瘋人瘋語

「我離港前到過一間精神科醫院。當時有位病人禮貌地問,一個以作為世上最悠久民主政體而自傲的國家,如何能夠將此地交給一個政治制度非常不同的國家,且既沒諮詢當地公民,又沒給予他們民主的前景,好讓他們捍衞自己的將來。一個隨行同事說,奇怪,香港提出最理智問題的人,竟在精神科醫院。」彭定康 金融時報

“During a visit to a mental hospital before I left Hong Kong, a patient politely asked me how a country that prided itself on being the oldest democracy in the world had come to be handing over his city to another country with a very different system of government, without either consulting the citizens or giving them the prospect of democracy to safeguard their future. Strange, said one of my aides, that the man with the sanest question in Hong Kong is in a mental hospital.”Chris Patten Financial Times

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Wednesday, October 06, 2010

老嫰兩段情

老嫰兩段情



早前在港公映的《Letters To Juliet 茱麗葉愛情信箱》,當時沒有衝動入戲院欣賞,等到出影碟就買了來看。



圖片來源:維基百科



【維基百科】Sophie Hall (Amanda Seyfried) is a fact checker at The New Yorker magazine who dreams of becoming a writer, but her boss, Bobby, does not share her wishes.

Sophie's fiancé, Victor (Gael García Bernal), is about to open an Italian restaurant in downtown New York. To celebrate, the two go on a "pre-honeymoon" to Verona, Italy.

However, Victor is very enthusiastic about, and busy with, finding the best wines and cheeses for his restaurant and, to Sophie's disappointment, hardly has time for her.

While he is out one day, Sophie goes sightseeing and comes across the house where Juliet Capulet supposedly lived and watches in awe as numerous people gather to write letters to Juliet about their loves and post them on Juliet's Wall.

Sophie writes of this in her journal and sits on a bench for a few hours, waiting for closing time, to see what becomes of the letters. A young Italian woman comes to collect the letters, putting them all into a straw basket, and Sophie follows her to a restaurant where the woman meets with three other women, who reveal themselves to be "Juliet's secretaries", writing back to each of the letters.

The next day, Sophie helps Isabel, one of the secretaries, take the letters. A loose brick falls, and behind it is a crumpled envelope. Sophie discovers it is a 1957 letter written by Claire, an English woman who, while in Italy studying art, fell in love with Lorenzo Bartolini. When he asked her to run away with him, she did not show up and wrote to Juliet about it. Sophie writes back.

A few days later, a young English man arrives, Charlie (Chris Egan), revealing that because Sophie responded his grandmother is now here to find her love. When Sophie asks to meet Claire, Charlie says no, but Sophie follows him and is introduced to Claire (Vanessa Redgrave) who is more than happy to meet "Juliet".

Together, the three decide to embark on a journey to find all the Lorenzo Bartolinis near Siena, Italy a place that Claire says Lorenzo always enjoyed. The three meet many Lorenzo Bartolinis, but none of them seem to be the right one, as Claire says she’ll be able to see who Lorenzo is through his blue eyes.

Traveling, Sophie and the grandmother and grandson learn about each others’ lives like that Charlie has an ex-girlfriend he hasn't seen in a year, named Patricia, with Claire learning that Sophie's mother abandoned her when she was nine and Sophie learning that Charlie's parents died in a car crash when he was ten.

Charlie, at first rude, is now attracted to her, but Sophie is standoffish. The three meet many men named Lorenzo Bartolini, and also visit the grave of one who has died. Seeing his grandmother cry, Charlie blames Sophie, telling her she doesn't know what real loss feels like.

Claire berates her grandson and tells him about Sophie's mother, then she visits Sophie in her hotel room and comforts her. Charlie apologizes to Sophie who has gone out and laid down on the grass next to Charlie, and they kiss under the stars.

The next day, while driving back, Claire asks that they stop at a vineyard when she notices it is the vineyard that makes their favorite wine. There, she sees a young Italian man who looks exactly like Lorenzo.

Insisting it's him, Sophie and Charlie go and ask him of his name, which he says is indeed Lorenzo Bartolini. Deciding it must be Lorenzo's grandson, they ask to speak to the young man's father, whose name is also Lorenzo. The middle-aged man says his elderly father is also Lorenzo Bartolini, and he was out riding his horse.

Charlie urges his grandmother to see if it's the right Lorenzo, but Claire decides she doesn’t want to. Just then, the elder Lorenzo (Franco Nero) arrives and is indeed Claire's long-lost love. The two reunite in a heartfelt embrace.

Lorenzo introduces the three to his family. Later, Sophie leaves to go back to Verona and Victor. Claire tells Charlie "not to wait fifty years" as he discovers there is only one girl he loves, Sophie. Charlie races after her but, seeing her embrace Victor, he leaves.

Back in New York, Sophie presents a story to her boss identical to Claire's tale, and he tells her he is going to publish it. Excited, she rushes home. The next day at work, she gets an invitation to Claire and Lorenzo's wedding that Saturday.

