Letter to Max

Max:
There were some buildings... There were these really tall buildings, and they could walk. Then there were some vampires. And one of the vampires bit the tallest building, and his fangs broke off. Then all his other teeth fell out. Then he started crying. And then, all the other vampires said, "Why are you crying? Weren't those just your baby teeth?" And he said, "No. Those were my grown-up teeth." And the vampires knew he couldn't be a vampire anymore, so they left him. The end.

Me:
I see you in me. Wanted to be loved by the ones I love. Wanted to build a dream for everyone. Wanted all your family around. Simple wishes from our childhood, given up but not forgotten. Only wishes. The helplessness helps us grow.

A father A mother A sister and Yourself. How they became wild things. How they burnt everything down. How you tried to start up things again. In vain. Just hard to please everybody. And you accept it, and so you are no longer a child.

Max:

I have a sadness shield that keeps out all the sadness, and it's big enough for all of us.

《星空》- 繪本原本幾好....

幾米的繪本改編成電影，之前有《向左走向右走》及《地下鐵》，今次到《星空》。不知是否幾米作品過於夢幻，放到大螢幕後，便失去淡淡的留白，或冷靜的空間。之前兩套放大放長後也假假的，真實不足，夢幻又不夠盡。綜合三套最喜歡《地》，或許都只因梁朝偉演技生動幽默。

《星空》把夢幻感放得最大，那些摺紙動物、那些畫裡行車，造作得來很假，too simple and naive。始終美學沒有幫補到故事，是缺了音樂的氛圍? 還是用道具的問題? 故事平舖直敘得驚人，一味只靠徐嬌沉著文靜氣息去推進，成長是靠一句話來完成。或許是那「我比你更可憐，我爸會打人和纏人」，或許是「我的夏天已提前結束了」。但也是僅此，沒有實在的劇情去支撐。後來片末roller看到原裝的幾米繪本，發現導演真的原汁原味，沒有多高潮或細節，放諸電影難怪這麼單薄。

其實看繪本覺得很足夠，林書宇不加鹽加醋難道真是錯? 可找兩套繪本電影來比較。一是《Where the Wild Things Are》，二是《Fantastic Mr Fox》，兩者都是改篇自極度簡單的插畫冊，但其電影卻有著加強了繁複、惠及了深度。更厲害是原本兩部畫作都是給孩子看，但電影把其扭至成人童話，至少於我認為是很有寓意的成人教育著作 (受港台影響, 「成人教育」部是很重要的 :p)

《Where》節奏和氛圍極強，雖然毛公仔擺明很假，但盛載到小孩子的另類世界，會讓人明白怎樣能拍得孩子世界不simple不naive---導演拍孩子的觀點，其中一場很深刻的是鏡頭視角從桌底，仰望著忙碌得不理孩子的母親，這樣的擺位令畫面很似曾相識，簡直如像喚醒了我們小時候（甚至到現在也擺脫不了）的孤獨。小男孩在整套電影的煩燥不安，切實：和姐姐朋友玩時突然感覺被欺負、對著媽媽情人時引起不到人的注意、帶著這份孤獨跑到在島上認識每隻Wild Thing---現實中折射出來的一頭頭性格鮮明的怪物。最後卻明白稱皇很難，黯然離開，一個孩子由想掌握一切至到無力，回歸媽媽的懷抱，它不只是一個關於孩子的故事了。

《Fantastic》則很明快，加入大量劇情，若繪本說了二成的東西，電影是加進了八成。原本只是偷東西保家園的故事，變成爸爸要學駕駑本性而學懂承擔的故事，若比較二者會發現導演花了幾多心機。之前寫過「狐狸先生」的修煉之路  ，不多講。

所以，若比對一下，會想到如何能改進《星空》。

PS 題外話: Cast得最好是劉若英，那種過份自我簡直是《生日快樂》的延續!

Featuring
Where the wild things are. "All is Love"



延伸：
Douban 1 by 唐小万 和书写热血青春的《九降风》不同，《星空》显得有点不伦不类。作为成人片太幼稚、作为儿童片太矫情、作为商业片又硬往文艺的路子上靠，作为文艺片又明显没有那个气质。

Douban 2 by 羅莉亞LAURIA 台词真的非常糟糕，这不是生活中两个活生生的“人类”之间会出现的对话，太书面，太刻意了，导演急着想把那些带有人生哲理的话语告诉观众....