系列文章《亚洲电影巡礼》总共包括中国、韩国、印度以及伊朗四站,让大家尽情体验亚洲各国电影的不同特色和美丽风情。以下为大家带来第二站——
South Korea’s film industry is undergoing an amazing transformation. Since the late 1990s, a new wave of South Korean filmmakers has burst on the scene. Their movies thrill audiences all over the world, but South Korean cinema has made its greatest breakthrough at home. South Korean films have shot their way to the No. 1 spot in the local box office. Even Hollywood has been beaten into second place. So what is the secret behind the success of South Korean cinema?
Chris Berry (Professor): I think Korean films have succeeded in Korea because they deal with topics that only Korean film can deal with – things that matter to ordinary Koreans. On the other hand, they’ve succeeded internationally, especially in the Asian region, because they’re taking a 1)genre cinema that is familiar to people around the region and giving it an Asian 2)twist.
韩国电影业正处于一个了不起的转变过程。自上世纪90年代末起,新一波韩国电影人纷纷崛起。他们的电影打动了全世界的观众。但韩国电影最大的突破体现在其国内——韩国电影迅速攀升到本土电影院的票房首席,连好莱坞电影都只能屈居其后。那么韩国电影的成功秘诀到底是什么呢?
克里斯·贝里(教授):我想韩国电影能够在国内取得成功,是因为它们涉及的是只有韩国电影才能拍好的题材——也就是那些对普通韩国人来说很重要的元素。另一方面,它们在国际上也取得了成功,尤其在亚洲地区(很受欢迎),是因为其电影类别对这个地区的观众来说耳熟能详,并且给电影赋予了亚洲式的转折情节。
The Turning Point 腾飞转折点
The South Korean film industry really took off after democratic elections in 1987.The following year, with a new constitution, the strict 3)censorship, that had been 4)in place since the war, began to ease. South Korean directors now had the opportunity to explore other 5)controversial subjects from the country’s 6)tumultuous history. With this new-found freedom, filmmakers started to question the authority of 7)the Establishment, including police and justice under 8)martial law.
While South Korean filmmakers were exploring once forbidden topics, another law gave these films a fighting chance of reaching an audience. At the time the industry was taking off in the 1990s, South Korean cinemas had to screen local movies for 146 days of the year.
Berry: If there had been no 9)quota system in place, it’s unlikely that people in Korea would have been willing to invest in the Korean cinema. The guarantee of screenings guaranteed at least a certain return.
韩国电影业的真正起飞出现在1987年民主选举之后。第二年,韩国制定新宪法,朝鲜战争后延续下来的严格电影审查制度也开始松绑。韩国导演现在可以探讨其他韩国动荡历史中的争议性题材了。得到了过去没有的自由后,电影人开始质疑当权者的权威,包括在戒严令下的警察和公义等问题。
这边厢,韩国电影人开始探讨过去的禁忌题材;另一边厢,一条法律让这些电影有机会争取到观众。上世纪90年代电影业开始发展时,韩国电影院每年有146天必须放映本土电影。
贝里:如果当时没有配额制度,韩国人也许不愿投资本土电影。保证放映时间就是保证这个投资起码能获得一定回报。
A Successful Genre 屡试不爽的电影类型
In the 1980s, many young Korean filmmakers went abroad to study, then brought back advanced filmmaking techniques. As they matured, they began to experiment with new story genres. This combination of style meets story created a string of box office smashes.
Berry: Since the 1990s, the Korean production system has been completely transformed from an old-fashioned studio system to a highly mobile and flexible production system that is very aware of 10)contemporary marketing techniques and the need for strong marketing budgets.
Korea makes between 50 to 100 movies a year, but films from one particular genre have become hits in the West.
Berry: For foreigners watching Korean film, they often get the idea that Korea itself is a very violent society. However, Korean society itself is actually relatively peaceable and relatively safe. This violence in the cinema must, I think, reflect in some sense the difficult history of Korea.
Korea’s 11)traumatic past is seen not only in films about war and division, but in violent action films. Some of the most popular have been directed by Chan-wook Park. He found international 12)cult status with his Vengeance 13)trilogy: Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Old Boy and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.
Old Boy won second prize注1 at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004 and had a limited international run thanks to the involvement of American director Quentin Tarantino注2.
Old Boy is a clever Korean reinvention of the classic
Hollywood action thriller. The 14)unwitting protagonist is kidnapped for 15 years. Then he’s given five days and a series of clues to exact his revenge on his kidnapper, Woo-jin Lee.
Director Park’s trilogy came to a predictable 15)blood-curdling conclusion with Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. Once again it 16)revolves around kidnap and murder.
Film Critic: The director thinks that kidnapping and 17)confinement is a good way to talk about forgiveness and 18)salvation. That’s what it’s all about.
The Vengeance trilogy put South Korean films on the international festival 19)circuit. With a distinctly Korean style the films picked up 20)numerous awards and came close to winning the 21)prestigious Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
Berry: Chan-wook Park’s Revenge series has had a huge impact outside Korea, in particular in Europe and The United States, where this idea of Asian extreme has taken hold, and the association of Korean cinema – and also some Japanese cinema, with 22)ultra-violence and horror – has taken hold. The result is a kind of branding of Korean cinema in the West that maybe doesn’t 23)correspond to the local image of Korean cinema.
