美国国家公共电台 NPR In 'Foxtrot,' Grief And Fate Come Together In A Brutal, Beautiful Dance

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

On the Oscars telecast Sunday night, a presenter¹ will read the names of five nominees² for the best foreign language film. Missing from that list is one highly acclaimed³ film, "Foxtrot" from Israel. And critic Bob Mondello says that's a shame.

BOB MONDELLO, BYLINE⁴: There are three acts to "Foxtrot," the first set in a high-rise apartment building in Tel Aviv.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FOXTROT")

MONDELLO: An apartment doorbell - Mrs. Feldmann answers the door...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FOXTROT")

MONDELLO: ...Sees two soldiers, one of whom says her name.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FOXTROT")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Gveret Feldmann...

MONDELLO: And without another word spoken, she collapses⁵.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FOXTROT")

MONDELLO: The second soldier has already moved into position to catch her. They're old hands at this. They sedate⁶ her and carry her to a bedroom, then return to the living room where her husband has been standing⁷ motionless since the door first opened.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FOXTROT")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Mar⁸ Feldmann...

MONDELLO: Mr. Feldmann, says the soldier, I'm sorry. There's no easy way to say this. Your son, Jonathan, was killed tonight in the line of duty. What follows is efficient, down-to-Earth and excruciating. The details of a military funeral are laid out dispassionately as if by a wedding planner. Images are elegant, faces in close-up, geometric patterns. Emotions are messy, family members told, plans made. Grief is palpable. And then abruptly⁹ it's not.

The action shifts in part two to a desert highway - a deserted¹⁰ highway where checkpoint Foxtrot lies midway between nothing and nowhere. The images here border on the surreal - the checkpoint gate rising to let an unaccompanied camel lope through, the young soldiers manning the gate sitting under a beach umbrella. One riffs briefly¹¹ on the checkpoint's name. The steps in a foxtrot, he says...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FOXTROT")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character, speaking Hebrew).

MONDELLO: ...Are simple - forward, forward, to the side, and stop.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FOXTROT")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character, speaking Hebrew).

MONDELLO: Back, back, to the side, and stop.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FOXTROT")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character, speaking Hebrew).

MONDELLO: And then...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FOXTROT")

MONDELLO: He's hugging his weapon close in movement that has nothing to do with foxtrot, all to do with youth - anarchic, joyous¹², so loose-limbed he barely seems to have bones in his legs. Fifty-seven seconds of breathtaking abandon in a godforsaken spot where all else is tedium¹³. Nearby, there's a rusted-out van painted with the beaming face of a girl enjoying an ice cream cone¹⁴, also a shipping¹⁵ container that serves as the soldiers' barracks. That container is sinking, a metaphor¹⁶ for Israel perhaps. Filmmaker Samuel Maoz leaves that for viewers to interpret while also leaving no doubt through sequences of violation¹⁷ and violence where the film stands on the moral hazards of long-term military occupation. The psychological hazards he saves for the film's third section, which returns the action to Tel Aviv and brings the first two parts together with a wrenching¹⁸ snap.

"Foxtrot" is every bit as harsh as it is beautifully shot, an artist's meditation¹⁹ not just on society but on fate. The way the kid describes a foxtrot, remember - the steps always take you back where you started. And that's true for these characters despite that one moment of blissful, youthful anarchy²⁰, that dance in the desert where the world just seemed to melt away. I'm Bob Mondello.

(SOUNDBITE OF PEREZ PRADO SONG, "QUE RICO EL MAMBO")

1 presenter   

n.（电视、广播的）主持人，赠与者

参考例句：

• Most people think being a television presenter is exciting.很多人认为当电视节目主持人是一件刺激的事情。
• The programme dispensed with its most popular presenter.这个节目最受欢迎的主持人被换掉了。

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 acclaimed   

adj.受人欢迎的

参考例句：

• They acclaimed him as the best writer of the year. 他们称赞他为当年的最佳作者。
• Confuscius is acclaimed as a great thinker. 孔子被赞誉为伟大的思想家。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 collapses   

折叠( collapse的第三人称单数 )； 倒塌； 崩溃； （尤指工作劳累后）坐下

参考例句：

• This bridge table collapses. 这张桥牌桌子能折叠。
• Once Russia collapses, the last chance to stop Hitler will be gone. 一旦俄国垮台，抑止希特勒的最后机会就没有了。

6 sedate   

adj.沉着的，镇静的，安静的

参考例句：

• After the accident,the doctor gave her some pills to sedate her.事故发生后，医生让她服了些药片使她镇静下来。
• We spent a sedate evening at home.我们在家里过了一个恬静的夜晚。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

9 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

10 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

11 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

12 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

13 tedium   

n.单调；烦闷

参考例句：

• We played games to relieve the tedium of the journey.我们玩游戏，来解除旅行的沉闷。
• In myself I could observe the following sources of tedium. 从我自己身上，我所观察到的烦闷的根源有下列一些。

14 cone   

n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果

参考例句：

• Saw-dust piled up in a great cone.锯屑堆积如山。
• The police have sectioned off part of the road with traffic cone.警察用锥形路标把部分路面分隔开来。

15 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

16 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

17 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

18 wrenching   

n.修截苗根，苗木铲根（铲根时苗木不起土或部分起土）v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的现在分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛

参考例句：

• China has been through a wrenching series of changes and experiments. 中国经历了一系列艰苦的变革和试验。 来自辞典例句
• A cold gust swept across her exposed breast, wrenching her back to reality. 一股寒气打击她的敞开的胸膛，把她从梦幻的境地中带了回来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

19 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

20 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。