Live and Learn

到达西雅图不久，就欣闻石溪大学中国留学生自编、自导、自演的DV三部曲之三《不如归去》（英文名 Dreams In Between）将很快在学校公映。西雅图正是冬季、雨季，阴雨连绵，刚来的几天很是郁闷。当我听到这样好消息，心情顿然明朗了不少。

Shortly after arrival in Seattle, I was happy to hear that “Dreams in Between,” the third work in a Stony Brook movie series shot by Chinese students, was to be premiered on campus in a few days. The news came at a time when I was a bit blue due to the rainy winter of Seattle, dispelling the gloomy mood and bringing me a much sunnier one.

影片首映日期似乎也经历了不少波折，变更不止一次。当在2011年2月19日晚终于揭开面纱时，石溪的乡亲们肯定已经万分期待了。记得刚听说片子筹拍的消息时，是一年多以前。当时导演说，计划用一年时间完成拍摄，尽量把石溪的四季都展现出来。所有的创作人员都是业余义务参加，他们不为名利，只是想讲述留学生自己海归和海未归的故事。一年过去了，他们在繁重的工作和学习之余，主要靠周末进行，其中的辛苦不言而喻。

It seemed that the premier date changed more than one, which poses a real ordeal to the film crew. The movie was finally released on the evening Feb. 19, 2011, after long expectations of the Stony Brook audience. It was more than one year ago when I heard about the preparation of this movie. The director planned to get it done in about a year, so as to cover all four seasons in the outdoor scenery. Working or studying full time, the crew members could only spare time on it at weekend. I could not imagine how hard it had been for them to dance between the two careers – word/study and movie-making – in the past year.

如今作品如期出台，衷心为他们感到高兴。我认为无论好坏，对于剧组来说，都是一种体验，一种尝试。

I feel happy for them upon the long-awaited release of their work. I don’t think it matters a lot whether the movie will be a big hit, but what does matter is that the process is a unique experience and exploration for every member of the team.

电影在石溪公映时，我远在西海岸，无法亲临现场为他们喝彩。但是从网络上的热评，我感受到了他们的成功。仅仅数日，MITBBS（即北美华人常说的“买买提”）满满几页的主题贴都是讨论它的，而每帖里所搭的楼更是一幢高过一幢。在国内网站上也受到热评，很快就上了新浪播客原创头条。我想论坛中的留言无论是赞扬还是批评，都说明影片引发了观众的思考，这本身就是很大的成功。

When the movie was shown, I was in the west coast and unable to give my applause in person. Nevertheless, I felt its success by reading various comments posted online. Within several days after the premier, it became a popular topic on MITBBS and each post is followed by numerous responses. The same happened in domestic Chinese websites, with the show soaring to the top video list on <www.sina.com.cn> in a surprisingly quick speed. The huge volume of response, either positive or negative, shows that the story is at least thought-provoking, which I consider stands as a real achievement by itself.

在为影片推出高兴的同时，也为自己的粗心感到内疚。字幕翻译中有一些错误没有检查出来，就交工了。辜负了孙导的信任，而且还收受了人家女一号的贿赂呢，正宗的南京盐水鸭，味道很好。（第一次见到女一号，就暗赞其美貌和气质，百分百的大美女。）眼看着翻译交差的期限就到了（记得定的是12月中旬），却正值期末临近，考试阅卷之余，日夜赶工。翻译完后，在电脑上检查了一下，没有来得及打印出来纸质校对，就发出去了。这时再看，发现还有错误。希望在作成正式的光碟时，导演能够让我改正一下。尽管观众大多为中国人，不大会关注翻译，但是万一英语观众看得话，岂不给影片抹黑。

While being happy with the success of the movie, I meanwhile feel guilty of my own carelessness in the subtitle translation. I failed to correct some errors before submitting it to the editor, despite his trust in me and the “bribery” of the delicious Nan Jing Salted Duck from the leading actress gave. (I was amazed at her beauty and elegance when I first met her last year. She is indeed pretty.) The submission deadline of the translation somewhat coincided with my end-of-semester rush. I fought for it day and night in addition to dealing with a crazy exam and grading schedule, so I did not check it on paper before sending it. Re-reading the translation now, I am ashamed to find there are errors not detected. I hope to have a chance to correct them when the movie is made into formal DVD version. Although the errors are very unlikely to be noticed by the Chinese audience, they might be by English speakers. I don’t want them to be negative marks on such a well-made movie.

