reach a place
When did you arrive in this country?The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp · 1943 — 第 24 / 30 章 · 3'19" · C1
The Officer Questions a German Refugee, Explained：mean business
An immigration officer questions a German refugee about his past — when he arrived, why he left Germany, whether he has family. He answers honestly, and the officer answers with the state's caution: "one enemy in our midst can do more harm than ten across the Channel."
あらすじ
Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff is interviewed by a British immigration officer. The questions run through his history: his arrival, his reasons for leaving Germany, his family, his record in the German Army. The officer does not accuse him directly; he explains the logic of suspicion, and asks how he would answer if he really were working for the enemy.
注目の表現
no offencefind outgood faithin our midst
00:00 / 03:19Space 再生 · ← → セリフ移動 · R リピート
いま
このシーンの表現
mean business
be serious about it
The official admits the checks hurt friendly refugees, but says this time they mean business.
When she says no, she means business.
このシーンの他の表現
- no offence
no insult intended
- find out
discover the truth
- good faith
honest intention
- in our midst
among us
- prisoner of war
captured soldier
このシーンのメモ一覧
52 行のセリフに 24 件のメモ
depart from a country
Why did you leave Germany?a view of life
My outlook of life is against the Nazis.time clause: The when-clause pins the refugee exodus to the moment Hitler took power.
Most refugees left Germany early in 1933 when Hitler came to power.no real danger
I had nothing to fear from Hitler. At least, I... I thought so.it cost me eight months
It took me eight months to find out I was wrong.discover the truth
Theo says it took eight months to find out he had been wrong about Hitler.
It took me eight months to find out I was wrong.Link Don't and you into don-chu.
Don't you think so?no insult intended
Theo softens his comeback with no offence before pointing out England took five years too.
Please, I mean no offence, but you in England took five years.exactly correct
Yes, quite right.captured soldier
Asked if he has been to England before, Theo says he came as a prisoner of war.
Yes. I was prisoner of war in the last war.eight in ten
Eight out of ten officers had to retire when the German Army ceased to exist...no ties to them
I have no connection with them.Run as, far and as together into one smooth run.
As far as any Nazi can be called good.to your advantage Not personal favour; the balance tilts your way.
I am afraid, Mr Kretschmar-Schuldorff, that doesn't sound very much in your favour.Soften the t in tried to, almost try-to.
I've tried to answer correctly.honest intention
The official says he does not doubt Theo's good faith, though his job is to guard his country.
Personally, I don't doubt your good faith, but I'm here to safeguard my country's interests.among us
The official argues that one enemy in our midst is worse than ten across the Channel.
In times like these, one enemy in our midst can do more harm than ten across the Channel.be more damaging than
In times like these, one enemy in our midst can do more harm than ten across the Channel.unreal conditional: Were with would marks an unreal condition; the official only imagines the case.
If you were here to work for the enemy, what would you tell me now?be serious about it
The official admits the checks hurt friendly refugees, but says this time they mean business.
but it should be their best assurance that this time we mean business.ellipsis: The second are is dropped, so the two nouns stand side by side and hammer the point.
If you are a friend, our precautions are your precautions, and our interests your interests...was once
the most important principle of my life used to be "never lie, - always tell the truth." - A very good principle.the two are far apart
A refugee soon learns that there's a big difference between the two.「The Officer Questions a German Refugee」を読み解く
What's really going on
The scene is a conversation about trust that keeps circling the impossibility of proving it. The officer is scrupulously fair — he says he does not doubt the refugee's good faith — and still explains exactly why fairness cannot settle the case: "one enemy in our midst can do more harm than ten across the Channel." His hypothetical is the sharpest part: if you were working for the enemy, what would you tell me? The answer, "Exactly the same," admits the futility of the whole exercise, and the officer accepts it without blinking. What finally breaks through is not evidence but weariness. The refugee tells the truth precisely because he has stopped performing: he is just a tired old man who came here because he is homesick.
Theme
TrustThe interview cannot prove loyalty, only doubt it, and the officer admits as much while still demanding answers.
IdentityTheo's defence is wholly personal: not politics but a life — a dead wife, lost children, and homesickness.
このチャプターで学べること
- Good faith concedes the person while keeping the rule.
- In our midst makes an inside threat sound official.
- Mean business turns a warning into a promise.
- An unreal if lets you test a case without accusing anyone.
発音のポイント
- Don't you — Link Don't and you into don-chu.
- As far as — Run as, far and as together into one smooth run.
- tried to — Soften the t in tried to, almost try-to.
In times like these, one enemy in our midst can do more harm than ten across the Channel.The officer's justification for suspicion: an infiltrator at home is more dangerous than an army abroad, which is why every refugee must be questioned.
The truth about me is that I'm a tired old man who came to this country because he is homesick.Theo's closing statement: after all the talk of loyalty and risk, his real reason is simple loneliness, and it disarms the whole interrogation.
My outlook of life is against the Nazis.His blunt answer for why he left Germany: not a political speech, but a statement of who he is, offered without decoration.
A refugee soon learns that there's a big difference between the two.A quiet, hard-won lesson: not lying is not the same as telling the truth, and a refugee must know the gap between them.
このシーンについての質問
Why is Theo being questioned?
He is a German refugee applying to stay in Britain. The officer is checking his history, his politics, and his family to judge whether he can be trusted.
Why does the officer mention 'one enemy in our midst'?
To explain why suspicion is necessary even of honest people. A spy inside the country, he argues, is more dangerous than enemies across the Channel.
What is the point of the officer's hypothetical question?
He asks how Theo would answer if he really were a spy. Theo says he would answer exactly the same way, which shows that no interrogation can prove innocence by words alone.
Why does Theo distinguish between not lying and not telling the truth?
He has learned to survive by leaving things out. A refugee may say nothing false and still conceal what matters, and he knows the difference well.
Why does Theo finally reveal he is homesick?
Because he is tired of performing. After the questions about loyalty, he gives the plain truth about himself: an old man who came home to the country he loves.
老兵は死なず · 全 30 章
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再生中 · 第 24 章mean businessThe Officer Questions a German Refugee
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