《No Country for Old Men》　老无所依　在黑暗的情感深渊中

No.006　《No Country for Old Men》　老无所依　在黑暗的情感深渊中

英文导读

No Country for Old Men is a 2007 American thriller written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, based on the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name. The film stars Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin, and tells the story of an ordinary man to whom chance delivers a fortune that is not his, and the ensuing cat-and-mouse drama, as three men crisscross each other's paths in the desert landscape of 1980 West Texas.

When a Vietnam veteran discovers two million dollars while wandering through the aftermath of a Texas drug deal gone horribly awry, his decision to abscond with the cash sets off a violent chain reaction in a stripped-down crime drama from Joel and Ethan Coen. Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) has just stumbled into the find of a lifetime. Upon discovering a bullet-strewn pickup truck surrounded by the corpses of dead bodyguards, Moss uncovers two million dollars in cash and a substantial load of heroin stashed in the back of the vehicle. Later, as an enigmatic killer who determines the fate of his victims with the flip of a coin sets out in pursuit of Moss, the disillusioned Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) struggles to contain the rapidly escalating violence that seems to be consuming his once-peaceful Lone Star State town.

The film premiered in competition at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival on May 19, and commercially opened in limited release in 28 theaters in the United States on November 9, 2007, grossing $1,226,333 over the opening weekend, and opened in the United Kingdom (limited release) and Ireland on January 18, 2008. It became the biggest box-office hit for the Coen brothers to date, grossing more than 170 million dollars worldwide, until it was surpassed by True Grit in 2010.

No Country for Old Men appeared on more critics' top ten lists (354) than any other film of 2007, and was the most selected as the best film of the year. It is regarded by many critics as the Coen brothers' finest film. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called it "as good a film as the Coen brothers...have ever made," The Guardian journalist John Patterson said"that the Coens' technical abilities, and their feel for a landscape-based Western classicism reminiscent of Anthony Mann and Sam Peckinpah, are matched by few living directors," and Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said that it is "a new career peak for the Coen brothers" and is "as entertaining as hell".

Among its four Oscars at the 2007 Academy Awards were awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay, allowing the Coen brothers to join the five previous directors honored three times for the same film. In addition, the film won three British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) including Best Director, and two Golden Globes. The American Film Institute listed it as an AFI Movie of the Year, and the National Board of Review selected the film as the best of 2007.

获奖情况

2008年第80届奥斯卡：最佳影片、最佳导演、最佳男配角、最佳改编剧本奖。

影片信息

导演：伊桑·科恩、乔尔·科恩

编剧：乔尔·科恩、伊桑·科恩

主演：汤米·李·琼斯、哈维尔·巴登、乔什·布洛林、凯莉·麦克唐纳

类型：剧情、惊悚、犯罪

制片国家（地区）：美国

上映日期：2007-11-21（美国）

片长：122分钟

又名：《2百万夺命奇案》《险路勿近》《二百万夺奇案》

剧情简介

在美国西部新墨西哥州，老牛仔莫斯（乔什·布洛林　饰）在猎杀羚羊时偶然发现了几具尸体、一个深受重伤即将渴死的人、一车厢海洛因以及高达200万美元的现金。莫斯想要改变自己的生活，所以决定将现金占为己有。可能是出于仁慈，莫斯深夜提着一桶水又回到了交易地点。但是他的仁慈却给他给来了不幸，他被冷血杀手安东·奇古尔（哈维尔·巴登　饰）追杀，为了逃避追杀，莫斯开始了逃亡生活。

老警长埃德·贝尔（汤米·李·琼斯　饰）是当地的治安官，在追查一连串的杀人案，同时努力地想要保护莫斯。但是，事情的发展让贝尔越来越感到绝望，他使出浑身解数也无法追踪到冷血杀手，莫斯的生命受到严重的威胁。作为一名执法者，在此时却束手无策。老贝尔一边惊异于社会的变化、人性和法制观念的没落，一边缅怀父辈们的光荣岁月，深感现实中老无所依的悲哀。

制作花絮

希斯·莱杰本来确定会出演影片，可惜最终却无故退出。

影片的标题取自W·B·叶芝的诗歌《航向拜占庭》。

根据汤米·李·琼斯的说法，因为税务的问题，导演科恩兄弟打算完全在新墨西哥州拍摄影片，但是他最终说服了他们来到得克萨斯州。

科恩兄弟参考了一张1890年的老照片里一个妓院老板的样貌，设计了安东·奇格的头型，当哈维尔·巴尔登第一次从镜子中看到自己的古怪造型时，忍不住痛苦地呻吟：“哦不，我不想整整2个月都顶着它。”

重点学习

His decision to abscond with the cash

文中的abscond with是英语中的一个固定搭配，它是“拐骗（人或财物）潜逃，拐走；偷”的意思，比如：The young man absconded with his friend's wife.（这个年轻人拐骗他朋友的妻子潜逃了。）

Who determines the fate of his victims with the flip of a coin sets out in pursuit of Moss

文中的in pursuit of是英语中的一个固定搭配，它是“追求；追击，追赶”的意思，比如：They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.（他们故意拒绝召回有危害生命安全的问题产品以追求利润。）

单词时间

landscape[ˈlændskeip] n. 风景，景色；山水画

veteran[ˈvetərən] n. 老兵；老手；富有经验的人；老运动员

aftermath[ˈɑ:ftəmæθ] n. 后果；余波

abscond[əbˈskɔnd] vi. 逃匿，潜逃；避债

chain[tʃein] n. 链；束缚；枷锁

corpse[kɔ:ps] n. 尸体

heroin[ˈherəuin] n. 海洛因，吗啡

enigmatic[ˌeniɡˈmætik] adj. 神秘的；高深莫测的；谜一般的

reminiscent[ˌremiˈnisənt] adj. 怀旧的，回忆往事的；耽于回想的

peak[pi:k] n. 山峰；最高点；顶点；帽舌