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。以下为大家带来本系列的最后一站——
听力小提示:本文虽然出现不少生词,但语速适中,语音清晰,配乐丰富,而且没有特别难的长句,整体难度不大。建议先脱离文字听一遍声音,一边听一边做笔记,再对照文字看看自己能否抓住文章的要点。
At a time when Hollywood films have driven many national cinemas 1)virtually out of business, Iran’s filmmakers have gone their own way. Turning their backs on special-effects-driven blockbusters, Iran’s filmmakers have captured the hearts of audiences around the world. Their films have won more awards at international festivals than any other nation.
Iranian directors are among the most creative in the world. They have to be, because they are challenged both by competition from abroad and strict regulations at home. Confronting these challenges, they’ve produced a national cinema of world 2)renown.
正当好莱坞电影把众多本土电影逼入绝境时,伊朗电影人找到了自己的出路。即使不拍以特技挂帅的卖座大片,他们也赢得了世界观众的青睐。其作品获得的国际影展大奖数量远远胜于其他国家。
在全世界最有创意的导演中不乏伊朗人。他们必须借助创意,因为他们受到国外竞争以及国内严格规定的双重挑战。面对这些挑战,他们打造出一个享誉国际的民族电影业。
The Cinema of Children 童心院线
Iran is one of the most talked-about but least-known countries of Asia. Although located at the heart of Central Asia, its political isolation means that movies are sometimes the best window into this diverse country.
The capital, Tehran, is a city of 3)contradictions, where age-old traditions mix with the modern world. Iran is often portrayed as a country with violence 4)brewing just beneath its surface. And yet, ironically, its cinemas are filled with some of the most beautiful and 5)poignant films ever made – stories where the innocence of children often takes centre stage.
The popularity of Iranian films today is down to the generation of filmmakers who 6)came of age after the Iranian Revolution注1. Theirs was a radical departure from the song-and-dance and action films that were popular before then. The films focused on real characters and strong storylines that 7)struck a chord with the people.
Majid Majidi is part of this movement. Young fans queue for his films and for his 8)autograph. His Children of Heaven was the first Iranian film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Majidi’s greatest inspiration comes from the streets where he grew up.
Majidi: (Interpreted) My movies bring back 9)nostalgic memories of childhood, and the characters that I always loved. A director and his movies are inseparable. The movie can reflect a part of the director. The same goes for The Children of Heaven.
Hamid Naficy (Author): Majid Majidi’s film, The Children of Heaven, is about these two, brother and sister, who are so poor that they have to share a pair of shoes. It shows, you know, both the poverty and the realness of the poverty in Iran at the time.
Films featuring children were born out of necessity to tell stories in an environment governed by the Islamic Code. One particular institution has been 10)instrumental in promoting this style of storytelling. Kanoon, the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children, is a government institution that promotes creative education. Children of Heaven was made with its support. In fact, Kanoon produces and 11)sponsors many children’s movies and animations. About 15 of the movies made in Iran each year are either for or about children. Thanks to the Institute’s effort in developing children’s films, many famous directors got their start here.
Children have an important role in Iranian cinema. In many ways, they reflect the realities of 12)contemporary Iran. After the revolution, women were encouraged to have large families. Having six children was the 13)norm. As a result, today 50% of the population is under 20.
Naficy: The importance or the significance of these films is that these children are not…they are not just children, they are mini-adults, and they’re very forceful mini-adults. They’re not just ordinary people. They don’t take “no” for an answer.
伊朗是人们谈论得最多——但同时也最不了解的亚洲国家之一。虽然该国地处中亚的心脏地带,但由于其政治上采取孤立态度,电影有时成了窥探这个多元化国家的最佳途径。
首都德黑兰是一个矛盾的城市,古老的传统与现代化社会融合在一起。伊朗经常被形容为一个暗潮汹涌的地方。讽刺的是,伊朗电影院里放映的都是一些有史以来最美丽深刻的电影——儿童的纯真常常是这些电影的重心。
今天伊朗电影的强大人气主要归功于伊朗革命后站稳脚跟的新一代电影人。他们的风格与革命前流行的歌舞动作电影完全不同。这些电影把重点放在真实的人物以及扣人心弦的震撼情节。
马吉德·马吉迪是这个电影运动的一份子。年轻影迷排队观看他的电影,向他索要签名。他的《天堂的孩子》(又译《小鞋子》)是第一部获得奥斯卡最佳外语片提名的伊朗电影。马吉迪最大的灵感来自他成长的街道。
马吉迪:(翻译)我的电影能唤起人们对童年的怀旧回忆,让他们想起我一向喜爱的童话角色。一个导演与他的电影是密不可分的。电影能反映导演人格的一部分,《天堂的孩子》也不例外。
哈米德·纳菲希(作家):马吉德· 马吉迪的《天堂的孩子》是关于一对兄妹的故事。他们穷得只能两个人共用一双鞋子。电影表现了伊朗当时的贫困以及这种贫困的真实性。
电影起用儿童当演员是因为(导演)必须在伊斯兰教规统治的大环境下讲故事。有一个特别的机构是这种叙述方式的主要推手。“卡努恩”——亦即(伊朗)青少年教育发展协会,是一个推广创意教育的政府机构。《天堂的孩子》正是在这个机构的支持下拍摄的。事实上,卡努恩制作和赞助了许多儿童电影和动画片。伊朗每年出品的电影当中,大约有15部是拍给小孩子看或是关于小孩子的。由于卡努恩致力于发展儿童电影,许多著名导演的职业生涯都是从这里开始的。
儿童在伊朗电影业中扮演着重要角色。从许多方面来说,他们反映了当代伊朗的社会现状。革命以后,伊朗鼓励妇女多生孩子,一家通常要养育六个小孩。所以如今伊朗有一半人口在20岁以下。
纳菲希:这些电影的重要性在于——这些儿童不是……他们并不仅仅是儿童。他们是迷你版的成年人,而且是很有感染力的迷你版成人。他们不是普通人,不接受“不行”这个答案。
New Voice from Women 新女性,新声音
Since the revolution, the role of women in Iranian films has changed. 14)Feminist filmmakers push the boundaries of Iranian cinema. Sometimes the consequences are severe. Films such as The Hidden Half 15)advocate Iranian women’s rights. It’s an 16)alternative portrayal of Iranian women rather than the idealized 17)stereotype the Islamic government prefers. In Milani’s film, a female college student is caught up in the events of the Islamic Revolution.
