中国经典影片鉴赏

2009-09-14ＪａｍｅｓＰａｌｍｅｒ

双语时代 2009年9期

Ｊａｍｅｓ　Ｐａｌｍｅｒ

编者按:对很多西方人来说,东方是一片神秘的土地,中国更是其中的代表。然而,在世界电影,这个历史并非久远的独特文化格局中,东方电影一直处于弱势地位。面对西方资本和媒体高度结合的文化艺术冲击,中国的电影在近年来反而呈现出一派盎然生机。樊和平教授在东南大学“人文大讲座”的演讲中曾经说到“中国文化形成的是一个儒释道三位一体的精神结构,这个精神结构的特征是自给自足,中国文化的主题就是在入世当中达到一种出世的境界……得意的时候是个儒家,失意的时候是个道家,到了绝望的时候就是个佛家。无论如何都能找到一个安身立命的基地……而这种安身立命,需要一种良好的人文素质和文化涵养……”正因如此,在不断对自我的探索和发掘定位的过程中,将东方传统的理性之光与西方张扬的奢欲之情不断融合,我们才能欣喜地看到一部部晕染着浓厚东方情怀的电影在世界影坛大放异彩。

1895年12月28日法国奥古斯特•卢米埃尔和路易•卢米埃尔兄弟在巴黎卡普辛路14号大咖啡馆的地下室,第一次播放了自己拍摄的《火车到站》、《水浇园丁》、《工厂的大门》等十余部短片,从此,这天就成为电影的诞生日。而现在,电影已经成为人们生活中的一部分,满足精神和文化上的双重享受。丹尼尔•贝尔曾经说过“我坚信,当代文化正逐渐成为视觉文化……这是人们从19世纪中叶开始经历的那种地理和社会的流动以及应运而产生的一种新美学。”从本期开始,《电影传奇》就带你一起在浮光掠影中感受电影文化的魅力。

Weve done directors and actors in previous installments of this series – now we turn to the movies themselves! Plenty of wonderful movies have been left out – alas, we just dont have the space. One strange thing stands out here: China has never produced a great animated movie in recent years. Lets hope that changes in the next few years!

在上几期栏目中我们分别介绍了西方电影界中的著名中国导演以及演员,那么本期我就把眼光投向电影本身。因为页面有限,其中很多精彩的电影都被遗漏了。但有一个奇怪的现象,近些年来中国从未制作出一部优秀的动画电影,希望这种情况在未来能够有所改变。

片名:《小城之春》

类型:家庭/剧情

出品年份:1948年

导演:费穆

编剧:李天济

摄影:李生伟

剪辑:韦纯葆

主演:石羽、崔超明、韦伟、张鸿眉、李纬

片名:《小城之春》

类型:家庭/剧情

出品年份:2002年

导演:田壮壮

改编/艺术顾问:阿城

制片:李少红

摄影:李屏宾

人物造型/服装设计:叶锦添

主演:胡靖钒、吴军、辛柏青

Springtime in a Small Town

《小城之春》

This is one of the few Chinese movies to have been remade, and both versions are classics. The original Spring in A Small Town, made by the great Shanghai director Fei Mu in 1948, is a beautiful film, but got caught up in the tides of history – a quiet, reflective film, it was deemed unrevolutionary by the new government, and received almost no showing. It enjoyed a renaissance in the 1980s, and was remade by Tian Zhuangzhuang in 2002, both as an exercise in craftsmanship and to introduce the film to a new generation. The plots of both versions are almost identical, dealing as they do with the return of Zhang Zuyuan, a city doctor, to his old friend Dai Liyuns house just after the end of the war against the Japanese. The invalid Dai lives with his wife in a sexless, but affectionate, marriage, but Zhang and Dais wife, Yuwen, had a passionate affair ten years ago, and their feelings for each other rekindle.

