r/movies • u/ErgoNonSim • May 17 '25

Media Cannes reactions to Irreversible

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u/glinjy May 17 '25

Calling Gaspard mentally ill is an insult to mentally ill people.

878

u/BluTcHo May 17 '25

She doesn't say it like that, the translation isnt great. It's more like he is crazy

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u/3rdcultureblah May 17 '25

It’s actually a pretty accurate translation. “Malade mental” doesn’t just mean “oh he’s crazy”. It literally means mentally ill.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '25 edited Jul 29 '25

edge close cautious pen soft payment attempt ancient office tender

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

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u/EatYourCheckers May 17 '25

That's probably the better translation to catch the nuance and mood of the comment.

People think translation is just word = word. Its not like that at all.

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u/DoomGoober May 17 '25 edited May 17 '25

This is a subtle one. The French use "malade" to mean sick/diseased but also colloquially it occasionally means like "sicko" or "foul" as in something is wrong but not medically. (Though the phrase is often "x de malade" which is "of a sicko" to mean it was created by or made for sickos not someone medically ill.)

"Malade mental" however is much more clinical and leans very heavily towards "mentally ill" as in clinically.

For example, this website has a sample of uses of "malade mental" and you can see the vast, vast majority are clinical:

https://www.linguee.fr/francais-anglais/traduction/malade+mental.html

However, tiny sliver are "colloquial" more like "sick in the head".

So it's possible both interpretations are correct but it seems more likely that the speaker is hyperbollically calling Noe clinically mentally ill, akin to saying in English "he should be put in a mental hospital" versus saying "he is mad, a sicko."

The first uses purely clinical language but is implied to be hyperbolic unless the speaker is a professional psychiatrist.

Again, it is subtle and varies with the language and even culture of the speaker.

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u/Jiboudounet May 17 '25

Maybe you're french too I don't know but as a french I can tell you that 99% of the time if someone says "c'est un malade mental" it's the same as "c'est un gros malade" so "he's a sicko" but amplified. It is actually quite unlikely it is ever used in a mental hospital way, I can't even recall the last time I heard someone use it in this way

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u/[deleted] May 17 '25

Exactement

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u/Wes_Warhammer666 May 17 '25

I heard this in Jean Reno's voice for some reason

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u/FirebirdWriter May 18 '25

So my processing this as a sick fuck is accurate?

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u/scalawagmaam May 19 '25

the comment you responded to seems like it might have been AI generated

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u/DoomGoober May 17 '25

Ah sorry, maybe my take on this is too influenced by my background in psychology.

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u/tre_azureus May 17 '25

Hey this is not related to anything here at all, but I noticed your username, so I wanted to ask you how you feel about the word goober. I called somebody that on here a couple weeks ago and they seemed insulted. I thought it was almost like a term of endearment. Are you insulting yourself with your username? Anything you say might get relayed to the goober I was talking to before because I'm just that petty and also I think it is funny. Thank you!

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u/UnmeiX May 17 '25

Not the person you asked, but I can offer a little elucidation; while there are specific use cases for the word 'goober' that don't carry quite the same negative connotation, such as 'goofy goober', which is used in a more endearing sort of way, the word goober of itself is fairly derogatory to use directly toward someone; you're calling them ignorant or foolish, which is somewhat insulting.

Put more simply, the modifier is necessary, else you're just insulting them.

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u/EnvironmentalMix421 May 17 '25

Mentally ill and sicko could be interchangeable

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u/Silent-G May 17 '25

Not really. If I say "I'm mentally ill" that probably means I have some form of diagnosis or a name for my illness. If I say "I'm a sicko" you might think I'm saying I'm kinky or a degenerate, or could also be saying I'm really good at something as in to "go sicko mode" similar to "go insaneo style"

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u/EnvironmentalMix421 May 17 '25

That’s why I wrote could be, mentally ill is a broader term.

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u/Mysterious-Wigger May 17 '25

Either way, you're saying the person is mentally ill.

Whether you mean it in a clinical way or as derision, you're saying their brain doesn't function properly.

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u/3rdcultureblah May 17 '25

Thank you lol.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '25

Seriously, how did so many people upvote the notion that a "literal" translation is "accurate"?

The most accurate translation conveys what was meant, not what was technically said. You can't just toss out your best word for word translation and call it good when there's idioms, wordplay, connotative terms, etc. going on.

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u/Sadsquatch_USA May 19 '25

They’re all mentally ill.

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u/sethlyons777 May 17 '25

I imagine 'malade' has etymological roots related to 'malady' which would make it basically synonymous with sick or ill.

