2013年12月8日 星期日

寂寞拍賣師 The Best Offer


如果你還沒看任何影片介紹, 就請你帶著處女般純潔的腦袋進戲院吧!



**************** 以下全雷 ******************

三句話說寂寞拍賣師。

1) 一言以蔽之,這是一部在講仙人跳的電影,由熱愛藝術的人來拍。2) 請想像如果你在看靈異第六感前有人告訴你布爺是鬼,你會罵哪些髒話,現在有人跟你爆寂片的雷,你會罵那些髒話的八百次方。3) 當你看完寂片時, 有以下反應:A.這是恐怖片吧 媽呀~ B.明天吃午餐時如果同事說小菜你不用付, 我一定要提防他(握拳) – 這些都是很正常的。

右腦說寂寞拍賣師。

寂片的導演Giuseppe Tornatore最為人所知的作品”新天堂樂園”是在我小學時帶領我進入電影世界的啟蒙老師,至今我的房門還貼著電影海報。看著它,總能令我想起電影帶給我的種種滿足。放映師跟小徒弟的故事懷舊寫實純真,搭配著導演御用電影配樂大魔王Ennio Morricone的飛舞音符,在還在長大的靈魂留下紮紮實實的痕跡。還有那被我列為影史Top10Ending!沒看過的人一定要看。

回到正題,我喜歡導演GT那種把人作為焦點的創意思考方式。GT受訪時說他是20年前先有想講患了寬廣空間恐懼症的想法,接著到最近對於拍賣師這種以估價為專業的職業感到很有趣,最後把兩個想法的角色賦予一個關係,而產生了這部片。在這樣的狀況下,選角格外重要,就像GT的另外一部片海上鋼琴師,如果不是Tom Roth來演,我想不會那麼美好。

雖然我的賀爾蒙在第一時間實在無法接受男一是個歐吉桑,但無法否認的是Geoffrey Rush飾演的拍賣師,把戲劇張力撐到最大。加上GT還是有在男二的部份考慮到女性觀眾的權益,找了演One DayJim Sturgess!在性感小狗眼界也算當紅炸子雞來著,廢話不用說太多。

對我而言,這部片最有感的題目是信任。一個多疑的拍賣師,對於連管家在家多走動都受不了,最後卻因為專注於取得另一個多疑的人的信任,而忽略各種跡象忘了對方才是不值得信任的人,甚至到最後一刻都還不願意捨棄信任而把自己搞瘋。而小狗眼男二為了取得拍賣師的信任,欲擒故縱,讓人因相當黑暗的人性算計而顫抖。至於好友兼事業伙伴Billy的反擊,更是把殺傷力拉到最大。世界上最遙遠的距離不是我站在你面前而你不知道我愛你,是信任與背叛。

左腦說寂寞拍賣師。

為了釐清對於片中虛實的疑問,我又進了劇院看了第二次。幼稚園版福爾摩斯試著推理一下。

疑問一:到底犯人有哪些?

我的小人心說除了拍賣師的助理外,全都是犯人。主謀是Billy,可能對於自己的懷才不遇記恨在心,也想大撈一筆,唯有他才能準備出騙局中需要的藝術品,也瞭解如何從拍賣師的弱點下手。騙局主秀Claire和男二當然也是,但片中沒有交代太多動機。男二女友也是,她主動去找拍賣師抱怨太過奇怪,我認為是為了取得信任所以先假裝有問題再解開誤會而佈的局。而且玩這麼大的局把無關的人放在身邊太冒險。

疑問二:到底是先進了療養院再到布拉格,還是反之?

療養院的拍攝方式是回憶,每一段療養院的畫面後就開始接他畫被偷走後發生的事。回去大宅回去咖啡館去警察局...而最後一個療養院的畫面(他在旋轉的運動器材上回想)後,緊接著的是他在布拉格旅館裡的畫面,因此我認為他是先到布拉格等唔人才瘋掉。如果咖啡館是離開療養院後才去的,最後接的畫面應該止於在居住城市發生的事。

疑問三:機器人是真品還是贋品?