有些地方还是费了不少脑细胞。记得翻译麻将那段，我不会打麻将，完全不懂那些麻将术语的意思，Google 了好多篇麻将入门文章，才勉强明白。另外，一些成语，如“破釜沉舟”、“道不行，乘桴浮于海”也是不小的挑战。无论如何，东西已经完成，是好是坏，由观众评说。尽管我暗自祈祷，翻译错误不会被发现，但是已经出来了，只好厚着脸皮等着挨批了：）。

To get a natural rendition was quite effort-demanding in some places. For instance, when doing the episode on Mahjong play, I searched for introductory articles on Google just to understand the terminology since I myself had never played the game and knew nothing about it. Other phrases that presented considerable challenges are Chinese idioms such as “破釜沉舟”、“道不行，乘桴浮于海.”Now the work is done, and it is up to the audience to rate it as good or bad. I silently wish that the audience would not find those translation errors. Now that the work is already done, I had no choice but to stand criticisms.

观后感

总体感觉，影片取景很美，拍摄水平很高，音乐动人，故事脉络清晰。好评已经很多，我不再重复。不足之处，网络论坛讨论得很热，也很杂，但是不一定完全对。我感觉主要有两个地方：第一，演员有点太年轻，和故事中的经历不太搭配。当然，这是客观条件所限，能够找到的演员大多刚毕业，甚至还在读。第二，部分场景的服装设计欠妥。主要是有些场景的着装过于花（或者时尚），不符合美国主流文化的做法。比如女一号上班时穿黑丝袜（买买提上已有讨论）。再就是，男女主角家中办聚会，参加者（尤其是女性）着装过于正式。一般的聚会，应该不需要如此。

My comments

A general impression after watching the movie is that it presents beautiful scenes, superb photography and well-done music as well as a neatly-narrated story. Positive comments are widespread online, thus I would like not to repeat them here. Negative ones are massive too. Some of which are quite well-grounded, and others may not make much sense. I personally feel there are two obvious weaknesses. One is that the actors are sort of too young to fit the story. Of course this is somewhat inevitable since the Chinese community at Stony Brook consists mainly of students who just graduated or are still in school. The other is that the cast is overdressed on certain occasions, or in other words, too flowery and fashionable than appropriate. One case is a work scene in which the heroine wears black stocking, which does not accord with mainstream American culture. Overdressing also occurs in the scene of party at home, where attendants at ordinary parties generally do not require formal attire.

无论好坏，我觉得影片能够完成，就已经是很大的成功了。既然自娱自乐，没有必要按照专业的标准来要求作品。专业制作的所谓大片又何尝没有缺点呢？更何况《不如归去》已经优于许多专业作品了，至少我是这么认为的。在看巨资制作的《让子弹飞》时，我没有看到一个好的故事，但是在看这部零投资影片时，我看到了故事，思考了，而且进入情节了。所以，《不如归去》很成功，向全体剧组人员表示祝贺。

As is said before, the completion of the movie by itself is a remarkable success no matter whether it is well-made or not. It is unnecessary or unfair to judge a just-for-fun film by professional standards, not to mention that even professional works are not without weaknesses. In fact, I would rate “Dreams In Between” higher than many so-called big hits. For instance, the famous “Let the Bullets Fly” (2010) directed by Jiang Wen did not attract me when I watched it, however this movie as a virtually zero-funding one did lead me into the story and make me think about a lot. To be short, “Dreams In Between” earns a success, and I extend my sincere congratulations to all members of the production crew.