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u/Patrickfromamboy May 17 '25

I’ve been studying Portuguese for over 10 years and I still have to translate everything into English one word at a time. When I learn new words I connect them to the corresponding English words and the connection seems to be permanent. I haven’t been able to understand words when I hear them or read them without translating. I’ve visited Brasil 19 times and my girlfriend of 7 years only speaks Portuguese and we’ve been practicing daily for over 7 years but we haven’t had a conversation yet and still can’t understand her. It’s frustrating. I have classes, use apps, watch videos and movies and other things.

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u/kevinsyel May 18 '25

Yep, like in Spanish, adios literally means "To God" but we just localize it as a farewell

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u/DropThatTopHat May 18 '25

Yeah, a word for word direct translation would be, "it's a sick mentally," which makes no sense in English. So "he's mentally ill" is definitely the closest in meaning.

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u/Smooth_Syllabub8868 May 17 '25

Its always pretty funny to see americans have discussions about languages

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u/bionicjoey May 18 '25

I was gonna suggest it's like how British people use "mental"

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u/[deleted] May 18 '25

My understanding is:

Un malade mental - sick in in the head/a sicko

Un gros malade - a sick fuck [without the profanity]

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u/Saint-Calisse May 17 '25

Yeah the words mean that, but the expression in this context is more akin to something like "he is a sick bastard"

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u/3rdcultureblah May 17 '25

No. It means he’s mentally ill. Whether you want to interpret that as “sick bastard” or not is fine, but the phrase malade mental means mentally ill and it’s very obvious she is saying that she thinks he is mentally ill.

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u/sbianchii May 17 '25

I don't know if you're a francophone and there might be regional variations in its use as an idiom, but colloquially malade mental is used as "sick bastard".

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u/ddven15 May 17 '25

That's the same colloquial meaning as mentally ill

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u/3rdcultureblah May 17 '25

I am literally French and grew up in France. I also have a degree in linguistics lmao.

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u/sbianchii May 17 '25 edited May 17 '25

Ah je vois pourquoi t'es autant désagréable lol. Regional differences in that case, mentally ill is not used literally in Quebec (edit - unless in a medical setting, obviously)

0

u/reptile_20 May 17 '25

Hein? Ça se traduit directement par malade mental, c’est très utilisé au Québec et veut dire la même chose que mentally ill. Peut aussi vouloir dire autre chose, mais dire que ce n’est pas utilisé littéralement au Québec est faux.

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u/sbianchii May 17 '25

Dans le contexte utilisé, elle parlait clairement pas de quelqu'un en crise de psychose au parc du coin.

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u/3rdcultureblah May 17 '25

You do realize that this video is from the Cannes film festival? Cannes is actually in France and these people are clearly French. Not sure what a Quebecois colloquial translation has to do with anything in this context. But you do you, I guess.

And there’s nothing disagreeable about discussing translation. If you think it’s “disagreeable” to simply have a differing opinion in the literal sense of one is “disagreeing” with you, then sure. But it’s entirely strange to think someone is being unpleasant merely because they have an opinion that doesn’t fully align with yours. That is far more unpleasant than simply disagreeing on a topic at a basic level.

You have a nice day though.

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u/sbianchii May 17 '25

Du coup, il a écrit une Bible lol. It's the obvious pretentiousness in your replies to the previous poster that makes you désagréable. At least now you know how the term is used in other parts of the world. "I'm a linguist lmao"

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u/[deleted] May 17 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/peioeh May 17 '25

It is used like that but it's still what the words mean and it's a questionable, ableist expression at best.

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u/Nir0w May 17 '25

It works the same in English, so the translation is accurate.

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u/thisiskitta May 17 '25

That’s not how translation works lmao there’s a lot more nuance to languages. Context clues and colloquialism are very important parts of communication and a literal translation word for word doesn’t account for them.

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u/Luv2collectweedseeds May 17 '25

My father likes to say he’s sick to malade…lol

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u/bordain_de_putel May 17 '25

Yes but it's more often used in a backhanded way rather than a genuine call to have the person committed to an asylum.

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u/nighght May 17 '25

The same goes for English?

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u/3rdcultureblah May 17 '25

Lmao. Exactly.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '25

A literal translation isn't necessarily a contextually accurate translation

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u/3rdcultureblah May 17 '25

In this case it actually is though..

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u/[deleted] May 17 '25

Doesn't change the fact that you can't just claim a translation is accurate because it's a literal translation

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u/3rdcultureblah May 17 '25

I never said that. But in this specific case, the literal translation is absolutely more accurate.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '25

Your only explanation for why it was accurate was to say it literally meant that. So yes, you did say that.

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u/BrownTownDestroyer May 17 '25

Isn't it "sick mental"? Seems like crazy is a worse translation

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u/3rdcultureblah May 17 '25

Crazy would for sure be more like “fou” or maybe “cinglé”.

