The Nun--Steeped in Catholic imagery

Monday, February 1, 2021 - 01:00

Print Edition  Entertainment

Ruwini JAYAWARDANA 

A prequel to the ‘ Conjuring’ franchise, ‘The Nun’ features a Catholic priest and novice nun sent by the Vatican to investigate a mysterious suicide in 1952 Romania. However as they fig deeper into the circumstances leading to her death, they encounter ‘The Nun’, an evil entity which had been fended away by divine forces centuries ago but has been released again due to human folly. This supernatural form, which has been named Valak, desires to cross over to our realm to invade all that is pure and good.

《鬼修女》是《招魂》系列电影的前传，讲述的是梵蒂冈派来调查1952年罗马尼亚一起神秘自杀事件的天主教神父和新修女的故事。然而，当他们深入调查导致她死亡的情况下，他们遇到了“鬼修女”，一个已经被神圣力量抵挡了几个世纪的邪恶实体，但由于人类的愚蠢又被释放出来。这个超自然的形体，被称为瓦拉克，渴望穿越到我们的国度去入侵一切纯洁美好的事物。

prequel  n. /ˈpriːkwəl/  先篇，前篇，前传（叙述某流行图书或电影中的故事之前的事情）• Fans waited for years for the first Star Wars prequel. 《星球大战》的第一部前传让影迷期待了多年。

Conjuring  n. /ˈkʌndʒərɪŋ/  变魔术；变戏法 • a conjuring trick 魔术

franchise /ˈfræntʃaɪz/ n. 特权；公民权；经销权；管辖权；vt. 给…以特许（或特权）；赋予公民权

Novice  n. /ˈnɒvɪs/ 1.新手；初学者 •I'm a complete novice at skiing. 滑雪我完全是个新手。2.初学修士（或修女）；（修会等的）初学生；3.尚未赢过大赛的赛马

fig  n. /fɪɡ/  无花果• a fig tree 无花果树

NOT CARE/GIVE A ˈFIG (FOR SB/STH) 对…丝毫不在乎；完全不把…放在心上；认为…毫无价值

divine /dɪˈvaɪn/  

1.天赐的；上帝的；神的 •divine law/love/will 天道；上帝的慈爱；天意

•divine intervention (= help from God to change a situation) 上帝之佑； 2.绝妙的；非凡的；极美的

3. 猜到；领悟•She could divine what he was thinking just by looking at him. 她一看就知道他在想什么。4.（用丫形杖）探测（地下水）

Folly  n. /ˈfɒli/  

1.~ (to do sth)  愚蠢；愚笨；愚蠢的想法（或事情、行为）•an act of sheer folly 纯粹愚蠢的行动 •the follies of youth 青年时期的愚蠢行为

2.（常见于旧时乡间豪宅花园中的）装饰性建筑

Shroudedin Catholic imagery, ‘The Nun’ unfurls in an abandoned Abbey in Romania. The writers have also taken painstaking efforts to tie this film to the previous ‘The Conjuring’ series. Though the eerie looking nun in the predecessor had little screen time, she left such an impact on our minds that the team thought that she is worthy of a film of her own.

笼罩在天主教意象的“鬼修女”故事在罗马尼亚一所废弃的修道院展开。编剧们还煞费苦心地将这部电影与上一部《招魂》系列联系起来。虽然在上一部电影中，看起来很恐怖的修女很少出现在屏幕上，但她给我们留下了深刻的印象，团队认为她值得拍一部属于自己的电影。

shroud    /ʃraʊd/  1.裹尸布；寿衣；2.~ of sth覆盖物；遮蔽物 •a shroud of smoke 一片烟雾；3.(黑暗、云、织物等 ) 覆盖；隐藏；遮蔽•The city was shrouded in mist. 城市笼罩在雾霭之中。4.隐瞒；保密•His family background is shrouded in mystery . 他的家庭背景蒙上了神秘的色彩。

unfurl  v. /ˌʌnˈfɜːl/ （使卷紧的东西）打开，展开• The leaves slowly unfurled. 叶子慢慢地展开了。

abbey  n.   /ˈæbi/ （大）隐修院；（曾为大隐修院的）大教堂 • a ruined abbey 破败不堪的教堂

painstaking  adj. /ˈpeɪnzteɪkɪŋ/ 需细心的；辛苦的；需专注的• painstaking research 细心的研究

eerie  adj. /ˈɪəri/ 怪异的；神秘的；恐怖的 • an eerie yellow light 神秘兮兮的黄灯• I found the silence underwater really eerie. 我发觉水下的寂静真令人恐怖。

The unsettling atmosphere is the key element of ‘The Nun’. Evil at work in a place which is considered to be holy created a powerful impact. ‘The Nun’ capitalizes on this aspect. Plus dark avanues and interiors found in age old churches set off a spooky ambience, setting stage for the perfect background for a chilling tale.