附（1）：蔡琴《庭院深深》歌词

多少的往事已难追忆

多少的恩怨已随风而逝

两个世界几许痴迷

几载的离散欲诉相思

这天上人间可能再聚

听那杜鹃在林中轻啼

不如归去不如归去

啊…. 不如归去

附（2）：《不如归去》在线链接

(a) In the news 新闻报道: 留美中国学生自编自导拍留学生活DV剧在校园上映

<http://news.sina.com.cn/o/2011-01-31/112921904641.shtml>

(b) 预告片Trailer:

<http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/fah6xBTNzjk/>

(c) 完整影片

(1) Youtube

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN2WrA8TGjE>

通过窗口右下角标识“CC”的按钮打开或者关闭中英双语字幕。

(2) Youku 优酷

<http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjQ1NDM2MjI4.html>

(3) 56

<http://www.56.com/u13/v_NTg0Nzg5MDY.html>

(4) Tudou 土豆

<http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/USy2dVop3HI/>

看电影和电视剧是我业余时间的最爱。出国前电影院去得多，最喜欢的地方是新华路/番禺路位置的上海影城，离交大徐汇校区很近。在影院很少一次只看一部，通常是至少连看两部才过瘾。回国后被发配在闵行—上海本地人眼里十足的“乡下”，至今还没有找到一家好的影院，所以也就很少出去看电影了。只有碰到十分想看的片子，才会跑到徐家汇，但是得提前查排片表和计划日程，很是麻烦。

  

幸运的是，信息时代给人们提供了丰富的网络视频资源，看影视剧的需求可以轻易地通过电脑得到满足。我不再需要费尽精力去电影院或者眼巴巴地等着电视剧的播放时段，也不用再忍受没完没了的电视广告。尤其是喜欢的电视剧，周末可以在网上把几十集一气从头看到尾。单凭这一点，我对影视业的支持，应该很少人能够超越了。

 

普通大众（相对于专业影视工作者）看影视剧的最根本的乐趣，在于能够使自己置身于剧中故事，和其中人物的命运共鸣，从而体验一种虚构的真实。但是，如果观看时总是游离于情节之外，以旁观者的身份审视作品，那就不会获得普通观众的乐趣。我想专业影评人为了工作目的看影视剧时，大概不会有我们常人那种对情节的投入。

  

然而，如果一个人期望的是普通观众的那种最基本的观看乐趣，但是无法实现，应该是件很郁闷的事。我就曾经几次经历过这种情形。

  

一次是因为短时间内集中看的影视剧太多。那是在美国留学期间的某个寒假，长岛上的冬天户外很冷，于是除了外出购物，大多时间都是窝在宿舍里看影碟。连续几周后，发现自己不再能够欣赏影片故事，却总是想着如果我自己是导演，某个情节会如何安排，人物的服装会如何设计，等等。

 

还有一次是因为同一部作品看了很多遍。几年前，我十分迷恋《雍正王朝》（1997年，44集，主演：唐国强—雍正、焦晃—康熙，导演：胡玫）和《三国演义》（1994年，84集，主演：鲍国安—曹操，唐国强—诸葛亮，总导演：王扶林）两部电视剧，看了不下六七遍，而且是一遍紧接一遍。因为剧集多，往往看了后边忘了前边，所以最初两三遍迷的是故事，沉浸于情节的起伏，乐趣不少。但是到了后边几遍，情节很熟悉了，就开始琢磨伏笔该如何埋设、场景该如何拍摄。。。这样很累，于是就彻底罢看这两部作品了。（不过至今我仍认为，它们是中国电视剧的精品，导演和演员的水平都少有出其右者。）

  

最近又有了一次类似的感受。那是在参观过上海影视乐园（又名“上海影视拍摄基地”）之后。乐园位于上海西南的松江区（地址：车墩镇北松公路4915号），建于90年代末。从闵行往返徐家汇时，曾多次在沪闵路上看到过指向西的标牌，但从未有机会去看看。6月30日顺道路过，才得以进去一饱眼福。

 

园中主要是一些30年代旧上海的建筑和街道场景，主要有南京路、老城厢、石库门里弄、苏州河港区、马勒别墅、和平广场、徐家汇天主教堂、环行有轨电车、电话亭，以及欧式建筑群，设计定位是影视摄影、旅游观光和文化传播为一体。很多景点都是影视剧中经常出现的。

  

参观回来后，每次再看以上海为背景的电影和电视剧，总是觉得故事不真。看到《谍海风云》（英文名Shanghai，2010年，主演：巩俐、周润发、John Cusack）中，巩俐站在一座二层楼的阳台上，就想笑，再也进入不了故事中。电视剧《X特工》（2010年，主演：丁海峰、常戎、任泽、刘卓灵，导演：张晓光）的路景也让我有同样的感觉。

  

Though relentlessly promoted in Shanghai, the World Expo does not appeal much to me. In the information age, learning about other countries and cultures can be achieved in various ways other than going to see some type of affair. It can be equally done by searching on the Internet or travelling to those countries directly.

