Keano Reeves speaking Chinese : The Day the Earth Stood Still

Not an excellent movie, I admit, but still entertaining if only for the fact that Keano Reeves does 3 sentences in Chinese. Almost at the middle of "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (地球停轉日) Keano Reeves, an alien sent to earth to determine whether the human race should be exterminated or not in order to protect planet earth, meets another alien in the form of a Chinese guy that has been living among humans for a while and was to evaluate their destructibility. I found a cut close to the scene on a Chinese movie site. Let it roll for about 2 minutes before the restaurant scene begins:

Night Ferry’s been asking what I was thinking at the moment – "Why has speaking Chinese become a Hollywood fashion?" :

Speaking of a surprise, what I find amusing is the part of the movie where Klaatu met his contact in a McDonald’s. The majority of the conversation was in Chinese.

Oh my goodness.

I do want to give my compliment to Mr. Reeves: Not that bad. Of course he has a heavy accent and his Chinese is definitely not fluent, but I can understand him perfectly.

Mr. Wu, Klaatu’s contact, played by James Hong, was no better. Both characters speak Mandarin Chinese; while Reeves struggles with his American accent, Hong struggles with his somewhat Cantonese accent (a Chinese dialect).

Yes the two actors did fight hard with their accents, but at least I can understand their Chinese. A month ago I watched Tropic Thunder. Kirk Lazarus, the character played by Robert Downey Jr., also tried to speak Chinese in some parts of the movie. Oh boy, that was a disaster.

I love Robert Downey Jr., but I cannot get what he was trying to say. As his character went on and on in “Chinese”, I can only catch some words here and there. If there were no English subtitles, I would have been completely lost.

 Chinese Forums members further discuss it :

I’ve just seen the film "The Day The Earth Stood Still" 地球停轉日. There is a part in which Keanu Reeves meets with a Chinese old man (another alien) and they speak Chinese. The old man’s Chinese is not great. And the star tries very hard to speak it right (there are 3 or 4 lines). He has tones, and the pronunciation is not all that bad. But personally I found it hard to have to listen to what they said. (Maybe western audience feels the same when they have to listen to Chinese actors’ English. )

I personally think he did a terrific job for someone who is not very familiar with the basics in Chinese tones. If you’re into a bit of Sci-Fi and got an hour and a half to spare :

UPDATE : After repeating emails on the topic, I’m afraid I can’t help you with a link to the "The Day the Earth Stood Still" movie online. If you’re looking to buy the movie, it’s available internationally from Amazon.

UPDATE #2 : I’ve been asked again and again whether I can provide the translation for the Chinese conversation between Keano Reeves and the Chinese man in "The Day the Earth Stood Still". I can, and here it is :

Keano Reeves : You’ve been out of contact for a long time.

Chinese man : I had a dangerous assignment. This is hostile territory.

Keano Reeves : I’ve noticed. I was hoping I could reason with them.

Chinese man : I’m afraid they are not a reasonable race. I’ve been living amongst them for seventy years now. I know them well.

Keano Reeves : And?

Chinese man : Any attempt to intercede with them would be futile. They are destructive, and they won’t change.

Keano Reeves : Is that your official report?

Chinese man : The tragedy is, they know what’s going to become of them. They sense it. But they can’t seem to do anything about it.

Keano Reeves : It’s decided then. I’ll begin the process as soon as possible. We should make preparations for our departure.

(moving back to English)

Chinese man : I’m staying.

Keano Reeves : You can’t stay here.

Chinese man : I can, and I will.

Keano Reeves : lf you stay, you’ll die.

Chinese man : I know.  This is my home now.

Keano Reeves : You yourself called them a destructive race.

Chinese man : That’s true.  But, still, there is another side.  You see, l… I love them.  This is a very strange thing. I can’t find a way to explain it to you. I…  For many years, l… I cursed my luck for being sent here.  Human life is difficult.  But as this life is coming to an end, I consider myself lucky to have lived it.

Now you can fully appreciate the movie… ^_^