2007年9月22日星期六

記及埃出 品作翔浩彭



假如有人問我應不應入戲院看出埃及記,我會答,你是關心香港電影現狀或有追看彭浩翔的作品,那就花數十元入場吧,如不,倒不如看些更值得看的電影。
記得有一期CUP雜誌,彭浩翔批評當代中國導演有包裝無內涵,重形式不重核心,只識玩鏡頭玩刁鑽手法,他說:「只有少數像Orson Welles, Kubrick等天才方可以將電影技法耍得高明又不會言之無物,而這種天才每個世紀都不到十個。要是你不是天才,就應以內容行先,絕不可盲目求新求突破,否則只會自招惡果。」
言猶在耳,真想不到《出埃及記》竟是這樣子,有驚,無喜。
每一部好的電影都必須有其靈魂,也就是一個核心,一個主題,一個導演想表達的意念,同時這個意念務必是有建設性,可引人反思自省,可啟迪人心,可使人恍然大悟,可使人若有所得。這道理放諸四海皆準,可以用來量度任何作品,亦是好作品的基本要求。如果連這點也做不到,就有如行屍走肉,之後什麼蒙太奇、場面調度、構圖、鏡頭都不用再談下去了!
這是彭浩翔在專欄痛抵的弊病,這是《出埃及記》的致命傷。
無疑,《出埃及記》有不少鏡頭拿揑得不錯,構圖頗見工夫,能表達出一種荒誕異狀。場景設計都有心思,很是趣怪。不過,在說這些之先,就應談談它的「中心靈魂」。
「女人秘密組織要盡殺男人」,十分天馬行空,似通不通,但仍有可發揮之處。這點亦是彭浩翔長久以來的缺點,每個故事都是很脆弱,經不起理性考驗,難以令人入信。像AV、買凶拍人等,完全沒有實際根據,只憑空想。前作受歡迎主要是因為故事始終不致「離晒大譜」,情節生鬼吸引,其中的黑色幽默亦令人回味。可是,《出埃及記》一味誇張,誇張至觀眾不能接受,誇張之餘又沒有幽默笑位娛樂大家,很是乏味,如咀嚼了一小時的口香糖。同時,故事越是誇張,就越顯得內容空空如也,叫人失望。當內容迷離、誇張、荒謬,觀眾就愈想知這背後是什麼葫蘆賣什麼藥,發現原來什麼都不是,結尾只是打嗝聲,實在不難理解散場時大家都用同一個單字形容《出埃及記》。
彭浩翔好像想在片中傳達某種訊息,但,那種訊息是很不實在,是根基於雲上的空中樓閣,不用風吹已散滿地下,此等訊息在現實中簡直不值一提,毫無意義。「藝術作品必須感動他人,假的情感思想是絕不能感動任何人。」縱觀一眾傑出導演,不論新舊,沒有一個靠拍空話成名,他們的作品全都是紮實有力的。


十多年前,有一位本地導演拍了一齣叫"Ashes of time"的電影,搞到滿城風雨,比人插到飛起。想起來,《出埃及記》確實與此片有「異曲同工之妙」。彭浩翔年紀還輕,仍是三十左右,錯一次沒什麼大不了,最緊要以後辯清方向就好。或許,拍了一套爛片比拍一套好片更能令人更上一層樓。

3 意見:

龜兄 提到...

卓韻芝話佢想借套戲講「領導同被領導」,所以片名先叫出埃及記...但係我完全GET唔到囉..
我覺得套戲係角色心理細節方面做得幾好..好似任達華係片頭睇唔過眼d頭事著住拖鞋返工..片尾搵到女搞就肯跟人地著拖鞋啦..解釋左佢點解無端端要搵張家輝單無聊o野搞---佢想搞特殊..
不過套戲既氣氛基調唔夠清楚..一開始靠住d奇情仲吸引到注意力..中段節奏變慢..就開始悶..有d無以為繼既feel..跟住開始講男人點衰法..又屈任達華出軌..主題方面反而愈來愈模糊..

ducky 提到...

I haven't watch this film but your opinion is very good....hope to watch in the future.

darren 提到...

First, I think you are a very good film critic. Your writing style is outstanding and your sensitivity to the visual imagery is extraordinary.

Secondly, I think you make some very good points about the film Exodus. I have to agree with you that it is not a good film. But, to me, it is an interesting movie that is worth seeing. One might find the content gimmicky, foolish, and lacks depth, but the style is refreshing and affecting. The shocking opening sequence, for instance, is elegantly rendered. We first hear the grandiose symphony accompanying a close-up of a Queen Elizabeth portrait. The camera pulls back, showing us glimpses of blood marks. This shot, among several others in the film, demonstrates the power of tracking shot: we do not know what will be revealed on the screen in the next moment. Exodus is a film in which form triumphs over (tramples?) content. Moreover, the actors also pull off some good performances. All I want to say is that Exodus might be a film that fails to "引人反思自省,啟迪人心,使人恍然大悟,使人若有所得", but it is an interesting work from one of the most important young Hong Kong directors. For the same reason, you might not agree that Andy Warhol's painting of a Campbell soup can or Marcel Duchamp's toilet-turned-fountain are great art, but they are interesting pieces of work that challenge the public's sensibility. That's why I don't think Pang Ho Cheung has made a mistake making this film and I certainly don't agree with you that Exodus is rubbish.

Lastly, as you point out, Wong Kar Wai's Ashes of Time is a film that polarizes Hong Kong film critics' opinions. Although it is severely criticized by some, it is revered by many as the director's best work to date. Richly layered visually (notice the symbolism of the recurring image of the bird cage and the flouting of the 180-degree axis) and aurally, it redefines the wu xia genre by resuscitating a well-known story with philosophical musings. It probes deeply the eternally brutal subject of the vagaries of time.