我認為是真品。第一,拍賣師一開始在還未投入感情時就有檢查過零件,以他老江湖的專業,至少那零件必定為真。第二,最後機器人發出的聲音是每件贋品必定有它真實之處(Every forgery has its authentic part.)我認為是在影射整個騙局之中只有一處為真,也就是機器人本身。說謊要說的好,就是要把部份真實的資訊放進去,就像這整個騙局設定用拍賣師最熟悉的論文主題來當的鉤子,大魚入袋。

疑問四:女主角到底有沒有愛上男主角?

或許我不夠浪漫,答案是沒有。浪漫的人可能會說,女主角明明說了,「不管發生什麼事,你都要知道,我愛你。」(還給我眼眶泛淚)我覺得說這句話,只是要讓拍賣師在走進警察局前能夠三思,而他也確實放棄報警。如果女主角真愛他,一定會忍不住想洩露出騙局的線索,但我自始至終並沒有發現,殘念。

(若有其他論點請私訊我。有需要的話我可能會看第三次我咧)

最後一題申論題,The Best Offer該如何解釋?

The Best Offer碰觸到兩個層次。第一個是藝術的層次,到底藝術品的valuation該如何做才對?第二個是愛情的層次,為了愛你願意用多少來換?這是世界上最難定價也最容易定價的兩種商品,難在沒有規則,容易在不需說明。
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

2013年7月27日 星期六

J&J Business Innovation - Partnering with Coca-Cola



This business case makes me very proud of working in J&J. J

The context
-          In Africa, one out of every five children below the age of five dies from the effects of easily preventable diseases such as diarrhea.
-          Mothers in Africa often have to travel long ways to find remedies for their children.

A Simple Idea
-          Mobile phones and Coca-Cola were readily accessible in Africa
-          JNJ use mobile phones to interact with consumers and use the Coca-Cola distribution chain to physically distribute the needed products.
-          EMEA Janssen identified Colalife, a non-governmental organization (NGO) to work on distributing anti-diarrhea kits in Africa by fitting the products in-between Coca-Cola bottles.

Results
-          The pilot project has brought 20,000 kits to remote villages in Zambia
-          “Product Design of the year 2013” Award from the British Design Museum.

What’s NEXT
-          The goal is to expand this distribution model to other African countries and to use it for products like remedies for diabetes and HIV/AIDS




TED talk x JNJ


2013年7月14日 星期日

Before Sunset


我希望我32歲時也能像Celine這麼迷人。

跟Sunrise相比, Celine在這集裡完全搶了Jesse的風采, 她變得更聰明, 更敏感, 更有魅力, 也更幽默。30幾歲的兩人讓這集的對白變得比Sunrise更加精彩!更懂得如何討論愛情以外的東西, 更懂得如何開玩笑, 更懂得如何描述自己的感受。

我可以一直重複看下面這段...relationship...


Car scene! Powerful and classic! - Celine gets paranoid and Jesse looks so sad when he talks about his dream...






下面這段讓我鼻酸。

Celine: So, I want to try something.
Jesse: What?
Celine: [hugs him] I want to see if you stay together or if you dissolve into molecules.
Jesse: How'm I doing?
Celine: Still here.
Jesse: Good, I like being here.


Celine: Baby, you are gonna miss that plane.
Jesse: I know.


Before Sunrise



我小的時候最喜歡的浪漫愛情片是西雅圖夜未眠, 整部片一直到最後男女主角才找到彼此, 於是在字幕出現時我覺得好美好美。長大後重看Before Sunrise認為這才是真正的浪漫, Can the greatest romance of life last only one night?

