VOA标准英语2013--'War Witch' is Modern Tale of Horror in Film

 

'War Witch' is Modern Tale of Horror in Film

After rebels snatch her from her people, Komona is forced to become a child soldier. 

She is told: “We are rebels. Respect your guns. They are your new mother and father.”

Komona is given “magic milk” from the trees, a hallucinogen that makes her see ghosts in the forest. They warn her of enemy fire and so she becomes known as a witch.

But Komona is just a little girl. She learns the mechanics of killing¹ but craves² a normal life. In the midst of war, Komona falls in love with another child soldier.

Filmmaker Kim Nguyen infused romance into the story because, he said, even in the middle of carnage, life goes on.

“When I visited Burundi, I saw these realities where people are struggling to find a meal every day and they are fighting and there is violence and yet you still hear in the night jealous husbands, jealous wives screaming at each other," said Nguyen. "We’re still looking for love, for a family, for stability, for faithfulness, continuity, whatever, even in the completely chaotic³ state of war.”

Rachel Mwanza plays Komona. Although not trained as an actress, she delivers a devastating⁴ performance, channeling her personal experience with homelessness.

She said her goal is to start a foundation to help homeless children in Congo. 

"And really that's my idea, that I would like to help the children of the street because in the street there are many children who suffer. There are many people who suffer in my country. I know many people who I see are suffering," said Mwanza.

War Witch presents the struggles of people in a violent world where tradition and superstition⁵ reign⁶.

1 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。

2 craves   

渴望，热望( crave的第三人称单数 )； 恳求，请求

参考例句：

• The tree craves calm but the wind will not drop. 树欲静而风不止。
• Victory would give him a passport to the riches he craves. 胜利将使他有机会获得自己梦寐以求的财富。

3 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

4 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

5 superstition   

n.迷信，迷信行为

参考例句：

• It's a common superstition that black cats are unlucky.认为黑猫不吉祥是一种很普遍的迷信。
• Superstition results from ignorance.迷信产生于无知。

6 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。