这是中国少数被翻拍的电影中新旧版本都被奉为经典的影片。原版《小城之春》是由上海著名导演费穆于1948年拍摄,画面优美,却牵涉到历史——电影本身平静、发人深省,却被新政府认为是反革命,几乎全面禁播。直到上个世纪八十年代才得到复兴,并在2002年被田壮壮导演翻拍,二者都熟练运用技巧,将影片介绍给了新一代。新旧版本的情节大致相同,抗日战争刚刚结束,医生章志忱来到老朋友戴礼言的家中,导演们着重刻画一家人如何面对他的归来。久缠病榻的戴礼言和妻子的婚姻生活平淡无奇,但又对彼此存在感情,而章志忱和戴礼言的妻子玉纹在十年前曾是一对恋人,再见时两人心中又泛起了涟漪。

One interesting point about the film, in both versions, is its lack of evil. The closest thing to a villainous character is the husband, Dai Liyun, and even he is a decent and honorable man – the audience feels nothing but sympathy for him most of the time, especially as he becomes increasingly sidelined in his own house. At one point he wanders off from a drinkinggame, and nobody even notices that hes gone. The cinematography is gorgeous – modern film quality makes the recent version look better, although its filmed in the same crisp black and white as the original, and the Chinese countryside has rarely looked better.

有趣的是两个版本的电影中都没有坏人。最接近恶人角色的就是丈夫戴礼言了,即使是他,也是一位得体的乡村绅士——大多时间观众对他都是报以深深的同情,尤其当他在自己家中日益被忽视。其中一个场景是戴礼言从酒席上离开,却没有人注意到。电影实在是太奇妙了——尽管两个版本都使用了同样冷清的黑白单色,现代电影技术使得新版看起来效果更好,中国的乡村看起来也没有发生太大的变化。

The mood of the movie is melancholy, full of regret for lost loves and lost opportunities, but with moments of great humour and joy. Its also intensely erotically charged while having almost no actual sexual content; there are scenes between the lovers where theyre fully clothed and barely touching that are more crackling with sexual energy than any nude scene in a Hollywood blockbuster. A warning, though, this film is slow. Very, very slow, and very little action happens – its all about the beauty of the shots and the subtle development of the characters, so it isnt for everyone. If you find you like this style, however, you might want to check out the British forties classic Brief Encounter, about two married lovers longing for each other, but restrained by both society and their own sense of marital fidelity, or the quiet grace of the Danish classic Babettes Feast.

电影的基调无疑是悲凉的,满是痛失所爱的悔恨和造化弄人的惋惜,但也有片刻的欢愉。而且,尽管影片中没有涉及任何真正的情色画面却显得情欲十足;很多场景中相爱的人们衣着整洁,几乎没有肢体接触,这种暗涌的情愫比好莱坞那些赤裸裸的画面要更具震撼力。影片寓意深远,节奏缓慢,鲜少有动作场景——所有一切都围绕着镜头呈现的美和角色的微妙变化慢慢展开,所以这部电影不适合所有人。如果你觉得自己喜欢这种类型的影片,那么你可以去找找英国上世纪四十年代的电影《相见恨晚》,讲的是一对各自心有所属的已婚夫妻,但却受制于社会以及对婚姻的责任感,或者是优雅安静的丹麦电影《芭比的盛宴》。

网友点评:费穆在一个社会矛盾异常激烈的年代执导了影片《小城之春》。这部偏安于精神一隅的作品显得那么不合时宜。然而大约半个世纪之后,当我们再度欣赏到这部蒙尘的佳作时,惊叹之声不绝于耳。第五代导演的代表人物田壮壮更是重拍了这部经典,向电影大师费穆致敬。有人说费穆的《小城之春》是一部消极避世的作品,正如当时主流电影界对它的评价,说它充斥着“没落阶级颓废感情的渲染”。实际上正好相反,《小城之春》是“电影文人”最具中国文化底蕴的一种自我表达手法。全片不着时政,却暗传了当时知识分子的苦闷心境,具有时代意味。这种艺术手法在中国古代的诗词歌赋中很常见,古人在做诗时,明写男女之事,实写政治情怀。含蓄至极,不落半点痕迹。有些东西我们避无可避。可是,穿过这一段流光,我们却明明白白地看见两代电影人的深刻艺术情怀。