She breaks up with Victor at the kitchen of his Italian restaurant, as their relationship is going nowhere. Sophie flies to Italy alone, hoping to meet Charlie there. However on arrival he is with Patricia, who Sophie presumes is his ex and after Claire reads out the letter Sophie originally wrote to her she runs away.

Charlie chases and finds her on a balcony, where she tells him she's in love with him but he should go back to Patricia. Charlie reveals that there are in fact two Patricias and this one is his cousin and that he is in love with Sophie also.

He climbs up the balcony to kiss Sophie (as Romeo was supposed to have done) but falls. She rushes down to see if he's all right and kisses him as Claire and Lorenzo look on happily followed by the other guests.



整部電影講的是兩段情緣,年長兩輩的爺爺嫲嫲組成一對,和年輕孫兒的一輩二男一女,組成個一個嬲字。年長的一對,分開了五十年,各自婚嫁之後,五十年後再在年輕的一輩幫忙下,原來冥冥自有主宰,命運是由天鑄定的,兩人再一次走在一起,剛巧雙方的配偶,都已經不在,卒之修成正果,在兒孫們見證下完成婚禮,老來有一個伴。


而年輕的一對,女方本來是和未婚夫到意大利渡假,可惜未婚夫卻沉迷於工作,放下未婚妻不顧,讓她於無聊之中,寫了封信給年老一對的女方。結果年老一對的女方夥同孫兒,由英國來到意大利尋訪,五十年前因她把心不定,而捨棄了的一段情,尋找年老一對的男方。


無所事事的年輕女方,就陪伴著年老女方和她的孫兒,一起出發去尋訪年老的男方。結果是年輕的一對,由闘氣冤家,到互雙認識對方。而男的又剛巧和女友分手,女方卻因未婚夫未暇陪伴,竟然和剛剛相識的男方,產生了感覺,一吻定情。


年老的一對,經過了五十年,結果是命運把他們倆再綁紮在一起:尋訪!重逢!再遇!結婚! 而年輕的一對的女方,竟然決定拋棄未婚夫,回家後老遠由紐約跑回意大利,希望可以和年輕的男方,再續情緣。


究竟導演和編劇想說明些甚麽呢?年老的一輩重情?五十年前的情緣,五十年來默默的懷在心頭,五十年後重逢再遇上,五十年後再續未了緣。而年輕的一輩多重感覺?於再沒有了愛的感覺,要分開就要分開,沒留半點餘地,僅僅幾天的相處,竟不及幾年的互雙廝守,要留也留不著!


後記:
根據《石琪影評》,演出年老的一對 羅蘭素(法蘭高尼路)和 嘉麗兒(雲妮莎烈姬芙) 的兩位老演員,原來是真實生活中的一對夫婦!


【石琪影評】也要提提後段出現的正牌「羅蘭素」——意大利老牌男星法蘭高尼路,他在六十年代曾與雲妮莎烈姬芙合演圓桌武士巨片《英雄肝膽美人心》(Camelot),結成真正長期愛侶,2006年正式結婚。今次他和她合演隔別五十年的情人,其實戲假情真,正是這對影星情證四十多年的紀念作。





伸延閱覽:
Letters to Juliet 維基百科
茱麗葉愛情信箱 香港雅虎電影
《石琪影評》茱麗葉愛情信箱


有關愛情電影的舊文:
Expired 過了限期!《Crazy Heart 港譯:聲聲相識》
《魂斷藍橋 Waterloo Bridge》
兩代不了情《不了情 新不了情》
《An Officer and a Gentleman 衝上雲霄》
It was like .... magic 像著了魔!《緣分的天空 Sleepless in Seattle》
啊 。。。習慣了!《My Fair Lady 窈窕淑女》
孤獨的金融阻擊手《Pretty Woman 港譯:風月俏佳人》
忠于你的伴侶?《 He's Just Not That Into You 港譯:收錯愛情風》
淡淡的哀愁《情書 Love Letter 日文:ラヴレター》
《Hancock 港譯:街頭超人》



4 comments:

嘿嘿 said...

喺不喺分久必合合久必分?嘿嘿嘿~ 爱情游戏!

exile said...

I saw this movie. I enjoyed the beginning and the end but the middle part was very boring.

It's an over-the-top romance story. I don't believe in that kind of love at first sight or longlasting love. Love is like work. It sucks the life out of you if you end up with a job that you don't like. The reward can be much less than what you hope for :-) So we keep changing jobs, haha....

the inner space said...

嘿嘿兄:原來E+個遊戲規則是合久必分,分久必合! 離離合合,又離又合,又合又離!
佢地唔攰,樂此不疲!

我唯有認老,愛情的博弈是很累人的!

The Inner Space said...

Mdm Exile, the middle part I was enjoying the beautiful sceneries of Italy country side.

ah! your concept about LOVE,and the analogy with job changing. Afterall it is like game theory, even the pentagon studying “孫子兵法 The Art of War: Sun Zi's Military Methods”,虛虛實實,虛者實之,實者虛之,雙方博弈!