French films
法国电影
On-screen confidence
重拾荧幕信心
May 29th 2008 | PARIS
From The Economist print edition
New spring for French cinema
法国电影又一春
THE French film industry is more often given to introspective agonising about American cultural imperialism or the tyranny of the market than to self-congratulation. But this year, unapologetic triumph is in the air. It is not just that for the first time in 21 years the Cannes film festival jury, headed this time by Sean Penn, awarded its top prize, the Palme d’Or, to a French film, Laurent Cantet’s “Entre les Murs” (“The Class”). Another homegrown movie, “Bienvenue Chez les Ch’tis” (which will be remade for an American audience as “Welcome to the Sticks”), is set to overtake James Cameron’s Hollywood blockbuster, “Titanic”, as the country’s all-time top box-office hit.
法国电影业总是在美国的文化压迫下抑或在市场的残酷现实面前暗自烦恼，少有扬眉吐气之时。不过，今年他们却一扫往日阴霾。首先，在戛纳电影节上，由Sean Penn任主席的评委会21年来首次将其最高奖项金棕榈奖颁给了一部法国电影：Laurent Cantet的《墙壁之间》（英文片名《The Class》）。而另一部法国电影，《欢迎到北方来》（即将在美国被翻拍为《Welcome to the Sticks》），亦有望超过James Cameron的好莱坞巨制《泰坦尼克》，创造法国电影史上新的票房纪录。
Apart from their tiny budgets, these two films could scarcely differ more. The first is a gritty documentary-style classroom drama, filmed-like Nicolas Philibert’s charming 2002 film, “Etre et Avoir” (“To Be and To Have”)-with real pupils in a real school, this one in a multicultural quarter of Paris. It is adapted from a book by Fran?ois Bégaudeau, based on his experience as a teacher (he plays a fictionalised version of himself in the film). The second is a slick, warm, redemptive comedy, written by and starring Dany Boon, a French comic, which overturns French prejudices about the beer-drinking, rain-soaked north. Since its release in February, “Bienvenue Chez les Ch’tis” has notched up a staggering 20m cinema tickets in France-just short of the 20.7m that “Titanic” secured-and over euro100m ($157.6m) in receipts.
除了都是低成本作品外，这两部电影在其它方面截然不同。《墙壁之间》是一部纪实风格的”教室内”纪录片，真实的学生，真实的学校，就像Nicolas Philibert在2002年的那部佳作《山村犹有读书声》（英文片名《To Be and To Have》）一样。他们这次选择的是巴黎一所多元文化并存的移民区的学校。电影根据François Bégaudeau的同名作品改编，这部作品是他根据自己当老师的经历创作的。而在影片中，他也同样充任了老师的角色。《欢迎到北方来》则是一部流畅的，温馨的，带有救赎色彩的喜剧。这部电影的编剧兼主演，Dany Boon，一个受欢迎的喜剧演员，彻底颠覆了法国人对那个爱喝啤酒以及阴雨连绵的北方的偏见。自二月份上映以来，它在法国的票房已达2千万，仅略低于《泰坦尼克》保持的2070万的记录；而其票房收入也已超过1亿欧元（15760万美元）。
Partly thanks to this hit, French films grabbed a 63% share of all domestic ticket sales in the first four months of 2008, next to 30% for Hollywood’s output. In comedy and multicultural drama, the French seem to have found two new formulae to beat the traditional low-plot, high-art movie, a genre typically shot in close-up in elegant apartments and late-night cafés. There are two other French comedies in the box-office top five so far this year. And this year’s César, the French version of an Oscar, for best film went to the 2007 offering, “La Graine et le Mulet” (“Couscous”), which was directed by Abdellatif Kechiche, aTunisian-born Frenchman. An inter-generational family drama, it follows the efforts of an Arab immigrant in the southern French port of Sète to open a fish-and-couscous restaurant.