片名:《集结号》

类型:剧情/战争

出品年份:2007年

导演:冯小刚

编剧:刘恒

制作人:陈国富、庄澄、冯小刚、王中军、王中磊

摄影:吕乐

视觉特效:菲尔琼斯

主演:张涵予、廖凡、胡军、邓超、王宝强

Assembly

《集结号》

Outside of the worst reaches of American straight-to-DVD-movies, war is very rarely glorified in Western cinema anymore. Even the most hackneyed of military films has to touch upon the blood, betrayal, and pointless waste of real war - although for many young men, the gore, horror, and violence depicted in films like Full Metal Jacket or Apocalypse Now are attractive in themselves!Chinese war movies, in contrast, have often been propagandistic affairs, glorifying battle and sacrifice.

除了最差劲的美国数字大片外,西方电影中战争很少是歌功颂德的。即使是最滥的军事题材影片也会涉及到杀戮血腥、背叛以及真实战争所造成的毫无意义的浪费——尽管对很多年轻人来说,像在《全金属外壳》和《现代启示录》这种影片中所描述的杀戮血腥、恐惧以及暴力本身就很具吸引力。相反,中国的战争题材电影常常是用来宣扬重大事件、表彰战争胜利以及歌颂奉献牺牲。

Assembly, directed by Feng Xiaogang, was the first modern Chinese movie to take a more realistic approach to war and its aftermath. Its battle scenes are particularly notable – filmed with alternating close and long shots, both showing the emotions of the characters and the grim face of the battlefield. In some ways it imitates Spielbergs seminal war movie, Saving Private Ryan, including using Spielbergs technique of faded out, dark colours for the battle scenes, making them look all the grimmer.

冯小刚导演的《集结号》是中国首部真实反映战争以及其后果的现代影片。它的战争场景异常宏大——交互特写以及远程拍摄的手法都表现了角色的情感波动以及战场的丑恶嘴脸。在某些方面也模仿了斯皮尔伯格的经典战争片《拯救大兵瑞恩》,包括斯皮尔伯格惯用的渐褪技巧、战争背景下的黑云,这一切都突出了战争的无情和残酷。

What makes the movie particularly interesting, though, is its exploration of the bureaucracy and politics around war – it takes place over the course of the end of the Chinese Civil War and the beginning of the Korean War – and the nature of heroism and memory. This leads to a greater emphasis on interpersonal scenes (played out amongst beautifuly rendered ruined landscapes) than most war movies, although the exploration of the nature of wartime brotherhood – explored here through the relationship between the men of a unit ruthlessly sacrificed by their commanders – is a common theme. Its worth watching back to back with Saving Private Ryan, and perhaps also with the Japanese/American masterpiece Letters from Iwo Jima, directed by Clint Eastwood.

这部电影最有趣的地方是它探讨了战争中的官僚主义和政治——它发生在内战结束到朝鲜战争开始之际——以及英雄主义的天性和回忆。这使得影片更多地渲染人际关系场景(多在饱受战争摧残的乡村)而不是战争画面,尽管战争中的兄弟情(本片是通过描述被指挥官无情牺牲的一个连的士兵们之间的关系来探讨)是大主题。你可以将这部电影和《拯救大兵瑞恩》一起反复欣赏,还有克林特•伊斯特伍德执导的美日经典影片《硫磺岛来信》。

网友点评:靠《甲方乙方》、《没完没了》等喜剧片树立自己在中国内地一线商业导演地位的冯小刚凭借《集结号》证明了自己在内地商业片导演中的实力,当然,你要无视《夜宴》那种所谓的大片。一个国家的电影比任何其他艺术媒体都更为直接地反映出这个民族的心态,在战争片方面更是如此。战争电影及与战争相关的电影一般都耗资巨大,因此它会比任何类型的电影都更加鲜明地表达出各种流行社会意识形态。在正常的表达下,战争电影的主题基本都是在努力升华和质询一个民族如何看待某一具体冲突以及这一冲突如何随时间的推移对集体梦魇、习俗或欲望所产生的沉淀作用。如果从这一高度来要求《集结号》,虽然本片后半部分非常感人,但还是在深度挖掘上留下了一些遗憾,但对于当下的中国电影来说,能够有《集结号》这样的影片产生,就已经预示着中国电影未来的可能。

