Two-handed combat

肉搏战 （陈继龙 编译）

Of Clint Eastwood's two films about Iwo Jima, the Japanese is far better

克林特•伊斯特伍德（Clint Eastwood）执导的两部关于硫黄岛（Iwo Jima）的电影，站在日本人视角拍摄的那一部远胜一筹

IN TRADITIONAL war films, the enemy is faceless. Imbuing[1] opponents with humanity would rob “our boys” and the audience of moral certitude[2]. Reality is different. There is no glory in war and the boys on both sides—and so many are just boys—are human; terrified and unsure about what they are fighting for. Clint Eastwood, a Hollywood actor and director, has provided a powerful reminder of this by making two films of the same battle.

在传统战争影片中，敌人都是无名无姓的。给敌人赋予人性的光彩会令“咱们的阿兵哥”和观众怀疑道义的存在。然而今非昔比，战争中不再有荣耀可言，敌我双方都是人，其中有很多还只是孩子；他们都不清楚为何而战，都惧怕战争。好莱坞演员兼导演克林特•伊斯特伍德执导的关于同一战役的两部电影，让人们清醒地认识到这一点。

The conquest of Iwo Jima, shown from an American view in “Flags of our Fathers” and from the Japanese side in “Letters from Iwo Jima”, was the most brutal and pointless of the second world war. By February 1945, it was clear that the Allies' technological and numerical superiority was unbeatable. Yet the Japanese, led by an inspired general, dug themselves in[3] on Iwo Jima, a bleak, volcanic island far from Tokyo. It took American marines five weeks to overrun them. Some 7,000 Americans and 22,000 Japanese died. But what turned Iwo Jima into legend was Joe Rosenthal's photograph of six American soldiers raising a flag on Mount Suribachi.

分别站在美国人和日本人角度拍摄的两部电影《父辈的旗帜》（Flags of our Fathers）和《硫黄岛来信》（Letters from Iwo Jima），均取材于攻占硫黄岛一役，它是二战中最惨烈也是最无谓的一场战役。到了1945年2月的时候，盟军已经凸现科技和兵力上的优势，但是就在远离东京一座荒凉的火山岛——硫黄岛上，日军却在一名壮志凌云的将军的率领下誓死顽抗。美国海军陆战队耗时5个星期才将他们击溃，大约7000名美军士兵和 22000名日军士兵阵亡。不过，硫黄岛之所以名留青史，缘起于乔伊•罗森塔尔（Joe Rosenthal）拍摄的一张照片——六名美军士兵在摺钵山（Mount Suribachi）上竖起美国国旗。

The first film, which opened last October, follows the fate of those flag raisers. Three are killed in the subsequent combat, since the flag was raised on the fifth day of battle and not at the end, as the American public believed. The others, including James “Doc” Bradley, whose son's book is the basis for the film, are sent home to drum up enthusiasm for war bonds. The tawdriness[4] of their public-relations tour, which has them climbing a cardboard Mount Suribachi to cheering crowds, proves more corrosive than the horrors of battle. One of the three dies an alcoholic.

《父辈的旗帜》一片去年 10月上映，讲述的是六位旗手后来的命运。其中三人在随后的战斗中阵亡，按照美国人的普遍说法，是在硫黄岛战役第五天、竖起国旗之后，而其时战争尚未结束。其他人则被送回国内帮着推销战争公债，其中包括詹姆•布莱德利医生（James “Doc”Bradley），而本片正是改编自他儿子的小说。为了扩大宣传，这些人被迫登上纸板做的“摺钵山”接受人们的欢呼。事实表明，宣传的俗丽比战争的恐怖贻害更深，比如三人中有一人酗酒而死。

Mr Eastwood's point that war heroes are cynically manufactured is well made. Seemingly aimed at the current Iraq war, it is ironic then that it turns a film about propaganda into propaganda itself. That war is romanticised is hardly new, as Wilfred Owen's first world war poetry and Robert Capa's 1936 “falling soldier” photograph attest. In the end, polemic[5] dulls this film, leaving it oddly insubstantial[6]—its characters too little developed for us to care.

伊斯特伍德讽刺所谓战争英雄纯属子虚乌有的用意在片中得到充分体现，然而更加具有讽刺意义的是，伊斯特伍德的原意是针对当前的伊拉克战争，末了却把一部讽刺战争的电影变成了为战争摇旗呐喊的“帮凶”。威尔弗瑞德•欧文（Wilfred Owen）的一战诗作以及罗伯特•卡帕（Robert Capa）1936年拍摄的照片《坠落的士兵》表明，“战争是浪漫的”一说由来已久。慷慨激昂的语言反而让这部电影看起来非常沉闷，空洞无比——片中人物线条过于简单，令人索然无味。

Not so for “Letters from Iwo Jima”, which opens in America next week and in Europe at the end of February. The film is rich with memorable individuals: Saigo, a humble baker who misses his wife and baby daughter; Baron Nishi, an Olympic gold medallist equestrian[7] who brings his horse to the island; and their wise leader General Kuribayashi, a patriot who nevertheless respects his American foes. The discovery of his letters home in a cave on Iwo Jima sparked Mr Eastwood's interest. The film's more conventional narrative brings the characters to life and embraces nuance[8]: daring to show not just the fanatical Imperial Army soldiers blowing themselves up with grenades[9] rather than surrendering, but also marines shooting Japanese prisoners rather than guarding them.

