Skip to main content

得与失——“Captain Fantastic (2016)”观后

看好电影如读好书,不仅娱乐,更加引人思考。在这方面,美国电影一向乏善可陈。记忆中最后一次给我留下印象的就只有时隔九年原版人马重聚的续作“Before Midnight(2013)”。发现这部让人耳目一新的“Captain Fantastic(2016)”纯属意外。

Viggo Mortensen饰演的父亲Ben带着六个孩子在华盛顿州的深山老林中过着与世隔绝的原始生活,每天劳动采食打猎,打水烧柴,自给自足。然而与阿米希部落(Amish Community)不同的是,他们在烛火下读的书,不是《圣经》,而是《量子力学》《战争与和平》等等人类历史留下的精华。Ben与他的孩子们亦师亦友,每天的训练项目身心兼备。虽然在美国,你却看不到超重的人;Ben的孩子们各个强壮如运动员。虽然在美国,你却看不到沉迷于社交网站、电子游戏、真人秀、垃圾食品、甚至毒品的小孩;Ben的孩子们都把时间花在了劳动和读书上面。

先不问这样的嬉皮士家庭可不可能存在,这个如柏拉图《理想国》般的非常家庭立刻让我陷入了思考:现代社会让人类不用再花很多时间去觅食,可人们把省出来的时间用来做什么了?现代生活的各种便利,真的让人们变得更健康、更快乐了吗?人们在得到现代生活的便利的同时,失掉了什么?值得吗?父母应该怎么做,才能让子女不陷入现代社会的各种陷阱,荒废大好青春年华?

Ben偶尔出山,交换一些山上没有的物品,同时借用小店的电话与外界保持必要的联系。一天,一个电话让Ben泪流满面,以至于第二天带全家出远门。这个非常家庭在现代美国的历险记就此展开。可想而知,许多我们司空见惯的事物在这家小孩的眼中都变得新鲜离奇。他们的独特视角不得不让我们重新掂量很多我们默认的选择。

影片的配乐特别对我的胃口:Glen Gloud的Goldberg Variations,Yo-Yo Ma的Bach Cello Suites。最出彩的是影片最后一个民谣版的“Sweet Child o' Mine",喜欢音乐的朋友一定不要错过。

故事的最后,Ben意识到他的教育方式走到了另一个极端,决定让孩子们自己作选择。孩子们英明地选择了一个令人满意的折衷,从此过上幸福的生活。

虽然我知道整个故事都是真人童话,但如果你也是家长,就很可能会跟我一样,无比希望美梦成真。

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

天国之秋

Book review: “Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War" by Stephen R. Platt 秋天有两种:一种是丰收喜悦之秋,一种是伤感可悲之秋。太平天国之秋,毫无疑问是第二种。 《天国之秋》改变了很多我对于太平天国的认识和评价。作者一上来就对太平天国运动的性质作了一个中肯的评价,认为西方史学界长期以来称之为“太平叛乱”,以及中国史学界以太平天国为原始共产主义而称之为“太平革命”或“太平起义”,都失之偏颇。唯一恰当的称谓,当为“太平内战”。 ("The Taiping were indeed rebels, but to call the entire war the Taiping Rebellion is to cast the rebels forever in the wrong, and to blame on them for defying their legitimate rulers and destroying what one might surmise was otherwise a peaceful and stable empire." "...just as it is unfair to suggest that the Taiping were solely responsible for the devastation of the war, it is likewise an exaggeration to claim they were building some kind of peasant utopia.") 作为西方人写中国史,作者不可避免地更关心西方历史与这段中国历史的联系。全书令人信服地论证了,发生在十九世纪中国的太平内战,已经不再是一个孤立的事件,而是跟欧洲和美国历史有实质性的联系。简而言之,因为美国内战导致大英帝国在美国的贸易锐减,英国害怕同时因为中国内战而失去另一个巨大的贸易伙伴,而违背一贯的中立政策,干预了中国内战。虽然直接干预并不多,而且政策还有反复,却鬼使神差地影响了...

TOTC - Monaco

For those of you who *actually* followed my story, I apologize: I lied, to some extent, when I said my next stop was Nice. In fact I arrived at Nice at night after a very enjoyable, and amazingly fast TGV ride. But I took a day trip to Monaco the very next day. Les Casinos de Monte-Carlo Originally uploaded by yisu1979 In case you haven't know, the Principality of Monaco is a city state with a constitutional monarchy. There are two ways to get there from Nice: a €1,5(!), 40-minute bus or a €5, 15-minute train. I took the bus not because it was cheaper but because I thought the bus ride would have much better views en route given it went along the coast line. I was *so* right. The first thing you saw after arrival was the world famous black tie required casino. Did I remember to wear black tie to get in for the allegedly exquisite interior? Are you kidding me? Symbol of Monte-Carlo Originally uploaded by yisu1979 The whole state of Monaco is built on a mountai...

Jacky Cheung Rocked Atlantic City, Again: Photos

As promised, I gave you some photos from my concert-going Atlantic City trip. Jacky Cheung Concert Poster Originally uploaded by yisu1979 This was the official poster for this encore show. I got it from the organizer's website . In case you don't speak Chinese, the words above read, "By popular demand, the King of Cantonpop returns with honor." Sounds a little cheesy in English, huh? Well, there's always something lost in translation. Trump Taj Mahal Originally uploaded by yisu1979 The concert was held in the Arena in the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort , a decent place for this kind of concerts. Taj Mahal Casino Originally uploaded by yisu1979 If you haven't seen a casino before, here it is. (And you've seen all of them.) Chandelier Originally uploaded by yisu1979 Taj Mahal is richly decorated. It tries to pitch itself as a better or higher-end casino than others. (So they can charge you more.) T-shirts Orig...