片名:《霸王别姬》

影片类型:爱情/剧情/音乐

出品年份:1993年

导演:陈凯歌

编剧:李碧华、芦苇

摄影:顾长卫

音乐:赵季平

主演:张国荣、张丰毅、巩俐、英达、葛优

Farewell, My Concubine

《霸王别姬》

This beautiful and disturbing movie is considered by many to be the greatest Chinese film of all time, and its easy to see why. From the stupendous opening, where two beautifully made-up figures confront each other on a grand stage, to the scenes of misery and poverty in pre-war China, the film is visually ravishing. The plot is about a Peking Opera troupe who recruit a young boy, Douzi, who is trained to play female roles alongside his counterpart, Shitou. They end up appearing before the great men of four governments; the old imperial order, the Nationalists, the Japanese, and the Communists, while going through their own personal sufferings and loves.Douzi becomes the adult Cheng Dieyi (played by Leslie Cheung), and Shitou Duan Xiaolou (played by Zhang Fengyi), both famous actors, but their conflicted love for each other alternately pulls them together and drives them apart. Alongside the main plot, the action of the Peking opera also called Farewell My Concubine parallels and illuminates the characters feelings for each other.

这部赏心悦目令人百转千回的影片被很多人奉为中国电影的经典,原因显而易见。电影一开场就很惊人,从两个漂亮的人偶在华丽的舞台上相对,再转到战前痛苦、贫穷的晚清,视觉效果异常华丽。影片讲述了京城的一个戏班收留了一名叫豆子的小孩,并将他训练成旦角和师兄石头搭戏。最后他们一起经历了四个不同的政府领导:旧封建王朝、国民政府、日本伪军和共产党,其中也贯穿了他们的个人经历以及情感波折。豆子和石头分别就是后来的程蝶衣(张国荣扮演)与段晓楼(张丰毅扮演),两人都成了名角,而他们之间复杂的情感纠葛将彼此不断拉近又推远。和主要剧情平行发展的还有不断上演的著名京剧片段《霸王别姬》,这也暗示着主角对彼此的情感。

Fantastically visually lush and beautifully acted – Leslie Cheungs own sexual orientation and eventual suicide lend an extra tragedy to the film – the film has many themes. One key one is identity, particularly sexual identity – Douzis homosexuality seems to be shaped in part by his training and abuse, while all the characters find themselves absorbed in the roles they play on stage. The theme of sexual abuse also permeates the film, both literally and symbolically – Douzi, as a young boy, is abused by a eunuch, while his acceptance of his role as a girl comes after Shitou orally assaults him with a very phallic pipe. The gruesome opening, where his extra finger is cut off by his mother so the troupe will take him, is also hideously remiscent of castration – a horror we remember later that his eunuch abuser also suffered. The relationship between politics and art, particularly as the troupe suffers during the Cultural Revolution, comes to the fore at various points, particularly in the dealings between the troupes master and the various government authorities he has to work around. A marvellously rich, detailed, multi-layered film, worth watching again and again. The melodramatic Amadeus deals with similar themes of music and passion, but perhaps the closest Western equivalent would be the fantastic movie Cabaret, about sexual ambiguities and gorgeous dancer routines in a Berlin cabaret during the end of the Weimar era, as the Nazis come to power.

视觉华丽,表演精湛——张国荣自己的性取向以及最后自杀的结局都给影片抹上了浓重的悲剧色彩——电影有众多主题。其中关键的一个就是身份认同,尤其是同志身份——豆子的同性倾向很大部分是由于戏班的训练以及后来遭受的欺辱所造成,所有的角色在舞台上都沉浸在角色中不能自拔。性侵犯的主题也贯穿全剧,无论是真实地还是抽象地——在石头将一个烟管(片中隐喻男性器官,与后来豆子的经历相呼应)插进豆子嘴里后,他就接受了自己的“女孩”身份,之后还惨遭宦官的侵犯。而且电影一开始的场景也很骇人,豆子的母亲为了让戏班收留豆子将他多余的一根手指砍掉,这也隐喻了某种身份的阉割——也是我们后来在影片中看到的豆子的侵犯者老宦官曾经遭受的痛苦。如同戏班在文化大革命中所遭受的一切,政治和艺术的关系无论在什么时候都成为关注的焦点,尤其是在处理戏班班主与不同的政府权贵周旋时。这部电影主旨丰富、情节详尽、寓意深刻,值得反复欣赏。电影《莫扎特传》也是关于音乐以及对音乐的执着的相似主题,但西方最接近的电影恐怕是优秀影片《歌厅》,它描述了魏玛时代末期、纳粹刚刚兴起的柏林,在那里关于性别模糊以及华丽歌舞的故事。