Naficy: She made quite a number of films, many of them 18)controversial because she has a feminist point of view. And her films are, you know, essentially about the women’s situation and their clash with 19)patriarchy.
Tahmineh Milani: (Interpreted) After the revolution, universities were closed for four years. Some students were 20)expelled, killed in prisons or sought 21)asylum abroad. No one talked about this period in our history. People were forbidden to talk about it for quite a long time. Neither stories were written nor films made about it. It was as if those four years didn’t exist. The Hidden Half was actually the first film that showed the tragic events that people experienced during those four years. This offended some people. The film was screened for about two to three weeks before they banned the screening of The Hidden Half and arrested and imprisoned me.
She was later sentenced to death. This 22)prompted appeals for her release both locally and abroad.
Naficy: The major campaign was launched in the US and elsewhere. Important 23)facets of the media in Chicago, in fact, started a campaign of directors from Martin Scorsese注2 to others
signing a 24)petition to free her from jail. Also at the time, I think President Hotami was in power, and he was 25)sympathetic as well. So, for a variety of reasons, she was let go.
The 26)outspoken director has not been silenced and continues to make films. Milani remains one of Iran’s most 27)prominent directors, focused on women’s rights in the country.
Milani: (Interpreted) If you really want my opinion about Iranian women, I think women in our society have a combative 28)mentality, enjoy challenge, and like to change their surrounding environment. And they have succeeded.
The Islamic Revolution resulted in a heightened creativity in the Iranian film industry. Today, Iranian films speak to larger audiences than ever before. Iranian directors, like their movies, now travel internationally, offering the world a rare glimpse of the everyday life of their people.
革命以后,女性在伊朗电影中扮演的角色发生了变化。女权电影人开始挑战本土电影业的底线。有时候,这会带来极其严重的后果。《面纱之后》等电影为伊朗妇女的权利呐喊。这是对伊朗妇女的另类描述,而不是伊斯兰政府所乐见的理想化套路。在米兰妮的这部电影里,一名女大学生被卷入伊斯兰革命的动乱中。
纳菲希:她拍了很多部电影。其中不少作品有一定的争议性,因为她表达了
女权主义的观点。你知道,她的电影主要描述了妇女的处境,以及她们与父权社会的冲突。
泰米妮·米兰妮:(翻译)革命结束之后,大学停课了四年。有的学生被开除,有的在监狱中丧命,有的逃往国外寻求庇护。没有人谈论我们这段历史。有很长一段时间,政府禁止人们谈论这件事情。没有人将这个时期发生的故事记叙成文或者拍成电影。这四年仿佛压根没存在过。事实上,《面纱之后》是第一部描述伊朗人在那四年中所受苦难的电影。这就冒犯了某些人。《面纱之后》放映了大约两三周就被禁播,我也被抓进了监狱。
她后来被判死刑,这引发了国内外人士请愿,要求政府释放她。
纳菲希:美国和其他地方发起了大型运动。事实上,芝加哥各大媒体组织马丁·斯科塞斯等导演联名签署请愿书,要求释放她。当时正是哈塔米总统任内,他对她的遭遇深表同情。所以在各种因由下,她最终获得释放。
这位直言不讳的导演并没有从此沉默。她继续拍摄电影。米兰妮至今仍是伊朗最有名的导演之一,其焦点始终放在伊朗的女权问题上。
米兰妮:(翻译)如果你真想知道我对伊朗妇女的看法,我认为我们这个社会的女性勇于抗争,喜欢接受挑战,渴望改变周遭的环境。而且她们成功了。
伊斯兰革命提升了伊朗电影业的创造力。今天的伊朗电影拥有比过去更广阔的观众市场。与他们的电影一样,伊朗导演现在的足迹遍及世界各地,向世人展示难得一见的伊朗日常生活。
注1:伊朗伊斯兰革命爆发于1978年,由什叶派领袖霍梅尼领导,以宗教学者为核心,为反对国王推行西方化和世俗化而掀起了“全盘伊斯兰化”运动。1979年2月,革命胜利,穆斯林推翻了巴列维王朝统治,开创了一个在国家政权、法制法律以及社会生活三方面彻底伊斯兰化的共和国时代。
注2:马丁·斯科塞斯是与卢卡斯、斯皮尔伯格齐名的美国大导演,早期代表作包括《出租车司机》(Taxi Driver, 1976)和《愤怒的公牛》(Raging Bull, 1980)等。2007年,他凭着翻拍自港产片《无间道》的《无间行者》(The Departed,2006)获得奥斯卡最佳导演奖。
