冷酷美學的示範作

曉龍

在香港的電影市場內，北歐電影並不常見，此區域的電影除了在歐洲電影節內獲選映外，要在主流的電影院內觀賞北歐電影，機會肯定不太多。北歐地區下雪時間頗長，長年以冬季為主，雪白的環境，配合冷感的人性，造就其體現冷酷美學風格的北歐電影，《龍紋身的女孩》就是這種美學的示範作，成功獲香港的主流電影院接納，在商業院線內上映。《龍》的創作人把冷酷的美學風格表現在全片的鏡頭運用和畫面設計上，配合含蓄木訥的演員與疏離遙遠的人際隔膜，讓這種美學風格得以發揮至極致，充滿著北歐電影的地道特色，成為此區域電影的代表作。《龍》的出產地是瑞典，以其土地面積計算，人口不算太多，居所之間的距離較遠，人與人的關係不太密切，故《龍》內冷漠與疏離感籠罩全片，徹底反映北歐地區內人與人的溝通和接觸不多，直接造成的孤獨和寂寞等問題。

《龍》的創作人喜歡用中景特寫鏡頭展現演員的身體語言，與西歐電影常用臉部大特寫鏡頭反映角色的精神和情緒狀態有所不同。例如：導演尼爾斯艾頓奧柏多用中景特寫鏡頭拍攝露美慧柏絲飾演的神秘女黑客的一言一行，由於她在每一查案階段內表現的行為動態皆影響重大，焦點應放在她的言語行為對整體性劇情發展的影響，故不會用臉部大特寫鏡頭表現她的情緒狀態。因為全片「目標為本」，以其與案件相關的一切為核心，聚焦在她言語行為表現的冷酷性格特質，其在處理自己的人際關係時遇上的障礙，引致人際網絡內冷漠與疏離的源頭，以及這種障礙與日後她對別人失去信心而害怕與別人溝通的個性的關係，而非她的個人風格和鮮為人知的內心世界。很多時候，西歐電影的創作人較北歐的導演貪心，運用不少廣角鏡和中景特寫鏡頭述說故事的來龍去脈之餘，還會用大量臉部大特寫鏡頭述說主角的內心世界，嘗試披露他的精神狀態，以及其與故事整體發展的關係，這種多方面的鏡頭運用手法與北歐電影專心致志地寫事而不會特別偏重人的半人性化處理截然不同。

人生來皆寂寞，要逃避「永遠寂寞」的厄運，必須找到終生的「知己」，可以是親密朋友，亦可以是熱戀中的情人，更可以是相伴終老的妻子。所謂「人生得一知己，死而無憾」，《龍》的神秘女黑客為了排解內心的苦悶和寂寞，竟戀上米高尼昆飾演的龐米高，這段感情在未經鋪排的情況下突然而生，對觀眾而言，雖顯得錯愕驚詫，但「久旱逢甘露」，她冰冷而鬱悶的內心被他給予的一點點熱情徹底融化，但融化過後她與他依舊愛得含蓄，沒有西歐電影內間斷出現而由高漲情緒帶動的浪漫激情，亦沒有荷里活電影內「快刀斬亂麻」的程序式性愛，無論兩人的內心多麼澎湃高漲，怎樣熱情如火，都會被外在含蓄而淡淡然的言語行為掩蓋，泛起浪花過後，一切都歸於平淡。全片貫徹始終的淡色處理，正為了突出北歐電影雪白冷酷的鮮明標記，讓觀眾無需細心研究，仍能對全片歸屬的美學風格「一目了然」。

Every Cloud has a Silver Lining

Confessions, directed by one of my favorite Japanese directors, Tetsuya Nakashima, is one of the most disturbing and depressing movies I have watched this year. It is a psychological thriller of a grieving teacher turned cold-blooded avenger with a twisty master plan to pay back the students who were responsible for her daughter’s death.

In the story, the major characters make confessions one by one. The more perspectives from which the murder is looked at, the more we know about the characters and their motives, which may remind the audience of A Stranger of Mine. As the story is unfolded, there are several surprising twists. While making confessions and sometimes touching on the subjects they are ashamed of, some characters refuse to accept the truth, tell lies and point the finger of blame at others to salve their conscience.

The director tries to explore the reasons why innocent children become evil teenagers with no conscience. Some seek attention because they are abandoned or physically abused by their parents. Some become vulnerable owing to their overprotective parents. Some feel lonely because they are nerds neglected and bullied by their peers. Some commit suicide or other crimes because they follow suit. Some tragedies are also attributed to the internet which allows people to gossip anonymously, the mass media which places too much emphasis on violence, and the law which exempts teenage murderers from being punished. Thanks to the convincing cast, the characters become lifelike.

The black-grey-and-white setting, which is very different form the flamboyance of Memories of Matsuko, is stifling and depressing. After watching the film, the images of crimson blood, white milk, snow-white sakura, the bleak classroom, the lifeless homes and the dimly lit school hall will linger in one’s mind. Apart from these, the gloomy skies in the movie were reminiscent of the ones in Elephant by Gus Van Sant. Despite the ominous dark clouds gathering overheard, every cloud has a silver lining, which symbolizes that the director still believes in the goodness of human nature, despite its dark side. This belief is also reflected in the scene when the female teacher stares at the strawberry given by a kid and another scene in which she says “your new life has begun”.

The mesmerizing classical music, spiced with a hypnotizing female voice, not only creates a shocking contrast to the disturbing scenes shot in slow motion, but also adds eeriness to the story. The sound effects are also memorable. When the female teacher puts down the last stroke of the word LIFE on the blackboard, the ear-piercing sound chilled me the bone. When the bubble pops, we feel hopeless.

The film would have been more gripping if the first confession had been shorter and less talky. Besides, the CG images at the end are mediocre. Also, it is a difficult movie for the faint-hearted to sit through.

On the whole, Confessions is a darkly disturbing, visually stunning and thought provoking movie ruthlessly exposing the root of various teenage problems and the dark side of human nature. After watching the movie, I left the cinema with a heavy heart. It conjured up images of several parricides committed by Hong Kong teenagers recently and I pondered on what had happened to our post 90’s generation.

Kenji Chan