网友点评:“力拔山兮气盖世,时不利兮骓不逝;骓不逝兮可奈何,虞兮虞兮奈若何。”当年在骇下此曲既罢,虞姬自刎而死,最后的诀别,就这么成了传唱千古的凄美绝响。可以说电影《霸王别姬》的成功来自故事,来自人物,来自导演,来自音乐,来自戏里戏外不能分割的爱恨纠缠。电影原作者李碧华是香港文坛大名鼎鼎的才女,被称为“天下言情第一人”,这跟琼瑶哭天喊地的言情完全不是一回事,她的其他作品《青蛇》、《胭脂扣》、《生死桥》、《秦俑》、《饺子》、《潘金莲之前世今生》、《诱僧》等无一不是精品。而《霸王别姬》让大家认识了不一样的张国荣。很难说是程蝶衣成就了张国荣,还是张国荣成就了程蝶衣,直到现在大家还在深深地怀念哥哥。他自己的人生也如一场戏,也许正应验了那句“不许美人迟暮,只留英雄白头”。一路情闯荡到台下,没有了名正言顺的眉眼,世俗的眼睛里容不得。至于导演陈凯歌,在面对最新差强人意的电影《梅兰芳》,回过头看看曾经的绝唱《霸王别姬》,恐怕只能感叹“往事不要再提”。

片名:《喋血街头》

类型:动作/惊悚/剧情/犯罪

出品年份:1990年

导演:吴宇森

编剧:泰小珍、梁柏坚、吴宇森

制作人:梁柏坚、吴宇森、万艾伦

原创音乐:戴乐民、黄沾

摄影:林国华、黄永恒

剪辑:吴宇森、胡大为

艺术指导:梁华生

主演:梁朝伟、张学友、李子雄、任达华、袁洁莹

Bullet in the Head

《喋血街头》

Bullet in the Head is John Woos masterpiece, a complex, tough movie with fantastic action scenes – and one that sadly flopped on its original Hong Kong release. Ah well, it happens to all the best movies. Not that weve got anything against his other early movies – The Killer is a melodramatic masterpiece, and Hard-Boiled a great action thriller – but this is the pinnacle. It opens with a marvellous sequence, set to a cover of the Monkees Im a Believer, which cuts between a Hong Kong dance hall in the late 60s, where three young men are grooving away with their girlfriends, and those same loveable youngsters involved in brutal gang violence. A lovely, disturbing sequence, it immediately sets up the theme of the movie; youthful innocence corrupted by violence and war. After accidentally killing a prominent gangster, the three protagonists flee Hong Kong, looking to make their fortunes in wartime Saigon. There they become caught up in the rescue of a beautiful singer indentured to a cruel boss (a common trope in Woos work, one taken from the melodramas of the 1930s) but, after freeing her and escaping with suitcases full of money, find themselves captured by the Vietcong and subjected to a cruel imprisonment which, even after their release, takes a terrible psychological toll.