沾了这部喜剧的光，2008年的前四个月，法国电影夺回了国内市场63%的票房份额，而其次的好莱坞军团仅占了30%。在喜剧方面，以及涉及多元文化的电影方面，法国人似乎又找到了两条新路，来取代传统的那些非常艺术却并不引人入胜的电影，那些电影的标志性特色就是喜欢在雅致的公寓或午夜咖啡厅里使用特写镜头。另外还有两部法国喜剧片，也进入了今年票房的前五名。而素有”法国奥斯卡”之称的恺撒奖，今年的最佳影片奖颁给了一部2007年的影片《谷子和鲻鱼》（英文名《Couscous》）。这部电影由突尼斯出生的法国人Abdellatif Kechiche导演，讲述了一个两代人的家庭的故事。一个阿拉伯移民准备在法国南部的港口城市Sète开一家主营鱼和蒸粗麦粉的餐馆而做着种种努力，故事以此为主线展开。
Apart from landmark movies such as Mathieu Kassovitz’s “La Haine” (“Hate”), which was made in 1995, France’s film-makers, like its novelists, have been curiously slow to draw on the rich dramatic tension of banlieue life. Mr Kechiche broke ground in 2003 with his touching banlieue movie, “L’Esquive” (“Games of Love and Chance”). But few others have managed to find an authentic voice that conveys both the grainy energy and harsh banality of life in the suburbs.
除了一些里程碑似作品外–比如Mathieu Kassovitz在1995年拍的《怒火青春》（英文名《Hate》）–法国的电影人们跟他们的小说家一样，很少关注到富有戏剧张力的边缘地区（主要是移民区或贫民区）的生活。2003年，Kechiche开始拍《躲闪》（英文名《Games of Love and Chance》），那是部反应边缘地区人们生活的动人心弦的电影。不过，极少有人可以像他那样，能聆听到他们生活中那些真实的声音，那些渺小人物的激情和平凡生活的艰辛。
Some wonder how far the new trend is politically motivated. Cannes juries like to use awards to make statements; Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” won the 2004 Palme d’Or as well as a standing ovation in Cannes. This week President Nicolas Sarkozy, battling with education reform, congratulated the team behind “Entre les Murs” for depicting “the efforts, the hopes and the successes of teachers”, given the difficulties in such schools. As the pupils-turned-stars returned from the red carpet to their school in Paris, flush with their Cannes victory, there was much hope that it would inspire their fellow schoolmates. Indeed, the film itself got a small state subsidy under the culture ministry’s “Images of Diversity” programme. Set up in the wake of rioting in 2005 in the heavily immigrant banlieues, this is designed to promote a fresh image of France on the big screen.
很多人想知道，这些新的获奖热门背后有多少是出于政治动机。戛纳电影节的评委会已经用奖项给出了答案。 Michael Moore的《华氏911》捧走了2004年的金棕榈，而且赢得了全场持久不断的欢呼。就在本周，致力于教育改革的Nicolas Sarkozy总统，称赞《墙壁之间》剧组很好的描述了在移民区学校的教育困难面前，”老师们的努力、期望与功绩”。从戛纳红地毯走下来的”学生明星” 们，回到了他们在巴黎的学校，身上依然带着戛纳胜利者的光环。这也很有可能对他们的其他同学形成一种激励。而且，这部电影也的确得到了文化部门 “Images of Diversity”工程的一小笔国家奖金。这个工程是在2005年移民区爆发严重骚乱后设立的，其目的是奖励那些在银幕上表现”新法国”形象的作品。
Whether all such films will prosper commercially remains to be seen. “Entre les Murs” goes on release in France only in October. Despite its prize, “La Graine et le Mulet” was not a box-office hit in France. In an industry that churns out nearly 200 films every year, most of which disappear without trace, however, that may not be the point.
此类电影能否获得商业上的成功依然有待观察。《墙壁之间》要等到10月份才会在法国公映；而相对其奖项而言，《谷子与鲻鱼》的票房并不景气。法国电影业每年有近200部作品面世，而大部分都会很快被人们遗忘。不过，也许这并不重要。
译者：being http://www.ecocn.org/forum/viewthread.php?tid=11953&extra=&page=1