[ti:'The Florida Project' Explores the Lives of Poor Kids in Disney's Shadow] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Millions of children dream of going to Disney World, [00:05.56]the most famous theme park in America. [00:10.64]Families travel to the Orlando, Florida site [00:15.08]from all around the United States and the world. [00:21.88]But many children are too poor to ever get inside the park, [00:28.24]even those who live in the neighborhood [00:32.28]-- like the group of young characters in the new film, The Florida Project. [00:40.04]In the movie, Disney World serves as a symbol of the social divide in the U.S. [00:49.32]Most of the young characters are one or both parents. [00:56.76]They live in a couple of small motels along a big road near Disney World. [01:04.80]Sean Baker is the director of the movie. [01:08.80]"My co-screenwriter brought this topic to my attention, [01:11.60]the fact that there are families with children living in budget motels [01:15.44]outside of what we consider the happiest place on Earth -- a place for children [01:19.80]-- and that juxtaposition obviously grabbed me." [01:23.92]The leader of the somewhat wild, rarely supervised band of children [01:30.64]is six-year-old Moonee, played by Brooklynn Prince. [01:36.96]"The man who lives in here gets arrested a lot. [01:40.25]These are the rooms we're not supposed to go in -- but let's go anyway!" [01:45.56]Bria Vinaite plays Moonee's childlike mother Halley. [01:50.72]Halley loves her daughter but lacks some basic parenting skills and a job. [02:00.04]She turns to prostitution, endangering her daughter and their life together. [02:08.44]Vinaite says life is very difficult for the kind of woman she plays in the film. [02:16.11]"If you have a daughter who you have to take care of, [02:18.50]a roof to put over her head, food, [02:21.02]and then, on top of that, you have to take care of yourself. [02:23.64]And it's just like, I feel like in her situation, [02:26.92]her concerns are not even important to her. It's about Moonee." [02:31.24]Actor Willem Dafoe plays Bobby, caretaker of the motel. [02:37.88]He tries to help the children stay out of trouble. [02:42.56]He is both their disciplinarian and protector. [02:48.28]At one point in the film, Bobby criticizes Moonie's mother. [02:53.44]"When your friend puts you in charge of her kid, [02:57.04]that kid becomes your responsibility." [03:01.08]Bobby is based on a real motel caretaker in Florida. [03:06.72]Director Baker said when Dafoe got the part, [03:11.36]he wanted to fully understand the world created in the movie. [03:18.08]Baker said Dafoe came to the set a week early. [03:23.72]He interviewed the motel owner and others. [03:28.04]And then, Baker said "one day, he comes to the set and he has this spray tan on, [03:36.48]and he had all kinds of accessories he chose [03:40.40]building this Florida man as his character." [03:45.52]Baker said the film shows Americans struggling to survive. [03:52.68]He made the movie after he watched [03:55.48]The Little Rascals series of short films from the 1920s and 1930s. [04:04.72]The series is about a group of neighborhood kids getting into trouble. [04:11.52]They show how children dealt with poverty [04:15.44]during the period of American economic failure known as the Great Depression. [04:23.40]Director Baker said he found Vinaite on the social media site Instagram. [04:30.92]She and Brooklynn Prince had never acted before. [04:36.76]Vinaite said she had not known before the movie that there were single mothers [04:43.76]who struggled so much and were so close to homelessness. [04:49.84]She said Baker drove her around Orlando [04:54.04]to meet some of the women who lived in the budget motels. [05:00.04]Vinaite said she returned to her hotel room and cried. [05:05.92]Brooklynn Prince said when she watched the film, [05:10.24]she felt the pain of the characters. [05:13.76]"I cry at the end too, like on the screen. I cry. [05:18.88]I cried just watching it." [05:22.72]I'm Caty Weaver. [05:24.16]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM