公元前559年,居鲁士二世(Cyrus II)统一波斯,建立起强大的阿契美尼德王朝(Achaemenid Empire)。此后的两百多年里,古波斯帝国的统治者完成了惊人的扩张。从美索不达米亚平原横跨到印度,从里海延伸到波斯湾,骁勇善战的波斯战士剑走偏锋,所向披靡。另一方面,波斯人浪漫多情,他们的历史中真实与传说交错杂糅,宛若梦幻:辽阔的伊朗高原是无数奇迹竞相上演的宏大舞台,波斯波利斯的温床更孕育了一部部神奇的天方夜谭。那个时代的波斯,也许就连在某个市场的角落做小本生意的老人,也能为你娓娓道出一段穿越时空的神话。
颇受瞩目的影片《波斯王子:时之刃》(Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time)讲述的正是波斯帝国的一段传奇。作为一部商业大片,它并不仅仅满足于营造恢弘的场面,用单纯的感官刺激来轰炸观众,而是通过一位迷失的年轻人不断追寻、最终找回自我的故事向世人证明,能够改变未来的,唯有我们人类自身所拥有的最宝贵力量——信念。
阿拉木图之战
故事发生在波斯帝国鼎盛之时。主人公Dastan虽然贵为王子,却整日游手好闲,原来他并非正宗的皇室血统,而是出身于贫民窟的孤儿。年幼时,Dastan为了营救小伙伴,在集市上与官兵机智周旋,这一切都被国王Sharaman看在眼里。Sharaman相信Dastan身上有种可贵的品质,于是决定收养他。然而,随着时间的推移,国王Sharaman的预见似乎并没有在玩世不恭的小王子Dastan身上得到验证。
当Dastan又一次和手下们打闹聚赌的时候,国王的弟弟Nizam亲王和国王的亲生子Tus王子、Garsiv王子正举兵向圣城Alamut (阿拉木图)进发。据Nizam的消息,阿拉木图城里可能隐藏着威胁波斯帝国的武器,还有一位意欲谋反的公主。好大喜功的Tus王子决心攻城,不明真相的Dastan最初摇摆不定,最后却天真地要求参战。
Dastan带兵潜入皇宫,利用他矫健的身手轻松击退守卫,打开城门,帮助波斯打赢了阿拉木图攻城战,俘虏了美丽的Tamina公主。浪子Dastan一下子成了波斯的大英雄,获得了在庆功宴上与父王交换礼物的殊荣。哥哥Tus建议他献上最尊贵的阿拉木图大祭司的礼服。
Tus: They're selling weapons to our enemies, Dastan.
Garsiv: An arrow such as this slew (杀死) my horse in Kushkan (伊朗某地). Blood will run in Alamut's streets for this.
Dastan: Or our soldiers will fall from its walls. Our orders were to subdue (制服) Kushkan, not to attack Alamut.
Tus: Wise words, little brother.
Nizam: Words won't stop our enemies, once they're armed with Alamutian blades (用作武器的小刀).
Tus: (再三犹豫之后) We attack at dawn.
Dastan: Well, if that's your decision, then let me go in first.
阴谋
盛大的宴会,一片歌舞升平的祥和景象。Dastan正与国王Sharaman推心置腹地交谈,丝毫没有意识到杀机正在步步迫近。
Dastan: We missed you, Father.
Sharaman: I ... was praying for you and your brothers, Dastan. Family, the bond between brothers is the sword that defends our empire. I pray that that sword remains strong.
Dastan: I was hoping my actions would spare (使免遭) our men unnecessary losses.
Sharaman: A good man would have done as you did, Dastan, act boldly and courageously to bring a victory and spare lives. A great man would have stopped the attack from happening at all. A great man would have stopped what he knew to be wrong, no matter who was ordering. The boy I saw in that square, was capable of being more than just good, but of being great.
老国王Sharaman对Dastan寄予殷切期望,Dastan对此却懵懵懂懂,不太能领会老国王话中的深意。
按照哥哥Tus的要求,Dastan请求老国王将“桀骜不驯”的Tamina公主赐给Tus,孰料却阴差阳错地将自己卷入其中,被赐与Tamina订婚。
Sharaman: What say you, Dastan?
Dastan: Uh ...
Sharaman: (面向众人) He plunges into a hundred foes (敌人) without thought, but before marriage he stands frozen with fear, and, for those who say he is not yet wise!
就在老国王打趣调侃Dastan之际,惨剧发生了。Dastan送给国王的祭袍竟被人下了剧毒,国王毒发身亡。Tus一口咬定此事是Dastan所为,说Dastan要弑父篡位。Dastan百口莫辩,只有逃走,Tamina公主趁乱与Dastan一道逃出了皇宫。
时之刃的秘密
Tamina看似娇贵,事实上却是个独立爽朗的女孩,而且还精于武艺。她跟着Dastan只为了夺回阿拉木图的两大圣器之一:攻城之日被Dastan抢走的匕首——时之刃(the Dagger of Time)。令Tamina始料未及的是,她偷袭Dastan不成,反而让Dastan在无意间发现了时之刃的神力——当它与另一圣器时之沙(the Sands of Time)接触时,时间便如抽丝般倒流。而这一切都只有时之刃持有者才能意识到,其他人都对此一无所知。这也就意味着,时之刃为持有者提供了一个“神不知鬼不觉”地改写历史的机会。Dastan深深地为之着迷了。
Dastan: Incredible! Releasing the sand turns back time. And only the holder of the Dagger is aware of what's happened. He could go back and alter events, change time, and no one knows but him.
Tamina告诉Dastan,波斯就是为了得到这两件法宝,才设计诬陷阿拉木图人“秘密谋反”。她的使命就是回到阿拉木图的神殿,保护时之沙的源头——时之沙漏(Sandglass)不被贪婪的人破坏。而对于走投无路之下背井离乡的Dastan来说,他猜测毒死国王的主谋就是哥哥Tus,而时之刃是他向Nizam亲王证实自己清白的唯一希望。两个人都需要时之刃,谁也不肯让步。
Dastan: You enjoy telling me what to do.
Tamina: Only because you're so good at following orders.
Dastan: Don't press your luck (得寸进尺).
于是,目标大相径庭的两个人唇枪舌剑、斗智斗勇的搞笑逃亡就此开始。
Tamina: I'm desperate for a drop of water.
Dastan: Well, that's more than we have, since you emptied our canteen (水壶) hours ago.
Tamina: I wasn't born of this desert like you Persians, all shriveled (无能的) and angry. My constitution is much more ... delicate.
Dastan: I think you mean spoiled (宠坏).
Tamina: The wells for Alamut are famed (闻名的) for their clean, cold water.
Dastan: Perhaps less time admiring your wells and more time guarding your walls, and you wouldn't be here. Ah, a miracle! I've silenced the Princess.
更糟糕的是,在一个被称作“奴隶谷”的地方,他们遇到了油腔滑调、唯利是图的奴隶贩子Amar。Amar认出了Dastan是通缉犯,于是便一心一意要把他俩交给Tus换取高额赎金。幸而机智的Tamina用神庙中的黄金做交换条件,本质不坏的Amar改变了注意,不仅没有将他们交给Tus,反而决定助他们一臂之力。
一行人开始了前往神庙的旅途。尽管一路上磕磕绊绊,大家还是逐渐加深了对彼此的了解,特别是Dastan和Tamina。他们渐渐发现,不同的目标,原来也可以在相同的道路上完成。
Dastan: I didn't murder my father. That robe was given to me by my brother. Tus did this.
Tamina: And now he stands to be crowned king.
Dastan: I didn't kill my father.
Tamina: I believe you.
Dastan: You shouldn't be here. I shouldn't have let you come.
Tamina: But you did.
真正的敌人
Dastan终于秘密接洽到Nizam,只是令他万万没有想到的是,等待他的却是另一场追杀。原来一切阴谋的主使并不是他那个鲁莽的哥哥Tus,而是这位平时谦卑恭谨、一直深受他们兄弟俩爱戴和信任的好叔父!
Dastan: You murdered your own family. Sharaman was your brother.
Nizam: And my curse.
Nizam之所以说Sharaman是他的诅咒,是因为只要Sharaman在位一天,他就永远也无法实现他篡权谋位的无耻阴谋。唯有除掉Sharaman,他才能满足自己的私心,登上他觊觎已久的王位。但Sharaman将波斯管理得井然有序,是一位受众人爱戴的好国王。眼见称王无望,于是Nizam便想到了借刀杀人的方法:利用时之刃,回到青年时代。那时Nizam曾从凶猛的狮子口中救下Sharaman。如果能令时间倒转,重回那个时候,他会选择袖手旁观,任凭Sharaman被狮子咬死,自己便能理所当然地登上王位,统治国家。
但Nizam所不知道的是,他的野心以及他想要利用时之刃的私心将会招致神的愤怒,整个世界也会因他而受到牵连,遭受惩罚。
Tamina: Dastan, the Sands contained within the Sandglass are incredibly powerful. Opening the dagger while it's inside the glass breaks the seal (密封装置) and destroys the Sandglass, causing it to crack and shatter. The Sands of Time would no longer be contained, and they would carry the Gods' wrath (愤怒) with them once more, destroying everything in their path, and all of mankind would pay for Nizam's treachery (背叛). This is all that would be left of us.
