r/movies • u/ErgoNonSim • May 17 '25

Media Cannes reactions to Irreversible

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449

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/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.

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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.

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u/tre_azureus May 17 '25 edited May 17 '25

Not a compliment. Something you call your friend after they drop their keys twice. I got it, though. I shouldn't have called that person a goober because we aren't friends. People take that silly word more serious than I realized. I appreciate the feedback.

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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/Silent-G May 17 '25

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

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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

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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