Lost in translation

My brother decided to download and rewatch the Zhang Yimou movie Hero last weekend, and I followed suit last night. I had first seen the film in China while I was studying in Beijing. To date, it is the only Chinese movie I have seen in a real Chinese movie theater with a real Chinese audience (they actually applaud during the movie, good grief). Since I did not have the aid of English subtitles or dubbing, it was quite a challenge deciphering the movie's plot and sifting through the heavy dialogue (some of the characters spoke in chengyu or Chinese idioms, which can be quite a puzzle even to one who has a decent grasp of the language). Since I felt I did not fully appreciate what seemed to be a truly magnificent film owing to my inadequate Mandarin comprehension skills, I went to see Hero again when it was released in Manila, with English subtitles. However, for some reason (perhaps it was the clapping, haha), my memories of viewing the film in Beijing are still stronger. In fact, I did not even remember having watched it in Manila until last night, towards the end of what was actually my 3rd viewing, when a blatant, albeit necessary, inconsistency between the spoken dialogue and the English subtitles jumped out at me.

That's one reason I both enjoy and dislike watching Chinese movies with English subtitles. Throughout the film, my brain is working double-time as my ears take in the Chinese dialogue while my eyes read the English text. At the same time I'm processing the content of the script and the events that make up the plot, I am also checking for inaccuracies in the translation. It's quite the mental exercise, both stimulating and exhausting... and sometimes annoying, especially when they get it all wrong ("Heyyy, that's not what he said!!"). I suppose that's one of the downsides of being multilingual. There are so many nuances one language has that another does not, that a completely faithful translation (of movies, music, literature, etc.) is impossible. Thus those of us who can understand both sides are given 2 slightly different viewing/listening/reading experiences... and/or a splitting headache.

I read a magazine article recently saying how someone has invented a gadget that can give instant translations of Chinese characters. You just point the thing at the written words and it gives you the English equivalent. The same article went on to say how people are coming up with cell phones that have built-in translators, and computer translators that transmit via radar and can be used for big international gatherings like the UN (each seat will receive the radar transmission in the native language of the occupant-- goodbye to those funny-looking headsets). Perhaps we will live to see a Star Trek-inspired universal translator yet. It would be cool if everyone in the world understood everyone else perfectly, without the awkwardness of misinterpretations or the difficulties of mastering a foreign language. But then again, it would take away the thrill of learning different tongues, and the process of coming to understand and appreciate another culture through its language.

Plus, it would make my being multilingual far less impressive. :p

P.S. Love, love, love Maggie Cheung. She can act circles around Zhang Ziyi, and I find her cold, imperious beauty far more striking than Zhang's fragile, cutesy looks. If I were to pick an actress to play me in a movie, Maggie Cheung would be among my top 3 choices.