最近中国电影取名的时候经常会用外国小说的名字,然后对应的同名的外国小说的情节完全没有关系,可能是觉得那些外国小说的名字有异域风情又有点不明觉厉反正就是很装。其中之一,就是《抵达之谜》。我读了这本书之后,才发觉原来奈保尔的这本书名也不是原创,而是他借用了以为超现实主义画家Giorgio De Chirico的一幅画作的名字。现在在中文必应上搜索“抵达之谜”关键字的图片,90%是那部中国的电影,10%是奈保尔的书的封面,我把原画作的图片贴在这里平衡一下。
回来说这个月我打算沉浸式阅读奈保尔的,第一本读的《米格尔街》不难看,但也并没有让我觉得惊艳。第二本我在喜马拉雅上找到了英文的有声书《A House for Mr. Biswas》,超级长的一本书,我打算每天上下班通勤路上听的,听了五分之一竟然突然下架了。正在听的有声书还没听完就突然下架,而且也不是什么近期上架的热门的有声书,怎么就这样中招了呢。尽凭我听了的那几章,我不得不说我喜欢不起来。特别是朗读的人还会经常模仿里面的人物用口音来讲话,我听着觉得很不舒服,可能主要是因为我那个口音我经常听不懂吧。不知道是我潜意识里在种族歧视还是朗读者在种族歧视,要么就是奈保尔根本就不是我的菜。
首先,不得不说这个故事非常流畅,让人想要也可以很快地读完。大家都知道石黑一雄的作品风格蛮多元的,可以写很英式传统的,也可以写神话科幻类的,而这本书整个的氛围和《Never Let Me Go》的太像了。前者讲的也是类似科幻设定,一批小朋友的成长,长大才发现其实他们是被当作器官仓库而培养起来的克隆人,然后他们心中一直有一个传说一样的地方要去许愿。这个故事里的Klara,为了小朋友的健康,要到太阳下山的地方对着太阳许愿,简直没什么两样啊。
最后一天选了一部莎士比亚的喜剧《无事生非》,轻松开心一下。这是2019年Free Shakespeare in the Park在纽约中央公园表演,卡司全部黑人的版本。最大的感受是,黑人的口音配合莎士比亚的这个故事更好笑了,特别是女主全程大姐大的风范很搞笑。另外就是音乐、舞蹈、唱歌都超赞的。还有一个地方印象特别深刻,就是原故事里面最无聊的那一对,那个男的道听途说就相信别人然后羞辱自己的爱人,最后爱人还假装死了装亲戚来和他结婚,我就觉得就算是真爱吧这个女的也有点怨,拿到现在来还真的有可能原谅他?这个版本里,是我印象中第一次看到,这个女的和这个男的结婚(剧情莎士比亚写死了改不了),但是抽了他一记大耳光,感觉很符合这个版本的氛围呢。
It would be superfluous to examine these three incidents individually. For me the matter is quite clear: in our days there is a war against a hostile form of acting and thinking. It is a war over mankind, in all its diversity. We believe, I personally believe as a believer that mankind descends from God. That he didn’t evolve from a ciliate, an amoeba or an animal and then to a modern human. That is why I ask you to consider when reaching your verdict, not just to judge the acts of any individuals over abstract political and historical events. No, your verdict is a statement about the threat to our country. Moreover, if we want to remain a free nation and take charge of our destiny, if we are capable of agreeing amongst ourselves, whether religious or not, otherwise we will have to live by Western laws. You are deciding if marriage in Russia will be between a man and a woman or between partner A and partner B like in the West. Be aware that your verdict will decide all of this. Thank you.
War and religion are not compatible. People who describe themselves as orthodox believers at the same time preach the opposite values. They proclaim they were deeply offended by these exhibitions that trampled all over their feelings. I doubt that, as it is impossible to describe these people as believers, and especially as orthodox Christians. They might want to believe in something but obviously not in Jesus Christ. Otherwise they wouldn’t have acted in this way. They wouldn’t have destroyed their holy objects while pretending to defend them.
I don’t know you personally but I have the impression when I see you sitting in front of me, that you have great respect for art. Because all Russians have this respect. We are all convinced that art is capable of much. Sadly that is not true. Art is capable of very little. It can draw attention to a problem but cannot change the fate of our country. It cannot practice justice. But ladies and gentlemen, today you can. It is in your hands that our country does not become a theocracy. We are in great danger of being defeated by orthodox fundamentalism, a fundamentalism like the world had never seen before. It doesn’t bode well, not for us, not for our children or grandchildren. The denial of the European idea will bring us no luck, it will destroy us. Today it is not about the artists, but our collective fate. And so I ask you to decide “not guilty”. Thank you.
之前在浏览ITA的网站的时候,看到有一则Ivo van Hove导演的改编自Édouard Louis的同名小说的话剧《谁杀了我父亲》在上演很激动,再仔细一看并没有转播。但是再往后面翻一翻,竟然有一部虽然不是那位名导演的作品但是同样是改编自Édouard Louis的同名小说《艾迪的告别》的作品有在线直播。这本书几年前去巴黎的时候我还买了呢,一直在积灰没有读,正好看看话剧的版本。
I’m now telling you everything, but this is not meant as a catharsis, or as an unlikely coming of age story. I’m telling you all this because I want to show what we don’t see. Picture the following scene: Unexpected massive loss of jobs threatening many employees. No warning and no convincing social safety net neither. The manager bringing the news is wearing a nice watch and will suffer little from these layoffs. During his speech he shows little understanding or empathy. If, out of despair, a spontaneous anger arises from the crowd and while crowding around the manager, his jacket is ripped. Who has committed an act of violence this afternoon? That multitude? The manager? Or is there such a thing as a violent system? When people depend on institutions and they collapse, or people are stripped of their jobs, their public services, their pensions and the social security of their children. In the end, their only source of pride can be their body. Does it then come as a surprise thy these people fight? That they resist, with violence? That they want to be fighters? Or that they have to be fighters in order to fit the norm? The irony is: we violently impose this norm upon ourselves, it can’t be lived up to by anyone. The norm is so unforgiving that not only do I fail to comply but everyone does. Everyone is falling short and ashamed of it: we internalize a heartless norm fed to us by an unjust system. That failure; that shame; that despair, that’s the true violence. And then this: don’t mistake this for a pedestal for the fighters. You don’t have to love people to fight for their right to exist.
整部剧到底算是话剧还是音乐剧搞不清楚,说是话剧的话感觉再多一些魔幻和舞台上的多姿多彩,说是音乐剧的话其实里面的歌有点难听的,除了最后结尾的时候那首《Girls Just Want to Have Fun》还蛮点睛的。整体来看这是一个叙事很宏大的故事,横跨了好几代,但又全部集中在这么一个演艺世家的家庭之中。标题的wise的定义,是一种超越血脉的亲情的关系,真正美好的“not a family of blood but a family of choice”。当然其中也不乏Angela Carter式的精灵古怪和重口的情节,乱伦、复仇、亲情、爱情的交织等等。