閒話電影

閒話電影

8/30/2019

這則閒話電影是多年之前寫的 (8/30/2007):

有一回在「光點台北」電影院的月册中讀到一則「影評、影展及影痴」這個資訊，以下針對「影痴」所描述的特徵：

1. 依看片頻率分每週 1 - 3 部 （電影或 DVD 都算在內）

2. 每年會做年度最佳影片之類的排行

3. 經常會打分數、做記號、寫評語等等

4. 會期許成為同儕之間的意見領袖（大家都來問他電影資訊）

5. 期望別人能在看完電影獲得相同或類似感受

仔細想想，自己每一項都能對號入座，肯定是名副其實的「影痴」無疑了。當影痴可沒什麼好處，到目前為止我收集的正版影片已超過三百部，花錢不算，光是出借沒回來的就有不少，的確不上算。

從年初開始辦了幾個電影欣賞會，雖說是自己的興趣想與人共享，但組織此類活動不僅曠日費時，人家還不當回事。上回在 Amy 家那次的電影會，她和 Larry 兩人花了好些工夫佈置放映廳的各種裝備，還審查了幾部我推薦之影片，十分的慎重其事。當日卻只來了五位賓客，加上主人和主辦人我自己共得八人觀影，說起來付出與所得實在不成比例。

然而痴人是不計較這些的。我弟弟今晨打電話來請我推薦一些華語影片，放下電話立馬下筆列了五十部華語片的名單。這當中也加入了近日在 Amy 家看過的華語及蒙古電影「註一」。

香港電影協會 2000年時出了一本「經典200 - 最佳華語電影200部」，涵蓋了在 2000年之前所拍攝的華語影片。如今又過了七個年頭，我自行列入了近幾年來的華語好片近 20 部，包括兩岸三地外加蒙古、新加坡及在美國拍攝的華人影片「註二」，這是自己編排自娛的。

註一：王全安導演「圖雅的婚事」，在內蒙拍攝，説的是華語（普通話）。

註二：Byambasuren 所拍攝的「哭泣的駱駝」"The Weeping Camel" 及「小黃狗的窩」"Cave of the Yellow Dog" 為蒙古片講的是蒙語。新加坡導演梁智強的「小孩不笨」和「小孩不笨 ll」中主要講華語，包括普通話、閩南語，還包括了英語及馬來語。新加坡人口語博雜，且經常混在一起講，因而得了"Singlish" 之美名。

3/01/2017

「後註」：沒想到電影欣賞會一辦就辦了十年，最後一次活動是在 2016 年十一月放映美國經典歌舞片 "Top Hat".  數年來參加人數持續增加，後來的兩三季每次活動接近二十人，因此改以 evite 報名，參加人數視場地而有上限。

Grace

The White Snake - a drama play based on a Chinese fable

“The White Snake”

記「白蛇傳」觀後

    9/4/2019

In a quiet corner nestled in tall redwood trees an open air stage set up for theatre lovers in the Sanborn Park of Saratoga, an unusual show was being played out in front of a full capacity crowd.  The name of the theater is Silicon Valley Shakespeare Theater.  Being a Shakespearean Theater, it’s quite refreshing to see something different on stage this time, the Play is based on a fable from China more than a thousand years ago.  “The White Snake”  belongs to an oral storytelling tradition and in essence a love story comparable to “ Cinderella “ which was enjoyed in many parts of the world for the longest time ever.

Unlike “MacBeth or “Hamlet”,  “The White Snake”「白蛇傳」 is not well known outside Chinese or some other East Asian populations such as Japanese.  It is harder to relate concepts of various elements in Chinese fable convention and to explain away certain routines of a traditional Chinese opera on a stage set.  For example, one actor serving as narrator, from time to time, came out on stage with a book which he read from: “according to the secret book of Chinese drama (of course there’s no such book in existence)” and recited how guest and host should interact in terms of common decorum of when to greet and when and where to sit respectively.  It was close to nonsensical yet all for a laugh!  

For those who came in with knowledge of the legend and Chinese culture these may not go down easily. However, you will enjoy many comedic surprises and theatrical innovations by keeping an open mind.  

The narrative style is interesting by making the ensemble cast take turn to become narrators.  The play opens by a narrator saying: there are several versions of plots in the story, while the statement is true, the version we would witness might not belong to any of them.  It is quite another animal indeed!  

I thought it a smart idea to make a comedy out of it with a bit distortion in deeds and facts with abundant deviation from the original version.  The whole production was rendered more like a slapstick *, invariably exaggerated facial expression and gestures, entertaining enough and definitely more accessible to the western audiences.  BTW, the crowd we were with is predominately white likely due to the location of the theater. The cast is however a mixture of races more in line with the current demographic constituency of California. 

Overall I think it a job well done.  I sat in the first row so no problem hearing what the actors were saying or singing.  Although some audience in the back complained about the audio level not reaching far enough in the compound.

As a matter of fact I thought the stage props and costumes are very nicely done, thanks to the behind the scene crew which equals the numbers if not more than those appearing on stage.

What a treat in a mid-summer evening!

Grace