首先是愛情片一定要有的費洛蒙。飾演Jesse的伊森霍克年輕時未免也太可口, 從第一幕坐在火車上看著Celine的樣子已十分迷人。Blue eyes, pink lips, greasy hair(lol), he is kind of tall but also a bit clumsy. 然後是他在火車上試圖說服Celine下車的橋段, 不管理由是什麼, 那拼命地說的樣子已經非常可愛。 還有兩人在試聽室裡聽Kathy Bloom的Come here絕對是經典。。。




 I like to feel his eyes on me when I look away. 這段甜美的告白好真實好自然。。。


最後是我的老靈魂被美麗的想法與字句觸動了好幾次, 當Jesse談到靈魂的時候, 當Celine談到God的時候, 當算命婦不停地提及we are all stardust! stardust!, 還有那首街頭詩人寫的milkshake...

Jesse: OK, well this was my thought: 50,000 years ago, there are not even a million people on the planet. 10,000 years ago, there's, like, two million people on the planet. Now there's between five and six billion people on the planet, right? Now, if we all have our own, like, individual, unique soul, right, where do they all come from? You know, are modern souls only a fraction of the original souls? 'Cause if they are, that represents a 5,000 to 1 split of each soul in the last 50,000 years, which is, like, a blip in the Earth's time. You know, so at best we're like these tiny fractions of people, you know, walking... I mean, is that why we're so scattered? You know, is that why we're all so specialized?

Celine: I believe if there's any kind of God it wouldn't be in any of us, not you or me but just this little space in between. If there's any kind of magic in this world it must be in the attempt of understanding someone sharing something. I know, it's almost impossible to succeed but who cares really? The answer must be in the attempt.

Street Poet: Daydream delusion, limousine eyelash / Oh baby with your pretty face / Drop a tear in my wineglass / Look at those big eyes / See what you mean to me / Sweet-cakes and milkshakes / I'm a delusion angel / I'm a fantasy parade / I want you to know what I think / Don't want you to guess anymore / You have no idea where I came from / We have no idea where we're going / Lodged in life / Like branches in a river/ Flowing downstream / Caught in the current / I carry you / You'll carry me / That's how it could be / Don't you know me? / Don't you know me by now?

這絕對是影史上數一數二最會編織對白的電影。



2013年6月12日 星期三

My Life Statement

I wrote this two years ago and it's still valid.

To live is to appreciate, to learn, to create and to share.

Appreciate. Appreciate the existence itself of family members, friends, colleagues, and whoever shows his/her good intention. Appreciate the care and support from these people. Appreciate the beauty of the world by enjoying nature and arts.

Learn. Learn from observations. Learn from others' strengths. Learn from my own mistakes and don't be afraid of failures.

Create. Create added value to the customers that I serve at work and to the people that I value off work through original, fun and sweet ideas. Question the prevailing status quo and create creative solutions for the difficulties in life.

Share. Share what I've seen, what I've felt, and what I've learnt. Share the best of me. Share my love.



 

2013年2月12日 星期二

悲慘世界Les Misérables

Source: http://popculturebrain.com/post/32204414209/poster-les-miserables-imp

要怎麼把一部這麼完美的音樂劇改變成電影?如果本意是要忠於原著的呈現, 似乎只可能有ㄧ樣好或比較差兩種可能, 且後者機率較大。導演Tom Hooper接下這苦差事算是挺有種的!

對於悲慘世界來說, 選角就已經決定了絕大部份的成功與否, 這是我看完本片的第一個感想。所有的高潮都在經典曲目中, 演員聲音本身的演技與穿透力是關乎觀眾內心是否會被震得嗡嗡作響的主因。許多獨唱都是用近拍鏡頭為主處理的, 也都是採現場收音, 只有表情跟聲音全然投入, 琴瑟和鳴才會把場子撐起來, 而Hugh Jackman和Anne Hathaway完全地震懾了我!

