number of traps. Instead, the film's light touch finds comedy in both men's handicaps: the one physical, the other social. Each, in his own unsentimental way, understands the other better than do those around them. This unlikely chemistry is captured in the opening sequence, when Driss roars through the streets of night-time Paris, funk music at full blast and Philippe in the passenger seat, giving his employer the thrill of the Maserati he owns but cannot drive.

　　如果没有巧妙的处理的话，这类题材的电影可能会落入俗套。然而，这部电影的喜剧亮点放在了两个男人各自的缺陷上，一个是身体残疾，另一个是社交障碍。但彼此都没有感情冲动，都比周围其他人能更好的读懂对方。这种独特的味道在影片开场就有所展现。菲利普坐在副驾驶上，让Driss激动的开着自己拥有却无法驾驶的玛莎拉蒂，在夜晚的巴黎街头驰骋的时，车里充斥着劲爆的音乐。

　　French critics have been thoroughly¹⁰ charmed. Le Figaronewspaper called the film “faultless”. Paris-Match described it as “the best scripted, best acted, funniest and most moving that we have seen in a long time”. It has surely launched Mr Sy, a black comedian¹¹ best-known for a short nightly sketch¹² on Canal Plus, a television channel, on the way to stardom. Bob and Harvey Weinstein, two Hollywood producers, have acquired the rights for America and Britain. Here's hoping that English-language audiences will get to see the original French version, and not just a remake.

　　法国评论家已经被这部电影给彻底迷住了。《费加罗报》称电影“无可挑剔”。《巴黎竞赛》这样形容：我们已经很长一段时间内都没有看到像这样一部集“最佳剧本，最佳表演，最有趣，最感人”于一身的力作了。当然这部电影也使赛先生-这位法国有线电视每夜小品的黑人喜剧演员走上了星光大道。两位好莱坞制作人，鲍勃和哈维.维恩斯坦，也为美国和英国的观众拿到了版权，英语为母语的观众也有希望看到这部原味法国片，而不仅仅是部翻拍片了。

1 chic   

n./adj.别致(的)，时髦(的)，讲究的

参考例句：

• She bought a chic little hat.她买了一顶别致的小帽子。
• The chic restaurant is patronized by many celebrities.这家时髦的饭店常有名人光顾。

2 parquet   

n.镶木地板

参考例句：

• The parquet floors shone like mirrors.镶木地板亮得象镜子。
• The snail left a trail of slime along the parquet floor.蜗牛在镶木地板上留下一道黏液。

3 moodily   

adv.喜怒无常地；情绪多变地；心情不稳地；易生气地

参考例句：

• Pork slipped from the room as she remained staring moodily into the distance. 阿宝从房间里溜了出来，留她独个人站在那里瞪着眼睛忧郁地望着远处。 来自辞典例句
• He climbed moodily into the cab, relieved and distressed. 他忧郁地上了马车，既松了一口气，又忧心忡忡。 来自互联网

4 gem   

n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel

参考例句：

• The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
• The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。

5 aristocrat   

n.贵族，有贵族气派的人，上层人物

参考例句：

• He was the quintessential english aristocrat.他是典型的英国贵族。
• He is an aristocrat to the very marrow of his bones.他是一个道道地地的贵族。

6 gregarious   

adj.群居的，喜好群居的

参考例句：

• These animals are highly gregarious.这些动物非常喜欢群居。
• They are gregarious birds and feed in flocks.它们是群居鸟类，会集群觅食。

7 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

8 wryly   

adv. 挖苦地，嘲弄地

参考例句：

• Molly smiled rather wryly and said nothing. 莫莉苦笑着，一句话也没说。
• He smiled wryly, then closed his eyes and gnawed his lips. 他狞笑一声，就闭了眼睛，咬着嘴唇。 来自子夜部分

9 deftly   

adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He deftly folded the typed sheets and replaced them in the envelope. 他灵巧地将打有字的纸折好重新放回信封。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At last he had a clew to her interest, and followed it deftly. 这一下终于让他发现了她的兴趣所在，于是他熟练地继续谈这个话题。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

10 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

11 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

12 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。