上世纪80年代,许多年轻韩国电影人出国留学,带回先进的电影拍摄技术。技艺成熟之后,他们开始尝试新的故事类型。这种风格和故事的融合造就了一系列打破票房纪录的卖座电影。
贝里:上世纪90年代起,韩国的电影制作体系发生了翻天覆地的变化,从旧式的电影制片厂体制转变为有高度机动性的灵活制作体制。他们很了解当代营销技巧,知道一部电影需要很高的营销预算。
韩国一年出品50到100部电影,但其中有一类电影在西方特别受欢迎。
贝里:观看韩国电影的外国人常常认为韩国社会很暴戾。但事实上,韩国社会本身相对来说是非常和平安全的。我想,在某种程度上,这种电影里的暴戾必然是韩国艰难历史的投影。
韩国饱受创伤的过去不仅表现在关于战争和分裂的电影中,在暴力动作片里也有体现。其中最受欢迎的几部电影由朴赞郁执导。他的“复仇三部曲”(《我要复仇》、《老男孩》和《亲切的金子》) 使其在国际上风靡一时。
《老男孩》在2004年的戛纳电影节中获得评审会大奖,并在全球进行了小范围的放映——这多亏了美国导演昆汀·塔伦蒂诺的提携。《老男孩》是对好莱坞经典动作惊悚片巧妙的韩式演绎。毫不知情的主角被整整绑架了15年。随后,他有五天时间和一系列线索指引他去找绑匪李宇真报仇。
不出所料,朴导演的三部曲在《亲切的金子》中带来令人胆战心惊的大结局。这部电影也是围绕绑架和谋杀展开的。
影评人:导演认为绑架和囚禁是诠释宽恕和救赎的好办法。电影就是围绕这点展开的。
“复仇三部曲”让韩国电影得以跻身国际影展巡礼。这些电影凭着独特的韩国风格赢得了不少奖项,差点在威尼斯电影节上获得赫赫有名的金狮奖。
贝里:朴赞郁的“复仇”系列在国外引起了巨大反响,尤其是欧美国家——这种“亚洲极端”的观念在当地已经根深蒂固,他们把韩国电影和部分日本电影与极端暴力和恐怖画上等号。结果这似乎成了韩国电影在西方的形象,而这与韩国电影的本土形象不太相符。
The Future 展望未来
South Korea’s movies were built on the stories of the country’s scarred history. As the country develops, there will undoubtedly be numerous stories waiting to be told –
experiences 24)unparalleled anywhere else. And there is a new generation of filmmakers ready to bring them to life on the big screen.
Young Director: It’s people’s passion that makes the movies. There are a lot of people in the industry, not for money or anything else, but because they love movies.
Berry: Korean cinema is now at the 25)crest of a wave. Ironically, Korean friends of mine constantly predict this wave is going to break and the end is 26)nigh. Maybe this is part of the Korean state of emergency 27)mentality. But they’ve been predicting this for years now. And yet every year more Korean films are made. They seem to get a higher share of box office. There seem to be more and more Korean films being exported. So far they’re still surfing the crest of that wave with no sign of it breaking.
Every year, film schools are filled with aspiring directors hoping to find their voice in the country’s booming cinema industry. They are the future of the Korean Wave.
韩国电影业建立在本国伤痕累累的历史上。随着国家发展,毫无疑问,人们会找到更多值得诉说的故事,以及一些别处没有的经历。而新一代电影人正准备将这些搬上大银幕。
年青导演:是人们的热情造就了电影。许多人投身到这个行业不是为了钱或者其他东西,而是因为他们热爱电影。
贝里:韩国电影目前势头正好。讽刺的是,我的韩国朋友老是预言这个潮流终将破灭,现在已经接近尾声了。也许这正是韩国人危机意识的一种体现。但是他们这样预测已经很多年了,而韩国每年出品的电影越来越多,票房占有率越来越高,韩国电影的出口量也越来越大。到目前为止,他们还在风头浪尖,没有破灭的迹象。
每一年,电影学院挤满了胸怀抱负的导演们,他们希望在兴盛的电影业中找到自己的声音。他们正是“韩流”的未来。
注1:戛纳电影节的首奖为金棕榈奖(the Golden Palm),二奖为评审会大奖(the Grand Prix)。2004年,这两个奖项分别由纪录片《华氏911》(Fahrenheit 9/11)和《老男孩》获得。
注2:昆汀·塔伦蒂诺,美国著名导演,以其极具个人风格的暴力美学著称。他凭着《落水狗》(Reservoir Dogs)一举成名,《低俗小说》(Pulp Fiction)随后横扫各大电影节。继《杀死比尔》(Kill Bill)系列轰动一时后,昆汀2009年的新作《无耻混蛋》(Inglourious Basterds)获得了影评和观众的一致肯定,全球票房成绩骄人。
