從“賣相”上看來,《綠皮書》算是小眾文藝片那一類,沒有中國觀眾熟悉的好萊塢明星,也沒有炫目的特效,故事表達的主題也略顯老套。
這或許也是之前的奧斯卡影片在中國往往表現(xiàn)不佳的原因。
然而《綠皮書》卻是個例外。豆瓣評分8.9、《泰坦尼克號》之后最叫座的奧斯卡獲獎影片……外媒都被它在中國的表現(xiàn)驚呆了。
On the social network and movie review platform Douban the movie has a rating of 8.9/10, outperforming 98% of comedies and 97% of dramas.
在中國社交和電影評論平臺豆瓣上,《綠皮書》斬獲了8.9分的高分,高于98%的喜劇類和97%的劇情類。
The film has taken in more than $30 million since it opened, making it the highest-earning best-picture winner in China after Titanic. In the past many Oscar best-picture films have been viewed as niche, and haven’t done very well.
從上映起,《綠皮書》在中國吸金3000萬美元,成為在《泰坦尼克號》之后最叫座的奧斯卡獲獎影片。過去的奧斯卡影片都被看作不接地氣的陽春白雪,表現(xiàn)不佳。
niche n.小眾市場
上個周末,雙語君(微信ID:Chinadaily_Mobile)特意去電影院把這部大熱的電影看了。
其中,有一幕似乎讓觀眾笑得特別開心。(劇透預(yù)警了啊)
“You people love fried chicken,” says a white chauffeur to the black man in the back seat, offering him a drumstick.
“你們黑人都喜歡炸雞的,”白人司機對后座黑人乘客說著,遞給他一個琵琶腿。
chauffeur ['???f?; ???'f??]司機
“You have a very narrow assessment of me,” the passenger responds, refusing to take it. After a short argument, he begins to gingerly nibble on the chicken, then polishes it off, and even flings the bone out the window, in imitation of his carefree driver.
“你對我的認識非常狹隘啊,”乘客說,沒接那個琵琶腿。在爭論片刻之后,黑人乘客小心翼翼地啃起了雞腿,接著啃完了整只,甚至還學(xué)著司機,把骨頭扔到了窗外。
看到這個鏡頭,電影院不少觀眾都笑翻了。
石英網(wǎng)記者在中國觀看這部影片時,也發(fā)現(xiàn)了中國觀眾對這一幕的特別喜愛,并且寫下了《為什么中國觀眾會喜歡<綠皮書>》("Why Audiences in China Are Loving Green Book?")一文。
為什么中國觀眾喜歡《綠皮書》?作者在廣州看這部電影時,演到炸雞這一幕,整個影院爆發(fā)歡笑(burst into delighted laughter)。
這一幕在中國社交媒體上也頗有熱度:
In China that moment was widely discussed on the social media platform Weibo as one of the film’s best scenes. A lot of the chatter is just jokes from Chinese users saying they would love to have a KFC Family Bucket.
但在中國,這一幕在微博上卻成為了最具熱度的一幕。很多用戶都開玩笑說,看完《綠皮書》就想吃個肯德基全家桶。
截至3月11日下午,微博上#看完綠皮書就想吃炸雞#話題的閱讀已經(jīng)達到3.7億,討論6.2萬條。
當然,如果說這一幕在中國受到歡迎的原因只是因為大家想吃炸雞,那未免也太不公平。
不少中國觀眾喜歡這一幕,是因為這一個細節(jié)傳遞人物性格,也體現(xiàn)出人與人之間跨越了種族的一種溫情:
But many also felt connected to Shirley’s complex character—"the doctor who uses indifference to cover the inner loneliness," as one Douban reviewer describes him.
但很多人也因這一幕感受到了謝利博士復(fù)雜的人物性格——“這位博士用冷漠來掩蓋了他內(nèi)心的孤獨,”一位豆瓣網(wǎng)友評論說。
從喜劇的角度來講,這一場景里戲劇沖突形成的“反差萌”效果也著實符合中國觀眾的胃口。
石英網(wǎng)援引影評人韓浩月的評論說,影片的笑點設(shè)定比較符合中國觀眾對喜劇片的認知和要求:
比如片中是白人給黑人當司機,就與一般人心目中黑人應(yīng)該為白人服務(wù)的印象調(diào)了個個兒,這種由戲劇沖突造成的喜劇性,讓人想起開心麻花的模式。影片還大量運用反轉(zhuǎn)手法,營造出很多意料之外的笑點,國內(nèi)觀眾也很吃這一套。
不過,這位外媒記者可能不太了解中國“網(wǎng)梗”,因此也忽視了這一幕走紅的原因。且看這條高贊豆瓣評論……
對,就是王境澤沒錯了。
但讓作者想不通過的是,在美國,頗受中國觀眾歡迎的炸雞這一幕成為了批評者們攻擊的對象。
在《赫芬頓郵報》中兩個影評人的探討中,有著如下的對話:
Matt Jacobs: The movie that would have felt at home 20 years ago, the ideas it’s proffering, aren’t any more thoughtful or progressive. I mean, in “Green Book,” a white man teaches a black man how to eat fried chicken, for chrissakes. What can we even make of that scene?
