Hi. I like this film very much. I think it's Cimino's second best film (the 1st being The Deerhunter). Anyway, I was wondering why Stanley White got those two nuns to interpret what the triads were saying on the phone when they intercepted it? Surely, they could've got someone in the police force to do it. Strange that they'd get a nun to do such a job. Does anyone know why Stanley White got nuns to do it? Thanks.
shareAs far as I understood, they were hired because they spoke a certain dialect of Chinese. I recall one of the nuns saying something like "it's been a while since I spoke [insert the name of the dialect here]." That's my take on it, not sure if it is the case, really.
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Everything is a farce compared to death.
I thought the nuns were really there for comic relief. A Hakka speaking chinese-American could have easily translated the audio recordings. Or an asian language college student.
shareDespite watching this film over 10x, I don't remember for sure, it's been several years since my last view. However...
I think it was because White couldn't trust anyone in the police department, so he got nuns in, you don't get much more trustworthy than a nun.
P.S. The following posters are probably correct, but, after seeing the film again, nobody mentions how the nuns got the job. That old nun was great though (Fabia Drake - died in 1990 aged 86). Also, this was Tisa Chang's last film role, apparently (the younger nun...did she look 44 years old to you?).
Goat