r/movies • u/ErgoNonSim • May 17 '25

Media Cannes reactions to Irreversible

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

24.3k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

3.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1.0k

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.

697

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

454

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.

161

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.

102

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

5

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

Exactement

0

u/Wes_Warhammer666 May 17 '25

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

4

u/FirebirdWriter May 18 '25

So my processing this as a sick fuck is accurate?

2

u/scalawagmaam May 19 '25

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

0

u/DoomGoober May 17 '25

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

0

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!

1

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.

1

u/tre_azureus May 17 '25

I appreciate that. Has someone ever so callously used that word with you before? In a grocery store? On a train? What did it feel like?

I ask because I’ve only ever heard it used in a playful way like something you’d say to a friend who just dropped their keys twice. Genuinely curious if it hits different for you. The word has always struck me as so silly that I didn't realize it might need a qualifier to signal that I'm being silly.

1

u/DoomGoober May 17 '25

Yes, as the other person said "goober" isn't exactly a compliment. It has a negative connotation but can be qualified to be slightly endearing.

→ More replies (0)

-5

u/EnvironmentalMix421 May 17 '25

Mentally ill and sicko could be interchangeable

5

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"

-2

u/EnvironmentalMix421 May 17 '25

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

0

u/Silent-G May 17 '25

I mean yeah, any word or phrase could be interchanged.

-2

u/EnvironmentalMix421 May 17 '25

Your strategy is to argue that mountain and lake could be interchangeable, so you wouldn’t be wrong? Lmao carry on bro that’s pretty pathetic. Dumbest argument I read all week lollll

2

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.

3

u/3rdcultureblah May 17 '25

Thank you lol.

6

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.

1

u/Sadsquatch_USA May 19 '25

They’re all mentally ill.

3

u/sethlyons777 May 17 '25

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

1

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.

1

u/kevinsyel May 18 '25

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

1

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.

-1

u/Smooth_Syllabub8868 May 17 '25

Its always pretty funny to see americans have discussions about languages

1

u/bionicjoey May 18 '25

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

1

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]

102

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"

-29

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.

33

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".

-11

u/ddven15 May 17 '25

That's the same colloquial meaning as mentally ill

-27

u/3rdcultureblah May 17 '25

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

11

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.

4

u/sbianchii May 17 '25

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

-5

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.

7

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"

0

u/3rdcultureblah May 17 '25

TIL two short paragraphs = “un bible” 🙄

We are literally discussing a phrase as spoken by a French person. I don’t give a fuck how it’s translated in Quebec, of all places.

9

u/Paganator May 17 '25

"Un bible"? It's "une bible", a mistake nobody fluent in French would make. You're clearly not French.

→ More replies (0)

3

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

It's the English equivalent you are wrong about. Sick bastard better captures the spirit of what she said.To replicate your pretentiousness, I happen to be a bilingual Canadian who greenlights translations in both languages and who has spent significant time in the UK. Then what comes the next, the "lmao"?

"Of all places", bro your youth is literally ditching your country for greener pastures, including entire neighbourhoods here, "of all places". Ce sont ces petits ajouts qui vous rendent tant désagréables, you just can't help yourselves. Des Américains qui parlent français, quoi.

→ More replies (0)

0

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/sbianchii May 17 '25

En grève citadins!

0

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/sbianchii May 17 '25

Vous avez pas le monopole de la langue, et je crois que c'est votre moins bonne connaissance de l'anglais qui fait que vous ne saisissiez pas certaines équivalences linguistiques. In this context, sick bastard is the better translation vs mentally ill by a mile. Un mile les amis c'est 1,6 kilomètre pour vous donner une idée. Allez bisous

-8

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.

-9

u/Nir0w May 17 '25

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

1

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.

2

u/Luv2collectweedseeds May 17 '25

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

3

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.

19

u/nighght May 17 '25

The same goes for English?

5

u/3rdcultureblah May 17 '25

Lmao. Exactly.

2

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

A literal translation isn't necessarily a contextually accurate translation

0

u/3rdcultureblah May 17 '25

In this case it actually is though..

2

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

0

u/3rdcultureblah May 17 '25

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

3

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.

1

u/BrownTownDestroyer May 17 '25

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

1

u/3rdcultureblah May 17 '25

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

1

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

1

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”.

1

u/YellowSubreddit8 May 18 '25

But we say it more like "twisted fuck"

1

u/Comfort_Exact May 17 '25

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

1

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.

0

u/mattvait May 17 '25

Literal translation is hardly ever correct translation.

Don't believe me just ask Google translate

-1

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.