Ang Lee 李安

Why do they use 臂? It can't be a simple typo, can it?

At first I thought it must have been a typo, but a quick search on google.com.cn reveals sina.com, tom.com, etc. all prefer 断臂山 ... I can't figure out how 臂 came to be preferred ...

Here are two explanations.

把"Brokeback Mountain"翻译成“断臂山”是李安的意思，这种说法我是在哪个论坛里看到的，因此无法判断有多大的准确性。 ... 译作“臂”我猜测有两种可能性：一是它可以念成“背”，因此有可能是早期有人以讹传讹；二是比较容易联想到“断袖”，毕竟“臂”跟“袖”的关系远远超过“背”跟“袖”。

最早的时候内地有译作《断壁山》的，“壁”和“臂”字形相似字音相同，而且现在很多人打字用全拼，校对又不认真，我怀疑也是“断臂”这个错译的来源之一。

Thanks! So it's a complicated story of mistranslations and mispronunciations ... Interesting ...

And here is an interesting discussion on Ang Lee's name -> The 'g' in Ang Lee

I happen to have wondered the same question about Ang Lee’s name. And I read an interview where he explains it. It’s a very funny reason that has nothing to do with any romanization systems… Ang Lee simply didn’t like the feminine sound and look of Li An or Lee An. So he changed it to “Ang”. Just one of those things.

Skylee, how do you find all those great references? Yes, that's exactly what I was wondering ... Not to cut it too finely, but it seems to me that "Ang" is more acceptable to the biased Western eye and ear than, say, Li An or An Li -- if that makes any sense -- and if I were living in the States I'd ask native speakers to pronounce his name in English so I could find out how distinctly the "g" can be heard ... Same for "Lee" vs. "Li" -- Americans are used to Stan Lee and Staggerlee ...

And, in the same vein, "Brokeback" with its hard consonants "br-k b-k" also sounds more definitive than, say "Brokearm" ha ha... Regarding 断背山 断臂山 断壁山, of course, from a narrower point of view, one wonders whether "Brokeback" is the "original" name for the movie, which would make the various renderings into Chinese back-formations ... Also, "Broken[n]arm" and "Broke[n]wall" don't really have the same ring as "Brokeback" -- an unusual formation -- we don't, after all, have "Brokenback" ...

I loved "Wedding Banquet" and "Eat Drink Man Woman"

Why do they use 臂? It can't be a simple typo, can it?

Skylee, 请稍看看下面的话。

李安作为深受中国传统文化熏陶的华人，他的影片总不免关乎伦理，所有的视角都充满了二元对立。《断臂山》尽管具有美国西部风情，相爱的两个男人遭遇的仍是理智与感性的伦理困境。其中，张扬而率直的杰克在爱情中更感性，更理想主义，也更乐于面对真实内心，甚至愿意向世俗挑战，和埃尼斯共度一生。理智、隐忍的埃尼斯则饱经风霜、沉默内向，幼时所见的同性恋遭放逐，被殴打致死的场景，一直成为他童年的梦魇。埃尼斯成为爱情中的现实主义者和克制压抑者，他只能把最美好的那部分生活小心翼翼地藏起来。

http://ent.sina.com.cn/r/m/2006-02-05/1030976582.html

“断壁”、“断背”说的是山，“断臂”说的是人。

李安是个极细腻的人，所以我猜“断臂山”中“断臂”是暗示“壮士断臂”的悲壮——这才是这出电影本身的基调。

Thanks!

Oh but really the Chinese name used here in Hong Kong is 斷背山. Take a look -> http://www2.cinema.com.hk/revamp/html/list_detail.php?lang=c&movie_id=2307

And I have just finished reading the novel. Neither Jack nor Ennis 壯士斷臂, they are 藕斷絲連 all the way ...

Thanks, studentyoung. Here's some info about the set phrase "壮士断臂." It refers to cutting off one's arm to save oneself from a poisonous snake bite. More generally, it refers to the idea of letting go of something dear to save oneself.

http://www.xishu.com.cn/channel/main/book.asp?CHID=174&GUID={DD7C9846-2055-4347-87C4-A89488998E4C}

中国有古话“毒蛇在手，壮士断臂”，因为不断臂毒液就会蔓延，人就给毒死了。所以“壮士断臂”是表示有决心、有决断、肯牺牲、不因小失大的意思。

http://www.ycwb.com/gb/content/2003-08/30/content_573465.htm

如果被毒蛇咬伤，受伤肢体含有的毒素随时会侵入心脏，这时为了保存生命，就要果断地将其舍弃，这就是“壮士断臂”成语的核心含义。

I'm glad he's nominated, Brokeback Mountain is a fantastic movie.

Brokeback Mountain draws tourist dollars into both Alberta and Wyoming:

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/living/13818064.htm

I am really happy that this whole thread changed topic as I was disappointed that people discussing this film were talking about covering their eyes when two men kissed. I am afraid that this comment may move the whole thread back on to this topic but this is 2006. Two men kissing. Wow. I don't believe this film is solely interesting for the fact that it concerns a homosexual relationship. Instead I believe this film is interesting because it is an interesting film.

Someone mentioned Hulk before. I was under the impression that there were forced changes to the film and that the end product was not as Ang Lee had hoped. He remains one of the worlds mosrt interesting directors and this film confirms that fact.

I wonder if Beijing will give Wangui Namja (King and the Clown) the same treatment as it gave Brokeback Mountain. Wangui Namja has become the third highest watched film in Korean cinematic history despite its theme of homosexuality being a taboo subject in Korean society. It has received rave reviews from critics and moviegoers in South Korea, and continues to attract big bucks at the box office.

It will be interesting to see whether Beijing will view this film with an open mind. Otherwise there will be a double standard.

I've seen "Brokeback Mountain" twice and I like it a lot. Those two shirts are just too emotional ("the pair like two skins, one inside the other, two in one") 纏綿得要命 ... and the amazing thing is that it is in the orginal story, not just made up by the scriptwriters ...

For those who are interested in the novel but still have not managed to borrow one from the local library (I have reserved the book and am No. 35 of 119 of the queue at the moment, haha), here is an on-line copy.

Oscars are next Sunday. Ang Lee has a good chance of winning Best Director.

Finally saw Brokeback Mountain, that is one good movie. It's like good literature, so many things in that movie you can think about, I want to see it again.

It was also quite a heavy movie. I was so impressed, when it ended I didn't leave the cinema right away but watched all the credits. At the end of the credits it said 'For Shen Lee', and now I wonder, who's Shen Lee?

Probably his father 李升. He's often talked about the influence of his father in his movies.

That sounds very likely, thanks.

(Interesting that apparently An(g) Lee took that extra -g from his father :-) )

Ang Lee recently won the Directors Guild of America. The winner of the prize almost always win Best Director at Oscars.

http://www.canada.com/topics/entertainment/story.html?id=238fc8cd-7c6f-4960-9b0d-b47d7c67916a&k=81371

Lee is competing with another heavyweight, Steven Spielberg, for the big prize. It will be a big upset if Lee fails to win on March 5th.