  

Despite a lack of interest, I did visit the Expo twice as a member of group activities organized by my school. Physical experiences might be common to many people: hot summer weather, long queues, immense crowds, and exhausted legs. Intellectual gains, however, may vary due to individual perceptions and interests.

  

First visit: June 8

Route: Take No. 5 Subway at Dongchuan Rd. à Xinzhuang, transfer to No. 1 subway à Changshu Rd., transfer to No. 7 Subway à Changqing Rd. (Group admission gate)

Time on the subway: about one hour and 15 minutes

Number of visitors: about 510,900

Time of admission: 10:00am

路线：地铁5号线 东川路站 à 莘庄（换乘1号线）à 常熟路站（换乘7号线）

 à 长清路站（长清路东侧团队入口处）

地铁所需时间：约1小时15分钟

当日入园人数：51.09万人

入园时间：10:am

 

This visit was organized by my school. One could choose one from several days based on his own schedule and preference. I and most people in my office settled on June 8 mainly because we had expected there would be fewer visitors. June 7th and 8th are days of the national college entrance exam, thus many families with a high school graduate would be fully engaged in their child’s big days. This was true, but we ignored another fact – those students in the first and second grades, who did not take the exam, had the days free. This meant many of them would probably take the opportunity to visit the Expo. As a result, contrary to what had been expected, we ran into one of the most crowded days.

  

The weather was hot too: bright summer sunshine heating the ground where newly- planted trees, in fact “seedlings” would be a more proper description, were too small to give any real shade. I spent the day with four colleagues. We decided to balance our choices to see: some smaller ones that do not have long waiting lines, and some so-called “popular” ones that have better displays but longer time to wait for admission.

 

I visited five pavilions in total:

  

(1) New Zealand

Admission was quick, taking only about 5 minutes waiting in line and 10 minutes to see. With a theme of “Cities of Nature: Living between Land and Sky” (自然之城：生活在天地之间), the pavilion highlights forestry and daily urban life. The most striking is an 8-ton natural jade stone that visitors can touch. What impressed me most was that right at the entrance a group of ship builders worked on carving a wooden ship. Inside the pavilion, most are electronic screens showing the natural scenery and daily urban life of the country, which to me was not as attractive as real objects.

   

 

(2) Slovakia

Waiting time was about 30 minutes. The theme is “The World of Human Beings” (人类的世界). The pavilion has its inside wall shaped in an arch, which symbolizes the development of the human history. There are traditional furniture, art works and clothes on display. Besides, video screens are projected onto the wall, presenting a dynamic presentation of Slovakian life.

  

          Sculpture in the Slovakia Pavilion

 

(3) France

Waiting time was about one hour. The theme is the “Sensual City” (感性城市). Many visitors came here to see the authentic copy of seven famous paintings. In fact there are more than that – French perfumes, robots, movie clips, and expensive cuisines, all appealing to the human senses. What I liked most was the garden-type design of the building, which forms a circle and forms a courtyard in the center. The roof and the courtyard are all covered by plants, which, along with water ponds and fountains, provide pleasant coolness in the hot summer.

 

           Green Plants Decorating the French Pavilion

  

(4) Spain

Waiting time was about 1 hour. The theme is “From the City of Our Parents to the City of Our Children” (我们世代相传的城市).

  

The pavilion is my favorite for several reasons. First of all, it has a unique shape, like a basket and made of wicker panels. The brown color conveys a sense of simplicity and tradition. Second, its display is well-designed and enriching: the screens are not simply the wall, but rather a huge rock-like background full of passion and vigor. Dynamic images of the Spanish history, geography and modern life are projected.

