時報影評：愛情與戰(zhàn)爭綻放的《芳華》

The Chinese director Feng Xiaogang is not quite the Asian Steven Spielberg, but like the American director, he’s achieved blockbuster successes in a variety of genres. His 2006 film, “Legend of the Black Scorpion,” was a sumptuous, “Hamlet”-derived, martial arts period piece. “If You Are the One” from 2008 was a romantic comedy set against the backdrop of entrepreneurial wealth. And last year’s “I Am Not Madame Bovary” was a not-quite-successful formal experiment in adapting a best-selling novel.

中國導演馮小剛并不能算是亞洲的史蒂芬·斯皮爾伯格(Steven Spielberg)，然而同這位美國導演一樣，他涉獵的多種類型片都成了流行大片。2006年的《夜宴》是一部源自哈姆雷特的華麗武俠古裝片。2008年的《非誠勿擾》是一個以企業(yè)家財富為背景的浪漫喜劇。而去年的《我不是潘金蓮》則是一次改編暢銷小說的正式試驗，但不太成功。

His new film, “Youth,” based on a Yan Geling novel, is about a People’s Liberation Army dance troupe in the early 1970s. Western viewers will detect resonances of “Stage Door” and “The Way We Were” in the story, which largely focuses on the disdainful treatment received by the newcomer He Xiaoping (Miao Miao), a girl from a poor background who’s been recruited by the heroic, idealistic Liu Feng (Huang Xuan). During the Sino-Vietnamese war, the entertainers are forced to become warriors and medics.

他的新片《芳華》根據(jù)嚴歌苓的小說改編，講述1970年代初一個部隊文工團的故事。西方觀眾會在故事情節(jié)中發(fā)現(xiàn)與《摘星夢難圓》(Stage Door)和《往日情懷》(The Way We Were)的相似之處，舞團新人何小萍(苗苗飾)出身貧苦，被充滿英雄氣概與理想主義的劉峰(黃軒飾)選入舞團，影片很大程度上集中在她所遭受的歧視和排斥上。在中越戰(zhàn)爭期間，這些文工團成員又被迫成為了戰(zhàn)士和醫(yī)務人員。

The movie’s depiction of cultural change is tidy to the point of being facile, which isn’t to say it’s ineffective. (It seems to have ruffled some feathers in its native country, where its release, intended for September, was held up until recently.) One shot late in the film, after Mao’s death, shows a soldier in profile stepping in front of a bright red billboard — one that advertises Coca-Cola rather than the glories of Communist rule.

影片對文化變遷的描繪非常簡潔，到了輕率的程度，然而并非沒有效果。(該片似乎在自己的祖國惹惱了一些人，它原本計劃九月上映，結果直到近期才推出。)電影快結束時有這樣一個場面：毛澤東去世后，一個鏡頭從側面顯示一名士兵走過一個鮮紅色的廣告牌——那不是宣揚共產(chǎn)黨統(tǒng)治榮耀的標語，而是一個可口可樂廣告牌。

As a straight, sentimental melodrama, “Youth” works well. While there are a lot of conventional tropes, the cast enacts them with such fresh, tenderhearted sincerity that they regain some power.

作為一部直率感傷的情節(jié)劇，《芳華》還不錯。雖然有很多老套的比喻手法，演員們卻以清新溫柔的真誠態(tài)度讓它們重新煥發(fā)出一些力量。