对于打开时之沙漏将会带来的毁灭,Nizam一无所知。他一心只想斩草除根,派出邪恶凶残的组织Hassansin,企图暗杀Dastan。被蒙在鼓里的Tus王子和Garsiv王子还坚持要将弑父凶手Dastan绳之以法,以公正的方式审判。关键时刻,Dastan冒险用自尽的方式证明自己。Tus为了救活弟弟,按下了时之刃上的按钮,令时间倒转回了Dastan正准备用时之刃自尽的那一刻。
Dastan: No matter the consequences ... (试图自尽)
Tus: (经历了时之沙穿越时空后) Stop! A moment ago you died before my eyes.
Dastan: Oh, you pressed it!
Tus: How did you know I would?
Dastan: Because we are brothers.
Tus: On the day we left for war, our father told me that a true king considers the advice of counsel, but always listens to his heart.
亲身体验了时之刃的神奇力量之后,Tus终于相信了Dastan,兄弟二人决心联手对付Nizam,阻止他酿成大错,危害人间。
神殿深处,丧心病狂的Nizam早已听不进任何劝告。他固执地认为,只要拥有足够多的时之沙,便能让他回到青年时代,任由sharaman被狮子咬死,他就能如愿以偿地完成称王的心愿。Nizam解开了时之沙漏的封印,神殿即将塌陷,世界瞬间被黄沙覆盖。Tus为了挽救被扭曲的世界,牺牲了自己。眼见Tamina也即将离开,这一刻,Dastan才终于明白对他而言什么是真正重要的。
Tamina: (Dastan挽着她的手,两人在逐渐崩塌的神殿边缘摇摇欲坠) Stop him! If the glass shatters, the world dies with it! It's not my destiny, it's yours. It always has been. Let me go!
Dastan: I'm not letting you go!
Tamina: I wish we could have been together. (主动放手,向深渊中坠去)
改变未来 
像是龙卷风席卷大地,一切都化作尘土;又像是旋风扫净了落叶,混乱瞬间终止。当Dastan清醒过来时,他发现自己又回到了即将攻陷阿拉木图城的那一天。那些无谓牺牲的人都还活着,当然,大奸臣Nizam也还在。而这些人中,只有Dastan保留了对未来的“记忆”,只有他能阻止悲剧再次发生。
这一次,Dastan终于找到了Sharaman国王从最初收养他开始便一直坚信他所拥有的品质——他没有使用任何武器,而是用自己坚定的信念和一颗真诚的心打动了顽固的Tus王子,在Nizam兴风作浪之前就将他的阴谋昭示天下,阻止了更多的悲剧和伤亡。Tus王子诚恳的致歉也得到了阿拉木图人民的原谅。同时,他为弟弟Dastan向高傲的Tamina公主求婚。
这是一个温暖又略带惆怅的结尾:Tamina与Dastan漫步花园,由于时之沙的力量,Tamina所有关于Dastan的记忆都已不复存在。然而两个人之间的默契已经植根在她心底,他们的“初次见面”,就像是“好久不见”。
Tamina: How can I trust the man that breached (打破) the walls of my city?
Dastan: Well, I'm starting to think I'm no longer the same man who breached those walls.
Tamina: That's a short time for a man to change so much.
Dastan: Perhaps.
Tamina: It sounds as if you've discovered something here.
Dastan: And what might that be?
Tamina: A new spiritual awareness.
Dastan: A destiny.
Tamina: Yes, exactly.
Dastan: I believe we make our own destiny, Princess.
Tamina: You have an unfortunate lack of curiosity.
Dastan: No doubt one of my many flaws (缺点).
Tamina: Please don't mock (嘲笑) me, Prince.
Dastan: Oh, I hardly think we know each other well enough for that, Princess, but I look forward to the day that we do.
未来的确是可以改变的。但是,是依靠魔法或者电脑特技吗?其实我们每个人可能都经历过Dastan的困惑、迷惘和玩世不恭,也对未来充满着这样那样的憧憬却又一次次的失望。时不时,你埋怨生活欺骗了你,感慨迎接你的现实与你翘首以盼的理想怎么会存在这么巨大的差距。然而就像Dastan所说:“I believe we make our own destiny. (我相信命运皆由我们亲手铸造。)”这话虽然有点老生常谈的意味,但却是关于青春、关于奋斗、关于生活最有力却也最容易被人们忽视的真理。
全力以赴地生活,就是给未来创造无尽的希望,这种信念的魔法,胜过一切锋利的匕首与神奇的沙漏。