美国国家公共电台 NPR In 'Dunkirk,' Christopher Nolan Brings New Life To True World War II Story

 

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

Filmmaker Christopher Nolan introduced himself to audiences by telling a story backwards¹ in "Memento²." He surprised audiences again by bringing seriousness to superhero movies with his "Dark Knight³" trilogy. Our critic Bob Mondello says now Nolan has done a new kind of rethink for a real-life World War II story. It's called "Dunkirk."

BOB MONDELLO, BYLINE⁴: The first image on screen is at once bizarre and beautiful - a handful of British soldiers walking a French town's deserted⁵ streets as scraps⁶ of paper flutter down from the sky. They're inscribed⁷ with the unnerving words, we surround you. And as if to prove that, gunfire erupts. When one soldier, a slender kid named Tommy, runs past sandbags to escape, he finds a scene even more bizarre - a beach with tens of thousands of British troops lined up single-file right down to the water, trapped, awaiting rescue from an England so close it seems almost visible in the distance.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DUNKIRK")

JAMES D'ARCY: (As Colonel Winnant) The enemy tanks have stopped.

KENNETH BRANAGH: (As Commander Bolton) Why?

D'ARCY: (As Colonel Winnant) Why waste precious tanks when they can pick us off from the air like fish in a barrel?

MONDELLO: In "Dunkirk," we're saving not a Private Ryan but more than 300,000 British troops, a rescue operation so enormous most filmmakers would use strategizing generals to help audiences understand it. Writer-director Christopher Nolan wants us to experience it as the soldiers did, so he shoots in IMAX and tells their stories in their own timeframes - a week on the beach, a day at sea, an hour in the air, all unfolding at the same time in a patchwork⁸ that somehow approximates the shattering terror of war - Tommy's frustrating⁹ week-long struggle to get off that beach as bombs explode...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DUNKIRK")

MONDELLO: ...Intercut with a tiny boat's single day at sea as it rushes urgently with thousands of others to the shallow coastal¹⁰ waters where British destroyers can't go...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DUNKIRK")

CILLIAN MURPHY: (As Shivering Soldier) If we go there, we'll die.

MONDELLO: ...And a vertigo-inducing hour in the air with a pair of Royal Air Force pilots in Spitfires.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DUNKIRK")

JACK¹¹ LOWDEN: (As Collins) He's on me.

TOM HARDY¹²: (As Farrier) I'm on him.

MONDELLO: Despite its time-bending structure, "Dunkirk" manages to be crystal clear without many words - masterful visual storytelling on an epic¹³ scale. When people try to talk, they're often drowned out by the rat-a-tat of gunfire or by a Hans Zimmer score hell-bent on amplifying¹⁴ the throb¹⁵ of a ship's pistons¹⁶, the scream of diving bombers¹⁷.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DUNKIRK")

MONDELLO: The chaos¹⁸ of war without swastikas, without ideology¹⁹ and especially without platitudes²⁰ from the folks calling the shots. When Winston Churchill's words are heard, they're read by a soldier from a newspaper because "Dunkirk" is not about leaders. It's about the traumas²¹ and the heroics of the little guys who suffer the consequences of being led. Arguably that makes this gorgeous war movie an epic for our time. I'm Bob Mondello.

1 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

2 memento   

n.纪念品，令人回忆的东西

参考例句：

• The photos will be a permanent memento of your wedding.这些照片会成为你婚礼的永久纪念。
• My friend gave me his picture as a memento before going away.我的朋友在离别前给我一张照片留作纪念品。

3 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

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 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。

6 scraps   

油渣

参考例句：

• Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
• A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。

7 inscribed   

v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接

参考例句：

• His name was inscribed on the trophy. 他的名字刻在奖杯上。
• The names of the dead were inscribed on the wall. 死者的名字被刻在墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 patchwork   

n.混杂物；拼缝物

参考例句：

• That proposal is nothing else other than a patchwork.那个建议只是一个大杂烩而已。
• She patched new cloth to the old coat,so It'seemed mere patchwork. 她把新布初到那件旧上衣上，所以那件衣服看上去就象拼凑起来的东西。

9 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

11 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

12 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

13 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

14 amplifying   

放大，扩大( amplify的现在分词 )； 增强； 详述

参考例句：

• Often they use borrowed funds, amplifying their gains and losses. 他们通常会用借贷的资金交易，从而放大收益或损失。
• An amplifying type (or analog) device, as opposed to digital device. 放大器类（或模拟）器件，相对于数字器件而言的。

15 throb   

v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动

参考例句：

• She felt her heart give a great throb.她感到自己的心怦地跳了一下。
• The drums seemed to throb in his ears.阵阵鼓声彷佛在他耳边震响。

16 pistons   

活塞( piston的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some pistons have seating rings of metal or leather. 有些活塞上有金属或皮革的密封环。
• A pump uses valves and pistons. 泵使用阀和活塞。

17 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

19 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

20 platitudes   

n.平常的话，老生常谈，陈词滥调( platitude的名词复数 )；滥套子

参考例句：

• He was mouthing the usual platitudes about the need for more compassion. 他言不由衷地说了些需要更加同情之类的陈腔滥调。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He delivered a long prose full of platitudes. 他发表了一篇充满陈词滥调的文章。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

21 traumas   

n.心灵创伤( trauma的名词复数 )；损伤；痛苦经历；挫折

参考例句：

• She felt exhausted after the traumas of recent weeks. 她经受了最近几个星期的痛苦之后感到精疲力竭。
• Conclusion: Safety lens of spectacles can protect the occurrence of ocular traumas. 结论：安全镜片可以预防眼镜碎片所致的眼外伤。 来自互联网