2007-01-25

落葉歸根觀後感 - Getting Home: What is Life?

老趙是個五十多歲的農民,他南下到深圳打工,卻因為好友老劉死在工地上,決定展開回鄉安葬老劉之旅。老趙先把老劉偽裝成醉鬼,混上了長途車,卻不幸在途中遇上劫匪。老趙誓死保護老劉的補償金,贏得劫匪敬重之餘,還救了一車人的財物。但他因為暴露了屍體,結果反而給乘客趕了下車。老趙在路上攔車,把老劉假裝成急救病人,並遇上好心人把他們送到醫院。晚上要住店,過了一夜才發現錢被偷了,老趙不禁悲從中來,但這未能動搖他的決心。要解決錢的問題,他把老劉裝成乞丐;要解決吃飯的問題,他到別人的葬禮哭喪;要掩蓋屍斑,他請髮廊妹為老劉化妝。一路上,老趙遇到形形色色的人。家鄉在望之際,他遇上泥石流,只能靠意志力戰勝大自然。當老趙帶著老劉回到故鄉時,卻發現故鄉已變成水庫,村莊都埋在水底了。此時,一段回憶湧現老趙眼前…… 小酒館裡,大醉的老趙向老劉抱怨生活艱辛、身體衰竭,他極害怕自己客死他鄉。同樣大醉的老劉對他說:「你死了,我就是背也要把你背回家鄉。」就是這個承諾及同胞之情,再加上沿路各有心人輕輕的扶一把,令老趙能默默支持走到最後,好讓老劉能落葉歸根的最大推動力。而同樣地,老趙亦在路途上發揮了人與人之間互助互愛的精神。

導演 : 張楊
演員 : 趙本山, 胡軍, 夏雨, 宋丹丹
片長 : 110 分鐘
級數 : IIA
語言 : 國語 (中英文字幕)

If the motherland were a river, I would be a fish swimming happily.
If the motherland were a road, I would be a car moving forward happily.
If the motherland were a tree, I would be a leaf waving in the breeze happily.

Life is unpredictable, consisting of ups and downs.
Sometimes you may be in high spirits, but at other times you can feel very low.
Sometimes you may meet very good people, but don't forget villains do exist.
Sometimes you may bound forward and run quickly, but you may stagger along one night.

After a dead leaf falls down, it is absorbed by the soil and a new plant will grow.
The cycle of birth, growth and death repeats itself, like the river in the last scene.
That's life…

No matter how feeble and helpless we may feel sometimes, human beings will still struggle with the environment and fate for an opportunity to live. Ahead of us are lots of things to experience, exciting and depressing. Nevertheless, because of pain, we know what pleasure is. (That's just like the walking scenes in the movie. When the girls working in the field, cars, cow and bicycle pass by, we know how fast Old Zhao walks. By the way, the audience may pay attention to the symbolic meanings of different vehicles in the movie, e.g. bicycles, coaches, carts, private cars, trucks, buses, etc.) If we were doomed to the sufferings, what we are able to change would be the way in which we interpret them. Be positive and never give up!

The movie ends suddenly and the unfinished business may puzzle some members of the audience. However, I personally find it very meaningful and symbolic. The ending successfully upgrades this can-be-typical road movie to an abstract motto. "Life is a road comprising UPS and DOWNS. Do live each day happily as it comes and enjoy life to the full!" The ending (i.e. the river) also symbolically implies that human beings should not always emphasize the importance of results. Instead, we should pay attention to the process.

Those touching moments, black humor, superb acting and the meaningful ending make this road movie a unique and impressive one causing catharsis. Moved to tears and laughter, you may ponder on the meaning of LIFE when you leave the theatre. HIGHLY recommended! I believe it will be chosen as one of my top ten movies in 2007. I give this film 4 stars out of 5.



24 則留言:

  1. 是否一套全京腔的電影?  因為據我所知,趙半山說話繞舌得好厲害!

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  2. I am not sure... My Putonghua is not good! Anyway, it is a very meaningful road movie describing LIFE.  

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  3. 我都睇左喇,感覺好似跑完步,出一了一身熱汗,然後一陣涼風輕送,使人心曠神怡。那種老實人的憨直仗義,真的是碩果僅存,儘管這個世界很醜,我仍然相信有一些這樣的人存在,是一部適合一家大小去看的溫情電影。

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  4. 你呢個星期會唔會去睇《波叔出城》?

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  5. 1. The movie itself symbolizes a life. What a meaningful movie! 2. I am not sure if 波叔出城 is very good. I will listen to the radio programme before I make the decision. Why do you ask so?

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  6. 得悉你是愛戲之人, 亦是同路人. 唯覺你雖多看電影, 但多只限局於近年電影及較商業的電影, top100的電影範圍太窄. 其實還有許多有意思的電影大師值得參考, 如杜魯福, 奇斯洛夫斯基, 荷索及法斯賓達等, 你亦可看看30年代的中國電影, 很有趣呢! 多多指教!

