Romance Videos: 08/11/07

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Dear Frankie is a 2004 film directed by Shona Auerbach.
# Gerard Butler - The Stranger
# Emily Mortimer - Lizzie
# Jack McElhone - Frankie
Nine-year-old Frankie Morrison (Jack McElhone) and his single mother Lizzie (Emily Mortimer) have been on the move ever since Frankie can remember, most recently arriving in a seaside Scottish town. Wanting to protect her son from the truth that they have run away from his father whose brutality caused Frankie to be deaf, Lizzie has invented a story that he is away at sea on the HMS Accra, not knowing there is really a ship with this name. Every few weeks, Lizzie writes to Frankie a make-believe letter from his father, telling of his adventures as a sailor in exotic lands, and Frankie tracks the ship's supposed progress around the globe. He discovers that it is due to dock in Glasgow, his latest hometown. With this real HMS Accra arriving in only a fortnight, a panicked Lizzie enlists the help of her friend and co-worker, Marie, to hire a stranger (Gerard Butler) to play Frankie's father, Davey, for just one day. Frankie and the stranger like each other so much that they both want to be together another day, with Lizzie joining them. Lizzie is first reluctant to allow that, but later agrees. At the end of that day, after saying goodbye with a slow dance and a kiss, she finds the money she paid the stranger, put back in her pocket.

Meanwhile the real Davey is dying. Lizzie visits him but refuses Davey's request to bring Frankie along because of Davey's abusive nature. Davey eventually dies, and Lizzie shows Frankie the obituary to explain why his 'father' will not return.

At the end of the movie, another letter sent by Frankie and collected by Lizzie reveals to her and to the audience that Frankie knows the man was not his real father, but that he appreciated the time they had together; it is suggested that the stranger will return and possibly continue his friendship with Frankie and his romance with Lizzie. (Marie tells Lizzie that the man was her brother.)

本片的劇情其實非常簡單平凡，主要是敘述一個母愛編織出的善意謊言。九歲的男孩法蘭基 (Jack McElhone飾)從小就失聰，跟著媽媽和老祖母過著居無定所的生活，每隔幾個月就得搬一次家。電影開始時，他們正在收拾家當，準備要搬到蘇格蘭海邊的一個小鎮。法蘭基生活中最大的慰藉，就是和漂泊海外的船員爸爸通信，爸爸總是在信中繪聲繪影地描述航行中的奇異經歷。其實，這些信件都是由媽媽莉絲 (Emily Mortimer飾)精心偽造的，因為她要隱瞞過去不幸的殘酷真相。有一天，法蘭基由同學口中得知，「爸爸」的船隻即將在兩週後抵達他們居住的小鎮，並且跟同學打賭爸爸會來探望他們。眼看著謊言即將被拆穿，走頭無路的莉絲只好找來一個陌生人(Gerard Butler飾)假裝成法蘭基的爸爸，讓她的謊言能夠完美地繼續下去.....

這種劇情看起來很有摧淚的效果，但是編導的處理手法卻不會刻意煽情，反倒是充滿了讓人會心一笑的小趣味，然而在歡笑中又有一股感傷的情緒壓抑積聚著，直到片尾才盡情宣洩出來。本片是英國女導演Shona Auerbach的首部劇情長片，製片Caroline Wood和編劇Andrea Gibb也都是女性，她們以女性特有的委婉含蓄筆觸，讓整部影片瀰漫著溫馨動人的氣息，但卻不會有過度濫情的弊病。導演Shona Auerbach本身同時還兼任攝影，她的手法受到「格拉斯哥男孩」(Glasgow Boys)藝術團體的啟發，以和諧的色彩和輕柔的光線揉合成簡單自然的影像風格，把蘇格蘭海邊的景觀完美地呈現出來，令人觀看後有心曠神怡的感受。幾位演員的表現也都很自然生動，角色的塑造更是充滿了濃厚的人情味，尤其是小童星Jack McElhone最為傑出，雖然難度高卻能夠演得真實讓人完全信服。

(以下會提到關鍵劇情和結局，閱讀之前請先斟酌)