《喋血街头》是吴宇森的经典之作,情节复杂、暴力,充满了激烈的打斗场景——一开始在香港首映票房惨淡。但好像几乎所有好电影都出现过这种情况。不是说他的其它早期电影不好——《喋血双雄》是剧情片典范,《辣手神探》则是经典的动作惊悚片——而这部则是他的巅峰之作。电影一开场是一系列绝妙的图片,伴随着门基乐队的歌曲《Im a Believer》画面突然切换到上个世纪六十年代末期的香港舞厅,三个年轻人和各自的女友正在一起跳舞嬉戏,随后他们就卷入了一场残忍的黑帮暴力事件。动人却揪心的故事情节发展,但这很快就确立了电影的主题;年轻无辜的人被暴力和斗争所腐蚀。在无意错杀了一个黑社会老大后,三个年轻人逃离香港,准备前往处于战争中的越南西贡市(已改名胡志明市Ho Chi Minh City)寻找未来。在那里他们试图营救一个陷入残忍老板之手的美丽歌女(吴宇森惯用的手法,借鉴于上世纪三十年代的剧集),但在成功解救她并带着一箱子钱跑路时却被越共抓住,并遭受了非人的监禁,即使出狱后依旧摆脱不了心理阴影。

Woo is clearly working within the framework of the Western Vietnam movie – in particular, aspects of the plot closely follow The Deer Hunter, a 1978 classic about three young Americans taken prisoner in Vietnam, and the effects it has on them. Woo, however, brings a uniquely Chinese perspective to the story; his heroes are there by tragic personal circumstance, rather than the draft, and their motivations are more financial than warlike. The movie brilliantly shifts gears two-thirds of the way through; the first part is really a wartime gangster epic, while the last third returns to the regular grimness of the Vietnam movie. As youd expect from Woo, the action sequences are beautifully choreographed – perhaps too beautifully, when it comes to the outdoor war pieces, which look rather too much like gangster movie shootouts to be convincing. Yet the movie finds its own stylised reality, creating a world thats both over-the-top and emotionally convincing. Watch it alongside The Deer Hunter and Platoon to contrast takes on the Vietnam story.

吴宇森无疑一直将作品局限在西方的“越战电影”框架中——情节很接近《猎鹿人》,拍摄于1978年描述三个美国人被越共抓住以及对他们的影响的经典影片,但吴宇森给故事赋予了独特的中国视角;他的主角多是由于个人的悲剧环境而被迫前往,并非应征入伍,动机也大多和金钱有关,而并非战争。影片在发展到三分之二的时候发生急剧变化;第一部分完全讲述黑帮纠纷,后三分之一又回到了主流的越共电影情节。正如你对吴宇森的期盼一样,他的动作影片武打设计很华丽——可以用惊人来形容,尤其当提到露天战争片段时,说是黑帮电影中的交火更可信。显然电影已经找到了自己的固定写实风格,营造了一个超越现实但又能产生情感共鸣的世界。你可以将这部电影跟《猎鹿人》、《野战排》这些展现越南故事的影片一起对比观看。

网友点评:有人曾经怀疑,吴宇森讲述的究竟是城市童话,还是人间的幻境?很显然,他是个宏大的理想主义者,用自己的风格诠释着江湖,为我们描写了一个光明与黑暗不断摩擦冲撞的世界,虽然身处无边的黑暗,却同时也有感人的光明。吴宇森的江湖是血腥的、暴力的,但也是唯美的,有一点血性、一点情谊。武侠过于庞杂的思想制约了美感的抒发,而吴宇森创造出的简单世界则展现了惊心动魄的美丽。除去惯常的元素,他还给影片加入了时代背景。残酷却充满诱惑的动乱年代,能成就人也能毁灭人。漫长的时代变迁,为友情的变化、亲密、分离、决裂提供了充分的支持。观众也能感觉到沧海桑田,这样的影片最能打动人心。现在电影最大的弊病就是“它不会让我们感动”,只会形而上地宏大或唯美,迷恋于颓靡的、扭曲的情节,编造着难以自圆其说、无病呻吟的故事。

Notes

1. in installments

意为“分期地”。也可以说by installments。

例句:The equipment will be paid in installments with the commodities produced by our factory.

设备以我们工厂生产的产品分期偿还。

I can't afford to pay that much right now. May I pay by installments?

我现在一时付不起那么多钱,我可以分期付款吗?

2. catch up in

意为“沉湎于、沉浸于”。

例句:We were so caught up in the movie that we forgot what time it was.

我们被那电影深深吸引,简直忘了时间。

3. wander off