MovieChat Forums > Le couperet (2005) Discussion > What the cop says when he leaves?

What the cop says when he leaves?


I saw this movie with spanish subtitles.
Near the end of the movie, the cops visit Bruno for the last time. When they're leaving one of the cops asks him if he found a job and, when Bruno mentions a job 'possibility' the cop wishes him good luck, according to the subtitle. The thing is, I suspect there was more to the phrase the cop uses, since Bruno repeats it twice. I think there might be some kind of irony about it but I can't really try to understand it since I don't know what's the phrase he uses in french. The subtitle is simply "Buena suerte" ("Good luck" in spanish). So I would really appreciate if someone could transcribe it here for me. The original line in french. Thanks a lot.

reply

"Merde alors" (literally "well, s**t!). It was translated into English as "break a leg".

reply

« Merde alors » to mean « Good luck » as it is considered (in theater) bad luck to say « Bonne chance ».

http://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/merde#Interjection

Hence the good English translation « break a leg ».

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Break_a_leg

reply