馬特·雅各布斯:如果是20年前的話,這部電影可能會比較合時宜。它所傳遞的價值觀并沒有更深刻或者更進步了。在《綠皮書》里,一個白人教一個黑人怎么吃炸雞,我的老天鵝,這到底是想表達什么呢?
Zeba Blay: That scene in particular epitomizes a lot of what’s off about this movie. I didn’t think there was anything inherently offensive about the scene, but, boy, was it self-aware. Like, I see what you’re doing, movie, and you see that I see what you’re doing, and you’re feeling pretty clever and patting yourself on the back when, in actuality, you’re not doing/saying anything that interesting or provocative at all.
澤巴·布萊:這個橋段是這部電影不對勁的典型代表了。其實這個場景本身而言并沒有什么冒犯,但他們太把這一幕當回事了。我知道這是電影,這一點你也心知肚明,你對這一幕特別引以為豪,但實際上這并沒有什么有趣的,也很平常。
由于文化差異帶來的審美異同還不止于此。
雖然有著新晉奧斯卡最佳影片的光環(huán),但這部電影在美國仍然受到了一些美國影評人和觀眾的批評。
還有一些評論認為,這部電影表面平權(quán),但卻以白人的視角、表現(xiàn)的是白人的自我救贖。這一點也有一些中國網(wǎng)友深以為然:
Some people in China saw the film in much the same way as its critics in the US: “Really quite a white-male perspective,” said one Douban reviewer. “This piece is very traditional—no wonder it won the Oscar.”
一些中國觀眾和美國影評人的觀點一致:“真的是非常白人男性視角,”一位豆瓣網(wǎng)友說。“這是在是很經(jīng)典的視角——難怪它能獲奧斯卡獎。”
還有一些美國人覺得,電影這種輕快的調(diào)調(diào)并不能反應(yīng)這段歷史真實的沉重感(fails to capture the true intensity of that history)。
但作者卻覺得,正是因為影片有這種“笑著講故事”的特質(zhì),才使之打破文化壁壘,成功打動地球另一端的觀眾:
I began to wonder if the very qualities that made the film controversial in the US have been key to helping it connect with people on the other side of the world. As the critics point out, it’s a feel-good movie—well-paced, funny at times, and touching as the characters open their hearts to each other.
我開始覺得,這個在美國備受爭議的特質(zhì),會不會正是電影在世界的另一端獲得成功的原因。就像是影評人指出的,這部電影節(jié)奏適當、笑料不斷,當主人公對彼此坦誠相待,又戳人淚點。
輕松的敘事詮釋沉重的主題,正是這部影片吸引讀者的原因之一,“不是所有沉重都要用沉重去表現(xiàn)”。
影片中的一些細節(jié)也頗為容易讓中國觀眾產(chǎn)生共鳴,比如謝利讓弗拉朗格放回偷拿的玉石,后來明明知道他假意放回也為了保住他的顏面沒有揭發(fā)他;謝利幫弗拉朗格寫信給妻子等等:
Shirley helps Vallelonga write letters to his wife, including correcting his spellings and polishing his metaphors, which resonated with the audience, since the effort to delicately express love is valued in Chinese culture too.
謝利幫助弗拉朗格給妻子寫信,幫他遣詞造句、修改拼寫這部分也和觀眾產(chǎn)生了共鳴,因為中國文化也非常注重微妙地表達愛意。
或許正像是作者所說:
The movie’s approach may have been excessively light for people closer to that history, but for a more distant audience, it seems to have been the right touch.
對于和歷史更近的人群來講,影片的調(diào)調(diào)或許太過輕快了。但是離這段歷史比較遠的觀眾來說,這樣的表達不多不少剛剛好。