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  7. Thanks very much for your advice. Indeed, I have seen some movies by 杜魯福 and 奇斯洛夫斯基. (I borrow VCDs from BC.) I have also seen a few 30年代的中國電影 in the Cine Art Cinema, but I personally don't like them. I am afraid I don't agree that my top 100 movie list should include those films, as whether I find a movie good or not is subjective. Besides, a non-mainstream moive is not necessarily good, while some mainstream movies can be very nice. Titanic is one of the examples.

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  8. 無呀,睇下你有無留意呢套戲咁姐

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  9. 張揚的<洗澡>是我特別喜愛的電影.這部應該也是是值得期待的.

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  10. I will watch 洗澡 later! ^^ I love Getting Home so much!

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  11. 呵呵。。我也很喜歡《洗澡》!! 還有張揚的《愛情麻辣燙》也是不錯!!值得一看!

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  12. wow... You have seen both movies by the director? GREATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!

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  13. I like 張揚's movie very much, apart from this movie, I also saw 《洗澡》and《向日葵》.  You should see《洗澡》, it's excellent.  Your critic about this movie is really good.  Thanks for your sharing, you are welcome to come to my blog and leave your comment on the movie you have seen.

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  14. Thanks so much for your support, Wai E! Alwys worried that not many people like reading English reviews. My review is also posted in other places. http://www.cinespot.com/eindex.html      http://www.cinespot.com/eaboutus.html http://www.hkfca.org/review_thisweek.php

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  15. 落葉歸根係我暫時最愛的中國電影,其次我會選"孔雀" 很高興可認識到電影之友,請互相交流呀! http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/yin58194 http://www.friendster.com/7099271

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  16. 見到你回應,我來了﹗ 我暫時最喜愛的中國電影是<瘋狂的石頭>及<盲井>,實在拍出了地大物博的神州國情﹗ 經你一提,也想看看這套片子﹗

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  17. There are some good Chinese movies. 喜宴 and 霸王別姬 are the ones I love. 那山那人那狗 is a good one too. BTW, thanks to Leo and Ah Yee, I will borrow the movies you recommend from BC. ^^

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  18. Thanks so much for recommending 盲井 to me. I have just seen it and it is a great movie. The ending left me speechless... Here is a review of the movie. Have a look! www.cinespot.com/hkmreviews/c5blindshaft.html  
    It is heard that there are four endings! I also find the ending a bit... heavy to me... I really hope that 宋金明 is ok! I agree with the critic that the movie ends on a negative note. However, the boy is still good to them at the end. Any comments?

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  19. 回應阿柱所問, 此片並非全京腔, 因為內裏歷經多個省份, 各個人物也操著不同口音! 回應黃格子所說, 其實曾真有其人其事, 有民工帶著朋友屍體回鄉安葬, 只是過程一定不會這樣戲劇性! 所以這種人是真的會有! 有機會的去借借"變臉"來看, 也是頗感人的電影!

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  20. 寫得很好很好,很有同感。 看完此戲都沒有好好為它寫一篇文章,但不寫不代表我喜歡呢,小弟都十分喜歡此片。

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  21. Thanks so much Getting Home is about life. Frankly speaking,  I believe this review is one of the most touching ones that I have ever written. It seems that most film critics have not studied this movie in this way. His trip back home actually symbolizes life! It is also a film with lots of symbolic images. Different types of cars represent different types of people. What a great movie! It seems that lots of people have missed it! What a pity!

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  22. It's funny that you've written an english review for a chinese film!
    Honestly, I very seldom watch China's movie, and I don't know this director. Thanks to you, and the sale of HMV, I bought its DVD home and watched it finally!
    It's exceptionally good! Great script, good direction, careful framing of each shots, brilliant performances from the cast~~~Wow...I'm really stunned.
    After watching it, it stayed with me for a few days. It's that powerful and with so many good messages!!! However, with not so many lines altogether~~~how's that possible?!
    I especially love the scene of your last picture up there, it's such an intimate and romantic scene so to speak; it also demonstrated well the forte of this film : it combines excellently the laughters with tears, which is very difficult to accomplish on film I suspect. Totally moved by it~~~marvelous really!
    I love your essay about this film particularly. And thanks for your recommendation once again!
    [版主回覆08/25/2008 17:57:00]Thanks a lot. This film is THE BEST in my 2007 top ten list. It is really a pity that many people have not heard of it. The film has very positive messages and as you may know, I love road movie and this one is special because of its symbolism, humor and heart. Before I hosted Move Thee Reviews, I wrote film reviews and posted them in various websites. I think this is one of my favorite written reviews and I hope you enjoy reading it. Of course, it is not professional.

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  23. Oh! So you've written about this film a very long time ago!?
    Very well written and with very special viewpoints! Professional it is!! I like it, for you summed it up very well, and you noticed the symbolism that I've missed~~~
    I wouldn't know about this film if it's not for you. I've got to see why you chose it to be your no.1 that year! Now I understand...
    You should have dedicated a whole show to it! Instead of just mentioning it in your top 10 countdown though!!!
    [版主回覆08/26/2008 15:04:00]HAHA right I wrote this 2 years ago!!! But the film was released in HK before the opening of Move Thee Reviews. Anyway, apart from zombie films, I also enjoy watching road movies which are rare in China.

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