 

Like many people, I was most attracted by the giant baby robot at the entrance. Named Small Miguelin and 6.5-meter tall, the cute baby can change its facial expressions and gestures – laughing, blinking and waving – no less vividly and lively than a real human being! Surrounding him are colorful soap bubbles floating in the air and creating a mini fairyland.

 

    

           Spain Pavilion                                           Small Miguelin (Robot Baby)

   (From Expo Homepage)

 

(5) Germany

Germany was one of the most acclaimed pavilions, so obviously it took a long time to enter. Incredibly I had such great patience as waiting in the endless zigzag for 3 hours.

 

The theme is “Balancity,” meaning “Balanced City” (和谐都市). There are something interesting indeed provided. The most sensational was shouting at the “Origin of Energy”, a large metal ball that floats in a direction towards the side of spectators who shout at louder noise and greater movements. On the surface of the ball are LED displays of the earth and natural life. Another impressive section is the Factory and Depot House, which showcases the country’s technology and manufacturing achievements.

  

              Factory and Depot House

  

   

           Origin of Energy                                        Origin of Energy

  

During the entire stay in the Expo park (from 10:00am to 7:30pm), I did not have a chance to sit down and have a break. I was exhausted after going back home. It took several days for me to regain normal-level physical energy.

 

Second visit: June 30

Route: Same as in 1^st visit

Time on the subway: Similar to 1^st visit

Number of visitors: about 427,900

Time of admission: 5:30pm (Evening admission, 90 Ruan)

路线：同第一次

地铁所需时间：同第一次

当日入园人数：42.79万人

入园时间：5:30pm （夜票，90元）

  

The second visit was an activity of the CCP party members in my office. My group proposed a lecture series to graduate students and won an award from the school. To reward ourselves, we decided to have a boat cruise on the Huangpu River from the Pu Dong section to the Pu Xi section.

  

(1) Romania

The Romania pavilion is designed as a Green Apple, similar to the logo of the Apple computer with a piece bit off, except that the color is different. I love the young fresh green.

  

As our major agenda at Romania pavilion was to have dinner, we did not have time to enjoy the building and the displays. Nevertheless, the restaurant did provide interesting folk dance and wine culture through their LED screens on the wall. The dinner was not bad, and I especially liked the fish and the red wine.

 

   Romania Pavilion (From Expo Homepage)

 

(2) Ferry

When we arrived at the dock at about 7:30, we found that the cruise was too expensive. To save money, we decided to take the free ferry for a sightseeing of the metropolitan night along the river and some pavilions in the Pu Xi section.

  

The ferry ride took only about 15 minutes. I was exhilarated to see the Lu Pu Bridge (卢浦大桥), which spans the Huangpu River like a rainbow. The lights on the bridge change flexibly, creating a colorful arc-shaped design.

 

 

(3) Pavilions in Pu Xi

It was about 8:30pm, when we decided to see some pavilions. We had a quick look at the Pavilion of Footprint (城市足迹馆), which demonstrates the development of cities around the world with pictures, sculptures, electronic images, etc.

  

We also visited the State Grid Pavilion (国家电网馆), which has a theme of “Innovation Ignites Dreams” (创新，点亮梦想). It creates a “magic” feel through a unique design of lighting in the mysterious background of darkness. In addition, visitors can experience various forms of energy (electricity) such as thundering, lightning and earthquakes, with the help of dynamic motion and sound effects.

  

After that, it was too late to enter any more pavilions. We just walked around, enjoying chatting and the night view. The Oil Pavilion and the Coca-Cola Pavilion have beautiful light designs, the former in changeable colors, and the latter featuring a tall Coca-Cola bottle.

  

    

            City Footprints                                                 State Grid Pavilion

 

   

                Oil Pavilion                                                            Oil Pavilion

 

               Coca-Cola Pavilion

 

The pavilions put on quite different looks in the evening from in the day. But for me who live quite far from downtown, evening visits are hard for traffic reasons. On the way back, I took No. 4 subway, and then transferred to No.1 line. When I arrived at Xin Zhuang (莘庄), No.5 subway service has ended. I had to take a taxi back home.

 

After two visits, I don’t think I will go to the Expo again, unless really necessary. It is too physically demanding and time-consuming in consideration of the burning summer heat and the long travel distance.