美国国家公共电台 NPR In 'The Captain,' Clothes Make The Man — And The Monster

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

World War II movies often focus on courage under fire and battlefield heroics. But the German film "The Captain" takes another tack¹. It's set in the last moments of the Nazi² regime's collapse³ and centers on a German deserter. Critic Bob Mondello says the captain is a true story of deception⁴ gone haywire.

BOB MONDELLO, BYLINE⁵: An open field - you hear the war coming before you see it - a trumpet⁶, gunshots, then the roar of a truck.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE CAPTAIN")

MONDELLO: Willi Herold, a German deserter, is being chased across the field by drunken Nazi soldiers. They're in no rush. Herold's starving, half-frozen, exhausted⁷. Somehow, though, he makes it to the trees bordering the field and survives another day.

Herold's not the only German deserter in these last few days of the war. He comes across an abandoned car - inside, a suitcase with an officer's uniform, coat, boots, hat. He puts them on mostly for warmth and starts singing to himself - it is good luck - then freezes in panic as another German soldier comes into view and salutes⁸ him, asking to be attached to the captain.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE CAPTAIN")

MILAN PESCHEL: (As Freytag, speaking German).

MONDELLO: It takes Herold a moment to realize this means him. The new soldier fixes the car and becomes his driver. The uniform works on others, too. Herold, played by babyfaced Max Hubacher at first seems an innocent, using the uniform's power benignly⁹, say, to get a free meal. But when some locals bring him a soldier who's been stealing food, essentially¹⁰ what he's doing himself by getting that free meal, he realizes he either does what a real Nazi captain would do, or they'll see through him. So he does.

(SOUNDBITE OF GUNSHOT)

MONDELLO: Things escalate¹¹. He picks up a squad¹² of military police, blowing off their questions...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE CAPTAIN")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character, speaking German).

MAX HUBACHER: (As Willi Herold, speaking German).

MONDELLO: ...By claiming he's operating on the highest authority...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE CAPTAIN")

HUBACHER: (As Willi Herold, speaking German).

MONDELLO: ...And finds he can intimidate¹³ other officers, even ones who cite regulations and outrank him, by being the cruelest of the cruel, overseeing a bacchanal of brutality¹⁴.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE CAPTAIN")

MONDELLO: Remember that Stanford University prison experiment where students divided randomly¹⁵ into guards and prisoners took on the traits associated with those roles, guards becoming vicious, prisoners sullen¹⁶? Writer-director Robert Schwentke has imagined that dynamic in a society that's both monstrous¹⁷ and in mid-collapse, social restraints in full retreat.

(SOUNDBITE OF GUNFIRE)

MONDELLO: He's ensured that "The Captain" is as gorgeously shot in black and white as it is filled with hideous¹⁸ images - men flailing¹⁹ and dying as the leading character eats a sumptuous²⁰ dinner unconcerned, whole platoons blown apart by airborne bombs, the near-dead walking through a field of skeletons. "The Captain" is so violent that it starts to feel gratuitous²¹ until a postscript²² calculated to leave audiences slack-jawed. I won't spoil its surprise, but I will say that it happens behind the final credits. And once it starts, if you're anything like me, you won't see a single name. I'm Bob Mondello.

1 tack   

n.大头钉；假缝，粗缝

参考例句：

• He is hammering a tack into the wall to hang a picture.他正往墙上钉一枚平头钉用来挂画。
• We are going to tack the map on the wall.我们打算把这张地图钉在墙上。

2 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

3 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

4 deception   

n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计

参考例句：

• He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
• He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。

5 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。

6 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

7 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

8 salutes   

n.致敬，欢迎，敬礼( salute的名词复数 )v.欢迎，致敬( salute的第三人称单数 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• Poulengey salutes, and stands at the door awaiting orders. 波仑日行礼，站在门口听侯命令。 来自辞典例句
• A giant of the world salutes you. 一位世界的伟人向你敬礼呢。 来自辞典例句

9 benignly   

adv.仁慈地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Everyone has to benignly help people in distress. 每一个人应让该亲切地帮助有困难的人。 来自互联网
• This drug is benignly soporific. 这种药物具有良好的催眠效果。 来自互联网

10 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

11 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。

12 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

13 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

14 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

15 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

16 sullen   

adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的

参考例句：

• He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
• Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。

17 monstrous   

adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的

参考例句：

• The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升，形成了一个巨大的烟柱。
• Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人！

18 hideous   

adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的

参考例句：

• The whole experience had been like some hideous nightmare.整个经历就像一场可怕的噩梦。
• They're not like dogs,they're hideous brutes.它们不像狗，是丑陋的畜牲。

19 flailing   

v.鞭打( flail的现在分词 )；用连枷脱粒；（臂或腿）无法控制地乱动；扫雷坦克

参考例句：

• He became moody and unreasonable, flailing out at Katherine at the slightest excuse. 他变得喜怒无常、不可理喻，为点鸡毛蒜皮的小事就殴打凯瑟琳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His arms were flailing in all directions. 他的手臂胡乱挥舞着。 来自辞典例句

20 sumptuous   

adj.豪华的，奢侈的，华丽的

参考例句：

• The guests turned up dressed in sumptuous evening gowns.客人们身着华丽的夜礼服出现了。
• We were ushered into a sumptuous dining hall.我们被领进一个豪华的餐厅。

21 gratuitous   

adj.无偿的，免费的；无缘无故的，不必要的

参考例句：

• His criticism is quite gratuitous.他的批评完全没有根据。
• There's too much crime and gratuitous violence on TV.电视里充斥着犯罪和无端的暴力。

22 postscript   

n.附言，又及；(正文后的)补充说明

参考例句：

• There was the usual romantic postscript at the end of his letter.他的信末又是一贯的浪漫附言。
• She mentioned in a postscript to her letter that the parcel had arrived.她在信末附笔中说包裹已寄到。