2007年VOA标准英语-Film Depicts Cruelty of War

By Amra Alirejsovic
Los Angeles, California
26 April 2007
 

Harun Mehmedinovic is a young Bosnian-American filmmaker who is studying at the American Film Institute (A.F.I.) in California, one of the most prestigious¹ film schools in the world. His latest short film is "In the Name of the Son," a film that begins during the war in Bosnia during the early ‘90s and ends in present day America. It is a story of survival² and living with guilt³. VOA's Amra Alirejsovic caught up with the film's director and stars in Los Angeles. Jim Bertel narrates⁴.

Harun Mehmedinovic

"What attracted me to this movie,” says director Harun Mehmedinovic, “is the idea of having two men close to death. The one you expect to survive, dies, and the one you expect to die, survives. A father kills his own son. I began developing the movie from that very moment, a father killing⁵ his son. It was important to me to avoid the question of religion and politics, and to focus on the human aspect of the story."

Harun Mehmedinovic created "In the Name of the Son" as his master's thesis⁶ for school but is gaining plaudits far beyond the classroom. The film will be featured at this year's Bosnia Herzegovinian Film Festival in New York City in May (May 11 - 12).

Bosnian actor Zeljko Dimic says it was difficult preparing to play the Bosnian Serb father who kills his son.

"I worked a lot on emotions and I was thinking a lot about my character, what kind of a father could kill his son because of an idea and circumstances called war? I came to the conclusion that my character represents what has been happening to us for centuries. He could wear any uniform, with any insignia, and kill his own son for something that simply vanishes⁷. With this character I also wanted to send a message of how senseless it is to give or take life for something we believe is worth more than life itself," Dimic said.

Sergej Trifunovic plays the dead boy's friend who eventually moves to the U.S. "I think this movie is very human, very touching⁸ and disturbing at the same time. But it is also very important, because it does not take sides."

Mehmedinovic was a child in Sarajevo during the war and says he lived in constant fear for his life. "There is no character in this movie that I can identify with.  My war is different from their war."

As he prepares to graduate from A.F.I., Mehmedinovic says his next goal is to make a full-length feature film.

1 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

2 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

3 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

4 narrates   

v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It narrates the unconstitutional acts of James II. 它历数了詹姆斯二世的违法行为。 来自辞典例句
• Chapter three narrates the economy activity which Jew return the Occident. 第三章讲述了犹太人重返西欧后的经济活动。 来自互联网

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 thesis   

n.论题，论点，论文

参考例句：

• His thesis is being finished off.他的论文快写完了。
• He argued his thesis well.他为他的论点进行了有力的辩论。

7 vanishes   

消失( vanish的第三人称单数 )； 突然不见； 不复存在； 绝迹

参考例句：

• When this tensor vanishes, the space is calleda flat. 当这一张量为零时，空间叫做平直空间。
• If the circulation vanishes at one instant of time, it must vanish for all times. 只要环量在某一瞬间为零，它就必须永远为零。

8 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。