I had to watched that scene again, and ended up re-watching the whole movie =) lol Well, I don't know what the French subtitle says, but in this scene, the English subtitle is a bit different from the actual Vietnamese dialogue I heard.
-One of the boatmen told the other (the older one): "We should go now. Can you still find the way out?". The old man replied "yes", then the man told him to drink the tea before leaving and (kind of) said goodbye to the monk.
-However, the English subtitle says: "The water is rising. The cave will soon be flooded. We'll come back after the monsoon."
It was totally different from the actual conversation. Besides, "after the monsoon" means a very long time before they come back, about half of a year (well, there are only 2 seasons in Vietnam: dry season and raining season, which is monsoon, if I understand this word correctly ). Therefore, reading that subtitle makes one get the feeling that Camille and JB was "trapped" there, while in fact, no such difficulties were mentioned in the Vietnamese dialogue.
I believe at first JB somewhat wanted to leave so he went out to the balcony, trying to decide what he should do. When he overheard the men talk about leaving, he got panicked a little and rushed down the stairs. Then he bumped into the monk. Had he wanted to leave anyway, the monk would not be able to stop him. (no, monks in Vietnam are not skilled kungfu-fighters like Chinese ones you see in movies j/k :D). Moreover, he seemed to rush down just a very short time after he had seen the men leave, he would not miss the boat if he chased after them. I think he stayed by choice. He has come all that way with her (they both nearly died on the sea). I don't think he would just change his mind and leave her.
Just my interpretation :D
The thing I has been wondering is that though JB doesn't speak any Vietnamese word through the entire movie, it seems like he always understands what the Vietnamese ppl say. How come? Must be excellent at picking up foreign language. Good movie any way, I love it!
Btw, I really like the scene right after the one you mentioned. The next morning, Camille wakes up and JB isn't in the room. Although she told him the night before that he could leave, she still rushes out to find him (and would be very sad if he actually left). She finds him sleeping next to the wall, and her eyes are filled with delight. I absolutely love her facial expression at that moment. It seems like the screen is lightened by those eyes and that smile, she's genuinely happy and looks so cute and innocent. One of my fav. scenes, I always rewind it several times every time I watch this movie.
"Looking for the right guy...while having fun with the wrong ones!"
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ednalyn99
16 years ago
thanks for your reply!
And providing the direct translation of the Vietnamese dialogue between the boatmen. Sometimes DVD subtitles are really bad, so the meaning gets lost in translation. LOL!
But yeah, it is more likely that JB stayed by choice. That whole monk thing just threw me off. You're right, there's no way a gentle and passive monk could have stopped the stubborn and passionate JB. heheh
That's also my favorite scene, the morning after. Camille's face is really beautiful there. Peacefully happy and delighted. I will also have to add JB's face. There was this look of relief and love as he looked at Camille. *swoons*
Gah. I love love love their love story. hehehehe
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ednalyn99
16 years ago
oh about JB's Vietnamese skills...yeah, his skills must be only limited to comprehending some words, but not being able to speak the language itself.
It happens that way alot. Especially if the speaker/student doesn't really practice his 2nd learned language.
I grew up exposed to hearing a local dialect. So I ended up only understanding the words of the dialect, but not being able to speak the actual dialect. :)
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