《硫黄岛来信》就不是这样，这部将于下周和2月底先后在美国和欧洲上映的影片中，一个个人物都令人难忘：西乡（Saigo），想念妻子和幼女的小小面包师；男爵西（Nishi），奥运会马术比赛金牌获得者，把自己的马也带到了岛上；还有他们精明的将领栗林（Kuribayashi）将军，爱国但又尊重其美国敌人。激发伊斯特伍德拍摄兴趣的是，在琉璜岛一个山洞里找到了这名将军给家人的信件。影片较为传统的叙事方式让人物栩栩如生，同时也较以往有着细微差别：不仅敢于表现狂热的日军士兵拒不投降、用手榴弹自杀的场面，而且还有海军陆战队员不把日本战俘看守起来而是进行枪杀的大胆镜头。

It is possible to do terrible things only to faceless foes. Ultimately, and laudably, Mr Eastwood's films attack anonymity, whether invisible enemy or fake heroes. In one of the film's most moving scenes, Baron Nishi reads his men a letter sent to a captured American marine from his mother. As the Japanese soldiers realise that he is just like them, the fog of war lifts to reveal a shared humanity.

一般影片中下场悲惨的都是无名的敌人，而在伊斯特伍德的这部电影中，无论是看得见的敌人还是伪冒的英雄，都不再 “隐姓埋名”，这不禁让人拍手称快。本片最感人的一幕出现在男爵西向他的士兵读一名被俘美国海军陆战队员母亲写给儿子的一封信时，当日军士兵意识到自己和这名俘虏一样时，笼罩在人性之上的迷雾随即消散开去。

[NOTES](OXFORD)

1. imbue v. [ esp passive 尤用于被动语态] ~ sb/sth with sth (fml 文) fill or inspire sb/sth with (feelings, etc) 使（某人[某事物]）充满或激起（感情等）: imbued with patriotism, ambition, love, etc 充满爱国主义精神、雄心勃勃、满怀爱心 * politicians imbued with a sense of their own importance 自以为举足轻重的政治家们.

2. certitude n. [U] (fml 文) feeling of certainty; lack of doubt 确信; 确定无疑.

3. dig in . dig oneself in (a) (military 军) (of soldiers) protect oneself by digging a trench, etc （指士兵）挖壕沟等以掩蔽自己, 挖掩体. (b) (infml 口) establish oneself securely (in a place, job, etc) （在职位、 工作等方面）使自己站稳脚跟, 巩固自己的地位: He has dug himself in well at the college now. 如今他在学院已站住脚了.

4. tawdry adj. (-ier, -iest) showy or gaudy but without real value 俗丽的; 华而不实的: tawdry jewellery, furnishings 俗丽的珠宝、 家具.

5. polemic n. (fml 文)  1 (a) [C] ~ (against/in favour of sth/sb) speech, piece of writing, etc containing very forceful arguments (against or for sth/sb) （反对或赞成某事物[某人]的）慷慨陈词, 辩论文章: He launched into a fierce polemic against the government's policies. 他猛烈地抨击政府的政策. (b) [U] such speeches, pieces of writing, etc 慷慨陈词; 辩论文章: engage in polemic 进行辩论.  2 polemics [pl] art or practice of arguing a case formally and usu forcefully 辩论法; 争辩术.

6. insubstantial adj. 1 not solid or real; imaginary 非实体的; 非实质的; 非实在的; 非真实的; 幻想的: an insubstantial vision, figure, creature 虚幻的景象、 人物、 生物.  2 not firmly or solidly made; weak （做得）不坚固的, 不坚实的, 薄弱的: Early aircraft were insubstantial constructions of wood and glue. 早期的飞行器是木头和胶粘合的脆弱机器. * (fig 比喻) an insubstantial argument, accusation, claim, etc 无真凭实据的争论、指控、 索赔要求等.

7. equestrian n. 骑手，马术运动员

8. nuance n. subtle difference in meaning, colour, feeling, etc （意义、 颜色、 感觉等的）细微差异: be able to react to nuances of meaning 能够对意义上的细微差异做出反应.

9. grenade n. small bomb thrown by hand or fired from a rifle 手榴弹; 枪榴弹: a `hand-grenade 一颗手榴弹 * [attrib 作定语] a grenade attack 榴弹攻击.

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