French film wins London Film Critics' Circle top award

 　　LONDON, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The annual London Critics' Circle Film Awards saw 'Amour' triumph as best film, as well as picking up two further awards, on Sunday.

　　'Amour' is Austrian director Michael Haneke's French language tale of an elderly married couple, and has already won the Palme d'Or at last year's Cannes Film Festival and is nominated for best foreign language film in this year's Oscars.

　　'Amour' also picked up best actress award for Emmanuelle Riva, aged¹ 85, and best screenwriter for Haneke.

　　But Amour's Hanecke lost in the Director of the Year category to Taiwan-born director Ang Lee for 'Life of Pi'.

　　Best Actor Award went to Joaquin Phoenix² for his part in 'The Master', and Best Supporting Actor went to Philip Seymour Hoffman in the same film.

　　Best British actor was Toby Jones for his part in 'Berberian Sound Studio' which also won Best British Film award.

　　Anne Hathaway was named Best Actress for her part in 'Les Miserables', while Best British Actress was Andrea Riseborough for her role in 'Shadow Dancer'.

　　Xinhua spoke³ to actress Helena Bonham Carter who had been honored with the critics' circle top honor, the Award For Excellence⁴, about her performance in her latest movie 'Les Miserables' which is a contender in the upcoming British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards and the Oscars.

　　Bonham Carter had a previous outing in a musical in 'Sweeney Todd'.

　　She said "I like the tunes⁵, I've always liked the tunes. I know all the songs, and also I love singing. I'm not a singer, I'm just OK, but it's really just my dream."Director Mike Newell, who directed last year's Charles Dickens adaptation of "Great Expectations" and also the fourth of the Harry⁶ Potter films "Harry Potter and the Goblet⁷ of Fire", explained what he saw as the difference between American actors, who picked up the top awards from the Critics' Circle, and British actors, who were also honored.

　　"There's a huge difference between American and British actors," said Newell.

　　"British actors always come from stage training and on stage they are in control; they control the pace. American actors know that they are not in charge, it's producers and technicians who are in control. All the American actor has to do is to be very focused when he finally gets on," said Newell.

1 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

2 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

5 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

7 goblet   

n.高脚酒杯

参考例句：

• He poured some wine into the goblet.他向高脚酒杯里倒了一些葡萄酒。
• He swirled the brandy around in the huge goblet.他摇晃着高脚大玻璃杯使里面的白兰地酒旋动起来。