malgré lui

[esperanza2]

This is a sticky one. Could one say "against one's will" in English or is it very much dependent on context.

for example, the recent film Lucas, fourmi malgré lui

in English, the title is The Ant Bully.

Any ideas?

 

[radjane dessama]

The French expression literally means Lucas, the reluctant ant

It's probably a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Molière classic, Le Médecin Malgré Lui

If you find the expression a bit tricky, you can always substitute it with faire qc à contrecoeur. Less complicated

 

[carolineR]

Lucas, ant in spite of himself

 

[radjane dessama]

Your sentence sounds awkward in English.

What the title implies is (I havn't seen the film yet) that there is a Lucas who is/becomes an ant, and doesn't enjoy his life as such

If my guess is correct, I would stick to the reluctant/unwilling ant

 

[carolineR]

You mean my sentence ?
I am not disputing your enlightened opinion, Louis XVI but why does my submission sound more awkward than "mathematician in spite of himself" or "a king in spite of himself", or "doctor in spite of himself", or again "patient in spite of himself", which all appear to have been used as titles for books ?

 

[Kelly B]

I'm guessing that if you already have those two versions "malgré lui" and "bully" then this was not originally an attempt to make a translation, but two separate writers/editors independently choosing a catchy title to draw the audience to the article. Titles should capture a feature of the article, and this is not the same feature in the two versions.

Edit: If I were doing an actual translation, I would have chosen "in spite of himself" if this is a film for a popular audience rather than the art-house type - "reluctant" is pretty literary in English.

 

[radjane dessama]

I'm sorry, Madame Robespierre , but you didn't get my drift

In spite of himself is not wrong, but sounds awkward, unless it is used deliberately or for humorous effect.

 

[carolineR]

awkward, got it, Madame Robespierre needs new glasses

 

[radjane dessama]

Sorry, KellyB nosed in ahead of me

Yes, movie titles generally do not strictly adhere to the original version.

As for KellyB's finding in spite of himself better suited for a popular audience than reluctant... ... ..., well, I don't know

 

[esperanza2]

Your sentence sounds awkward in English.

What the title implies is (I havn't seen the film yet) that there is a Lucas who is/becomes an ant, and doesn't enjoy his life as such

If my guess is correct, I would stick to the reluctant/unwilling ant

Yes, Lucas, a young boy, is turned into an ant against his will basically.

"The Ant Bully tells the story of a bored, lonely 10-year-old boy who takes his frustrations out on ant hills -- that is, until members of the colony figure out a way to cut him down to size both literally and figuratively."

I think reluctant fits perfectly. I am not exactly seeking to provide a literal translation of this film title, rather after the possible meanings of "malgré lui". Thank you for your contributions!

 

[Mattlepok]

Mais “despite him” ou « in spite of himself » dans un autre contexte peut être correct?

Par exemple: débile malgré lui ou lolita malgré moi peuvent se dire:"dumb despite/in spite of him(self)" "Lolita despite/in spite of me/myself"???

Ou bien je me trompe énormément?

 

[Mattlepok]

hum...hum... it helps me a lot man thanks you