Hugh Jackman刻意減重留怪鬍子一開始就給人強烈印象(性感的金剛狼到哪裡去了), 真摯善良的眼神把我完全吸住(腦海中還有他把Marius救出時全臉泥濘只有渾圓大眼看著Javert的殘影), 加上他富有力量卻也極有彈性的嗓子, 把新曲Suddenly唱的好動人, 完全不突兀(也把他演鋼鐵擂台時扣的分全都幾倍地加回來了哈)。

Anne Hathaway聽說在試鏡時就把一票人都弄哭了, 聽到她唱I dreamed a dream時, 雖沒落淚但心是整個糾結的, 也讓我回想起十年前在倫敦看這部音樂劇時第一次聽到這首歌時的感動, 當場好想雙膝跪下阿(太多了嗎?)。

Sacha Baron Cohen跟Helena Bonham Cart是十足的驚喜, 本來就很愛master of house這首賤賤的曲子, 跟兩人誇張的演技超搭, 這部份的場景轉換完全呈現出電影可以做到但音樂劇無法的部份。至於Amanda Seyfried與演Eponine和Marius的兩位演員則是中規中矩(又或者是HJ跟AH太強大, 相較之下就失色了)兩個小演員小Cosette跟Gavroche都很可愛很到位, 但我總是有小孩bias, so...whatever. 至於被許多人批評的Russell Crowe, 我一向不愛他, 客觀來說, 他的表情沒有太大問題, 但唱功很明顯差了一截, 所以整個情緒都是平的, 我也不小心放空了, sorry羅哥。

導演的部份我也要拍拍手, 喜歡幾個大場景的設計, 包含一開頭犯人拉船的畫面設計, 搭配Look down這曲子很有力量,  還有在巴黎街道上以大象雕刻搭配堆疊的傢具創造出的革命場景, 這也是音樂劇無法做到的。但電影的弱勢我認為在於場景的切換, 尤其是這部片穿越過幾個年代, 音樂劇在換場時變換場景的那段時間還有中場休息, 也是觀眾可以自然做轉換的時間; 而電影得在兩個小時四十分鐘內演完, 節奏有點趕。

最後一個重要的感想是, 這部片拍的很是時候。壓迫, 不公, 階級仇恨, 革命, 悲慘世界的主題雖是Victor Hugo針對君主專制時代刻畫的, 但在現代資本主義開始有些脫軌時, 貧富差距的危機, 人民還在床上睡覺的警訊, 似乎也是可以連結的。Did you hear the people sing, singing the song of angry men? 

  

2013年1月1日 星期二

少年Pi的奇幻漂流 Life of Pi

Source: http://www.artrix.co.uk/Cinema/The-Life-of-Pi-PG/1529

(本文有爆雷之疑慮)

這是2012年給我後座力最強的一部片, 直到看完一周後有天早上醒來, 我突然又想問自己為何老虎沒有回頭?心頭一陣糾結。這是一部充滿心理探討與哲學性的電影, 直到寫下這些文字的當下我仍覺得我只懂得一小部份而已。李安很調皮, 在所有的訪問中他從不正面回答他對於故事情節的看法, 他說他喜歡神祕性, 他說這是一部關於信念的電影。但回顧過去李安的所有作品, 似乎都是透過悲傷來訴說希望的。

因此, Pi對我來說不是選擇要相信那個故事的問題, 而是為何選擇故事A來解釋現實B以達到自我療癒的目的。(再次確認我是個輪迴過的老靈魂, 無法相信奇蹟哈)

我喜歡所有Pi與Richard Parker(自己的獸性)面對面的橋段, Pi試圖撒尿標地盤(逃避) , Pi給RP喝水又救RP上船(相處), Pi叫RP看暴風雨(結合), Pi撫慰快支撐不下去的RP(對話), Pi看著離去的老虎大哭(放下)。

我喜歡無人島, 畫面之美不在話下, 把母親用畫面表現出來原來是這樣的阿。白天或許可以粉裝自己, 但夜深人靜時逃不了折磨, 如果不能徹底放下,  人心就被腐蝕了。

我喜歡Pi去瞭解印度教,基督教, 回教的鋪陳, 雖然Pi爸說 “If you believe in everything, you will end up not believing in anything at all.” 但最後Pi仍然是有信仰的, 自己就是信仰。

Pi是一部很自我的電影, 你會很想跟朋友討論, 但不是要討論出一個最佳解, 而是在討論的過程中瞭解自我, 瞭解人人都有用智慧去解決問題的可能性。這就是我認識的李安專屬的電影語言,總能營造出真心才有感的希望。