本片訴說出單親家庭所面對的麻煩和困惑，尤其是一個曾經受過傷害的破碎家庭。莉絲為了讓兒子法蘭基逃脫家暴的陰影，帶著他到處遷徙流離，並且盡心營造一個關於父愛的謊言，努力使他遠離單親家庭的苦惱，雖然是一種欺騙的手段，但卻也是一種母愛的極致表現。莉絲假裝成爸爸代筆寫信，剛開始是讓兒子的孤寂心靈有所寄託，後來卻變成莉絲傾聽兒子心聲的秘密溝通方式，由此可知莉絲本身也是有活在謊言中的需要。莉絲和陌生人的一段對話相當感人，莉絲說：「我是每天對兒子說謊的媽媽」，陌生人回答說：「不，你是每天保護兒子的媽媽」，母愛的善意謊言確實是值得原諒和同情的。從另一方面來看，莉絲在遭受婚姻的挫敗之後，再加上每天面對兒子無辜的眼神，讓她退縮在自己的封閉世界，而對別人無法產生信任感，幸好得到熱心朋友的幫助，才相信人間還是有愛和溫暖的。

法蘭基的個性就顯得比莉絲開朗許多，在媽媽的細心照顧和保護之下，他雖然從小就失聰，生活在無聲的寂靜世界，但卻聰明伶俐而不會自卑，受到同學欺負也能夠輕鬆應對。最有趣的一段是，法蘭基的鄰座同學要笑他是「聾子」，就在課桌上寫下「Def Boy」，他看了不生氣，反而把錯字改正成「Deaf Boy」，很自然的就化解一場原本會發生的衝突，並且得到了同學的友誼。法蘭基比同年紀的孩子成熟穩重，雖然沉默不愛多說話，但是對於外界仍然有足夠的認知，無論是透過手語或書信，還是能夠與外界進行有效的溝通。直到片尾，我們才發現原來法蘭基已經洞悉媽媽的騙局，但是並沒有責怪媽媽欺騙他的意圖，除了安慰自己之外，還能夠體諒媽媽的苦心，這種成熟的態度實在是非常難能可貴。最後的那一幕，母子倆人面對大海無言的坐著，雖然不說話但彼此心意相通，點點滴滴都在觀眾的心中迴旋激盪著。

除了莉絲和法蘭基之外，最讓我感到興味的，就是那個神秘的陌生人。雖然在片尾有提到他的真實身份，但是觀眾對於他可以說是一無所知，就像真的是一個沒有過去、現在和未來的人。陌生人和法蘭基相見的那段戲，處理得非常溫馨動人，他送給法蘭基一本海洋生物圖鑑，法蘭基才情不自禁上前抱住他，剛開始他覺得很尷尬不知要如何自處，後來還是溫柔的回抱法蘭基，這麼簡單的一個畫面卻不禁令人動容。他答應扮演法蘭基的假爸爸，可能一開始是為了賺取外快，卻意外得到如同父子般的情誼，或許就是他長久以來嚮往，卻無法得到的天倫之樂。我在猜想，或許他自己也有一段不堪回首的痛苦往事，可能是一段悲慘失敗的婚姻，可能還有一個無法相見的兒子，雖然在電影中沒有敘述出來，但是沒說出來的，反而讓觀眾有更多的想像空間。

Technorati: 2004 auerbach butler dear emily frankie gerard jack mcelhone mortimer shona 來信情緣爸爸愛的回信

Matriarca de família de judeus novos da Bélgica falece e, com ela, morrem suas tradições. Perdidos dentro dos rituais judaicos, que desconhecem, os Rashevski se vêem em uma luta para definir sua religião e sua união. O surgimento de uma família não-judia no enterro complica as coisas, enquanto romances florescem e segredos do passado são desenterrados.

Direção: Sam Garbarski
Elenco: Hippolyte Girardot, Ludmila Mikael, Michel Jonasz, Daniel Mesguich, Natan Cogan

Gênero: Romance
Ano/Produção: 2003/França, Belgica, Luxembugo
Duração: 100 min.

Saiba mais no site da distribuidora Europa Filmes, www.europafilmes.com.br

Technorati: amor dança europa família filmes guerra israel judaica judeu romance tradição