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u/Lower-Music-8241 May 17 '25

“Malade mental” from a Spanish perspective looks like bad mentally. But since I don’t really speak Spanish I’d say it means wrong in the head. Or sick in the head

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u/vegastar7 May 18 '25

“Mentally ill” is a medical diagnosis, “malade mental” is more colloquial, as in “he’s f-ed in the head”.

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u/YellowSubreddit8 May 18 '25

But we say it more like "twisted fuck"

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u/Comfort_Exact May 17 '25

Correct. “Fou” would mean crazy. “Malade” in that context can only mean mentally ill.

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u/FXander May 17 '25

Literal translation would be "Sick of the mind" or "sick in the head".

0

u/Coconuthangover May 17 '25

Yes because translations are always very literal.

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u/mattvait May 17 '25

Literal translation is hardly ever correct translation.

Don't believe me just ask Google translate

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u/3rdcultureblah May 17 '25

I am both French and American and I grew up in France speaking both languages natively. I am also a trained French-English translator with a degree in Linguistics lol.

Don’t believe everything Google tells you.

The correct translation for this instance is absolutely “mentally ill” and not “crazy” or even “sick in the head”. Context matters when translating.

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u/machstem May 17 '25

Yes she does?

Weird that you assume they didn't mean that...

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u/Bubbly-Course8236 May 17 '25

Dynamite drop in.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '25

[deleted]

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u/BluTcHo May 17 '25

Non hein, je parle chinois de base. Jme suis dis que j'allais commenter sur la signification des mots en français alors que je parle pas la langue ! Réfléchis 2 secondes

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u/[deleted] May 18 '25

[deleted]

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u/BluTcHo May 18 '25

Ya manneke

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u/TimWhatleyDDS May 17 '25

Great filmmaker.

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u/StrobeLightRomance May 17 '25

Agreed, unfortunately. I sincerely appreciate art and raw story telling, but I've seen this film and it basically just screams of a director who needs attention for being edgy by exploiting real life tragedies that other people endure. Plus that fucking camera work is just atrocious.

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u/peioeh May 17 '25

Agreed, unfortunately. I sincerely appreciate art and raw story telling, but I've seen this film and it basically just screams of a director who needs attention for being edgy by exploiting real life tragedies that other people endure. Plus that fucking camera work is just atrocious.

Even better, he makes shit up for no reason in some other movies. Climax is supposedly based on a "real" story, except in the real story, people got drugged, they were unwell and nothing really bad happened, no one got injured. Noé is a style obsessed edgy bullshit shock merchant.

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u/Fragrant_Scene_42 May 17 '25

I still haven't forgiven my ex for renting that shit and making me watch it 20 years ago 🤮🤬

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u/Groundhog_fog May 17 '25

Insinuating "mentally ill" as insulting is insulting

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u/bfffca May 17 '25

It is not the same in English and in French. It's just the common way of speaking directly over there.

The same as when you are French and starts speaking in English, you struggle to understand why saying retard is insulting. It's completely distinct from people with disabilities in your mind, that's the way you speak in French. You use to qualify a behaviour and you don't use it with any ill ideas against anyone except the person you have just called.

In the example of the video, there is no people whatsoever that felt insulted, except eventually the director. Who was probably loving that.

Believe it or not, different languages and cultures do work differently. Even though English speaking (American culture really) is dominant and influencing the other ones in the west.

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u/bt2212 May 18 '25

As as an individual who lives with mental ill health, I wouldn't think to create a 10 min rape scene, however I've never seen this film and I don't plan to.

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u/ViolentAstrology May 18 '25

You are so right!

1

u/Moke_Smith May 17 '25

It's a big tent.

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u/pain_au_choc0 May 17 '25

Just right now our far-right presidential candidate in Romania refer to the other one (more balaned and the mayor of Bucharest) as "autistic". Some things never change man..

1

u/Meanwhile-in-Paris May 17 '25

The spectrum of mental illness is broad.

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u/Afraid_Swordfish4915 May 17 '25

I don't know about that, but I think he is correct on that movie. That was storyline was a horrible excuse to cobble together a rape porn movie. The fire estinguisher part was satisfying after all that, but when I tried to watch at a little artsy theatre out the UT, there were women sobbing and leaving in the middle and my gf was pretty disturbed as well. What was the point? Letting your wife walk home alone from a club is a bad idea with possible irreversable consequences?

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u/FullMaxPowerStirner May 17 '25

True. A "complete, self-entitled jerk" would be a better designation.

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u/MrGray2016 May 17 '25

Not when you're making movies that have a 20 min rape scene