English, baby!

Snow Falling on Cedars

Date: Mar 30 2000

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

come across

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

Plot: A fisherman dies one foggy night. A Japanese man is charged with his murder. Ishmael Chambers (Ethan Hawke) knows the truth, but he is in love with the Japanese man’s wife. He must fight his passion for the woman in order to do the right thing.
Clip: In this scene, Ishmael is talking to the Japanese man’s lawyer, Nels, about the important information he knows about the murder.

Dialog

1. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Nels

Ishmael

Nels: When did you come across it? Was it today you went down to the lighthouse?

Ishmael: Day before yesterday.

Nels: Oh.

Ishmael: You’re wondering why I held on to them.

Nels: Perhaps I have some idea. Could it have anything to do with the way you look at her? It takes a rare thing, a turning point, to free oneself from any, any, uhh… obsession. Be it prejudice or hate, or even love.

Ishmael: I had to really. I had no choice.

Nels: Now your sounding just a bit like your father. Did I ever tell you how much I liked him?

Ishmael: I keep thinking about Carl, how unfair it seems. An accident. Just like that.

Nels: Things just bear down on us I suppose. A freighter in the fog. Or a war. Accident rules every corner of the universe. Except maybe, the chambers of the human heart.

Lesson MP3

Go Super to download full lesson MP3

Go Super to Ask Ebaby! teachers your questions!

The iTEP^® test

Sponsored by

Schedule an iTEP^® test and take the official English Practice Test.
Take Now >

Discussion

To be completely honest, it was very difficult to find good conversations in this movie. Not to say that the lack of conversations made it a bad movie, but it was a little strange how little the characters actually talked to each other. It was a beautifully filmed movie. The scenery and falling snow are amazing, and the all of the actors seem to be perfectly cast in their roles. The movie also shows an important point in American and Japanese history – when the two countries were at war. If you are interested in this type of thing, don’t miss this movie! ‘Till next week, —Doc