Film Blurb:
Charade is a 1963 American romantic comedy-mystery film. Upon returning from a ski holiday, interpreter Regina Lampert discovers that her husband has been murdered because of his involvement in stealing a quarter of a million dollars during WW2. With multiple former servicemen and the CIA all believing Regina is their best lead to find the money, Regina is caught in the middle of an investigation that threatens her life and in which she doesn’t know who to trust.
Translator/Interpreter Bio:
Character: Regina “Reggie” Lampert
Played by: Audrey Hepburn
Plot function: Main Character
Character bio: Regina works as a “simultaneous translator” (= simultaneous interpreter) at EURESCO, an international agency based in Paris. Regina works in a pair with another linguist, performing FR>EN interpreting while her partner does EN>FR.
Languages:
Mother tongue: English
Secondary languages: French
Translation/Interpreting on Screen:
(1) Punch & Judy Show
Languages: French, English
Linguist: Regina Lampert
Format: Consecutive interpreting (very loosely)
Setup: Show on stage interpreted to one delegate
Delegates: Peter Joshua and the puppets
[KGVID]http://www.translationonscreen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/PunchandJudy_new.mp4[/KGVID]
(2) EURESCO Meeting
Languages: Italian, French, English (and possibly others, not shown)
Linguist: Regina Lampert (FR>EN), other Interpreters (not named)
Format: Simultaneous interpreting
Setup: Booth
Delegates: Diplomats in the EURESCO meeting
[KGVID]http://www.translationonscreen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/EURESCO-Meeting_new.mp4[/KGVID]
Accuracy of Interpreting Shown:
- Booths at EURESCO
The booths shown at EURESCO appear to have one linguist per language (3 booths seen in total). While the separate booths for each language and the use of such booths for diplomat meetings can be seen as accurate, the lack of a “booth buddy” for each linguist (a second linguist working in the same pair who tags in and out to allow for breaks and recovery) is not accurate for modern simultaneous interpreting scenarios.
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As standard, all simultaneous interpreters work in pairs (for the same language combination) so that they can tag in and out whenever the active interpreter needs to take a break, if they start falling behind, or if they stumble on their words or phrasing and need time to recompose and recover. Even if Regina was showing full concentration to the meeting and her interpreting, she would not be able to continuously interpret speech for more than around 30 minutes before needing to take a break and “tag in” a booth buddy who would take over. This is due to the mental strain that this type of interpreting can have on the individual.
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There is also no sound engineer visible in the booth, so Regina is left to operate completely independently. For a large institution like EURESCO (modelled on UNESCO), sound engineers would be present to set up and stay on hand to solve any problems. It is possible that a sound engineer is monitoring all booths simultaneously though, and is therefore outside of the shot in the corridor.
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- Professionalism
In the booth interpreting scene, Regina is shown to be highly unprofessional. Firstly, because she allows a guest to remain in her booth with her, which would usually not be allowed. Secondly, because she is distracted during her work, having conversations whilst half-listening to the meeting. When she recognises that she needs to interpret someone’s speech, she halfheartedly interprets every now and again whilst being distracted.When she has a realisation about her husband and the investigation, she stops interpreting completely, at which point the delegates are shown to be looking towards the booth, wondering why the interpretation has stopped (to which they are told by Cary Grant’s character: “It’s alright gentlemen, carry on!”).
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Simultaneous interpreting requires absolute concentration and anything less than this will lead to problems with accuracy and keeping pace with the delegates. Gaps in interpretation would not be tolerated and could cause major problems for meetings. Leaving half-way through interpreting would also likely lead to a negative reputation, fewer future bookings or losing a permanent position. Had a “booth buddy” been present to take over, this would have been less of a disruption than it was.
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Throughout the film, Regina is also seen to lack basic knowledge about general things in the public domain. A major example of this is when she is seen to not know what the CIA is (“I don’t suppose it’s an airline, is it?”), or what the acronym stands for. The CIA was formed just after WW2, so it could be claimed that the organisation is still new and my not have entered wide public knowledge. In Regina’s line of work though, knowing about international organisations and foreign services of major world powers is likely to be important.
Interpreting Challenges:
- Personal life distractions
As mentioned, simultaneous interpreting requires complete concentration and attention, so having distractions from personal life on your mind could prove to be a challenge and an obstacle to working proficiently.
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Gallery:
[KGVID gallery=”true” gallery_thumb=”150″]
Credits:
Release date: December 1963
Directed by: Stanley Donen
Produced by: Stanley Donen
Written by: Peter Stone (The Unsuspecting Wife 1961 short story), Marc Behm
Production/Distribution: Stanley Donen Productions and Universal Pictures
Rent/buy this title: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/B00ET1XNC8
Translation on Screen 