这种令人不安的氛围是《鬼修女》的关键元素。邪恶在一个被认为是神圣的地方产生了强大的影响。《鬼修女》就利用了这一点。再加上黑暗的街道和古老的教堂内部，营造出一种令人毛骨悚然的氛围，为一个令人毛骨悚然的故事提供了完美的背景。

unsettling  adj. /ʌnˈsetlɪŋ/令人不安（或紧张、担忧）的

spooky adj.   /ˈspuːki/ 怪异吓人的；阴森可怖的。亦可用more spooky和most spooky。• a spooky old house 阴森森的老房子

ambience  n. /ˈæmbiəns/ 环境；气氛；格调 • the relaxed ambience of the city 这座城市轻松的氛围

Another strong factor which works in favour of the film is the disturbing background score. Garishly gruesome, it contributes to the horror which signals that danger is lurking nearby. However though these are strong points which might have made ‘The Nun’ a success, the story lacks originality and depth. It plays upon many techniques which have been tried and exhausted throughout the years in films of the same genre.

另一个有利于这部电影的强大因素是令人不安的背景音乐。它令人毛骨悚然，给人一种恐怖的感觉，表明附近潜伏着危险。然而，尽管这些加分点可能使《鬼修女》获得成功，但故事缺乏创意和深度。它采用了许多技术，然而这些技术在同一类型的电影中已经烂大街。

Garishly /ˈɡerɪʃli/ adv. 华丽地；过分装饰地      

gruesome /ˈɡruːsəm/adj. 可怕的；阴森的

Lurking /ˈlɜːkɪŋ/ adj 潜伏的

genre /ˈʒɑːnrə/  (文学、绘画、音乐、电影等艺术作品的) 体裁• .his love of films and novels in the horror genre. 他对恐怖体裁电影和小说的热爱。

The lead characters are devoid of any personality beyond their mission at hand. Even though actors Demián Bichir and Taissa Farmiga try to play their roles convincingly, the logic of the tale lets them down badly.

主角们除了使命，没有任何个性。尽管演员Demián Bichir和Taissa Farmiga努力让他们的角色扮演得令人信服，但故事的逻辑却让他们的角色呈现非常失望。

devoid  adj. /dɪˈvɔɪd/  ~ of sth 完全没有；缺乏• The letter was devoid of warmth and feeling. 这封信既无热情又无感情。

Aimed at jolting the viewers throughout the screen time, director Corin Hardy overplays the presence of ‘The Nun’. However soon the onlookers lose their fear of the mysterious being, making its presence more bearable with each screen shot. Not only does it lacks the thrills but the thrills are also absent in this production.

为了在整个观影期间震撼观众，导演科林·哈代夸大了“鬼修女”的存在。然而，很快，旁观者们就不再害怕这个神秘的存在了，这让他们对每一帧恐怖画面都能忍受。它画面不仅缺乏惊险刺激，而且整部影片都缺乏。

jolt /dʒəʊlt/  

1.（使）震动，摇动，颠簸 •The bus jolted to a halt. 公共汽车猛地一颠停了下来。  

2.~ sb (into sth)~ sb (out of sth) 使受到震惊（而采取行动）；唤醒；使觉醒 •His remark jolted her into action. 他的话使她猛然醒悟而行动起来。

Similar to most successful franchise films, ‘The Nun’ sets up a sequel. Judging by how the end product turned out, it might be time to lay this horror series to rest!

与最成功的系列电影类似，《鬼修女》也推出了续集。从结果来看，是时候让这部恐怖系列剧歇歇了!

http://www.dailynews.lk/2021/02/01/entertainment/240290/steeped-catholic-imagery