《至暗時(shí)刻》

宋云峰

1. 《至暗時(shí)刻》—— 對二戰(zhàn)和丘吉爾的最新解讀

英國電影是擅長用電影來詮釋歷史、構(gòu)建英國形象并傳播英國文化的。

在第90屆奧斯卡獎(jiǎng)的提名中，有兩部英國電影引人注目，獲得了多項(xiàng)提名。一部是由英國導(dǎo)演克里斯托弗·諾蘭（Christopher Nolan）執(zhí)導(dǎo)的《敦刻爾克》（Dunkirk，2017），獲得八項(xiàng)提名（最終奪得三個(gè)獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)）。另一部則是由英國導(dǎo)演喬·萊特（Joe Wright）執(zhí)導(dǎo)的《至暗時(shí)刻》（Darkest Hour，2017），獲得九項(xiàng)提名（主演加里·奧德曼Gary Oldman獲得最佳男演員獎(jiǎng)）。

有趣的是，兩部電影都是關(guān)于英國在二戰(zhàn)中至關(guān)重要的時(shí)刻。一是英法聯(lián)軍在歐洲戰(zhàn)場對德作戰(zhàn)失利，不得不在法國港口敦刻爾克緊急將30萬大軍主力撤回英國，以保存實(shí)力；二是英國海軍大臣丘吉爾臨危受命，接替奉行綏靖主義政策的張伯倫擔(dān)任英國首相并成立戰(zhàn)時(shí)內(nèi)閣，決定與納粹德國血戰(zhàn)到底。兩部影片都是以小搏大、以少勝多的典范?！抖乜虪柨恕吠顿Y一億美元，卻在全球狂收五億多美元的票房；而《至暗時(shí)刻》投資僅3，000萬美元，而全球票房收入?yún)s高達(dá)1.45億美元。這又一次驗(yàn)證了美國資本與英國故事結(jié)合的成功公式，英國影人借助語言優(yōu)勢、美國的資本和發(fā)行渠道再次向全球宣揚(yáng)英國的歷史和文化，凸顯了英國的軟實(shí)力。

其中，《至暗時(shí)刻》聚焦丘吉爾在英國緊急歷史關(guān)頭的抉擇。在接替張伯倫擔(dān)任英國首相之初，納粹德國的軍隊(duì)橫掃西歐各國，黑云壓城城欲摧，大有壓垮或打敗英國之勢。這樣的形勢導(dǎo)致了政府層面主戰(zhàn)派和主和派之間的摩擦和矛盾，最終丘吉爾以雄辯的演講說服了英國議會(huì)支持他領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的聯(lián)合政府和戰(zhàn)時(shí)內(nèi)閣，決心誓死抵抗德國的入侵。由于神形兼?zhèn)?，演活了丘吉爾，英國資深演員加里·奧德曼受到了廣泛的贊譽(yù)并獲獎(jiǎng)無數(shù)，包括：奧斯卡最佳男演員獎(jiǎng)、英國影視學(xué)院最佳男主角獎(jiǎng)、金球獎(jiǎng)最佳男演員獎(jiǎng)（電影劇情類），以及美國演員公會(huì)杰出男演員獎(jiǎng)。

盡管《至暗時(shí)刻》獲得了從票房到獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)的成功，也有批評家對影片對當(dāng)時(shí)形勢的戲劇性夸張和一些情節(jié)的杜撰頗有微詞，認(rèn)為影片對歷史事實(shí)和歷史人物的描寫不夠客觀公正。

2. 影評選登

《爛番茄》網(wǎng)站的250篇影評對《至暗時(shí)刻》的好評率高達(dá)86%，平均分?jǐn)?shù)為7.3/10。該網(wǎng)站的綜合評價(jià)為：“Darkest Hour is held together by Gary Oldmans electrifying（精彩的）performance， which brings Winston Churchill to life even when the movies narrative falters（發(fā)展緩慢）.”

奧德曼對丘吉爾的刻畫受到無數(shù)影評人的贊譽(yù)，當(dāng)時(shí)就認(rèn)為他具備了爭奪奧斯卡最佳男演員獎(jiǎng)的實(shí)力。《滾石》（Rolling Stone）影評人彼得·特拉維斯（Peter Travers）寫道：“Get busy engraving（鐫刻）Oldmans name on an Oscar... those fearing that Darkest Hour is nothing but a dull tableau（人構(gòu)成的畫面或歷史場景）of blowhard（說大話的）stuffed shirts（自命不凡的人）will be relieved to know that theyre in for a lively， provocative（挑戰(zhàn)性的）historical drama that runs on its own nonstop creative fire.”

著名電影媒體IndieWire影評人大衛(wèi)·厄爾李奇（David Ehrlich）則高度贊譽(yù)萊特的導(dǎo)演和電影配樂：“Unfolding with the clockwork precision of a Broadway play... its a deliciously unsubtle（顯而易見的）testament to（證明）the power of words and their infinite capacity to inspire.”

當(dāng)然也不乏一些不同的聲音。《羅杰·易伯特網(wǎng)站》（RogerEbert.com）影評人布萊恩·塔勒里柯（Brian Tallerico）認(rèn)為《至暗時(shí)刻》形式大于內(nèi)容，了無新意，老調(diào)重彈：“an acting exercise weighed down by costumes， make-up， and over-lighting（打強(qiáng)光）”，“theres nothing new to the approach. It feels often like an obligation—a story that someone felt should be told again and a way to get a great actor his Oscar.”

對《至暗時(shí)刻》的主要批評來自其史實(shí)部分。一些批評家指出了一些與史實(shí)不符，甚至杜撰的情節(jié)，例如，歷史學(xué)家約翰·布羅伊克（John Broich）指出，英國決定抵抗希特勒的入侵不是“選擇”的問題，而是“必然”的問題，所以《至暗時(shí)刻》是“a piece of historical fiction that undertakes a serious historical task， presenting the British decision to fight Hitler as a choice， not as inevitable（必然的）. The situation in 1940 was as dire（可怕的）as depicted， but liberties were taken with the facts.”

還有，事實(shí)上，當(dāng)時(shí)丘吉爾私下確實(shí)考慮過希特勒開出的談判條件。丘吉爾乘坐倫敦地鐵聽取民意則完全是杜撰的，而且大多數(shù)英國人當(dāng)時(shí)并沒有覺得丘吉爾的演講立即起到了鼓舞人心的作用。喬治·奧威爾（George Orwell）認(rèn)為普通英國民眾對德國已有屈服之意，不見得反對接受希特勒的“新秩序”。Churchill privately said he would consider terms（條件）offered by Hitler， but the film implies he never considered this. The ride on the London Underground was fictional， and there is historical evidence that most British people were not immediately inspired by Churchills speeches. George Orwell believed that ordinary people already felt subjugated（屈服的）and might not object to a “new order.”

至于主戰(zhàn)派丘吉爾與主和派張伯倫之間矛盾斗爭的戲劇化處理，沒有確鑿的證據(jù)說明張伯倫及其追隨者謀劃在議會(huì)對丘吉爾內(nèi)閣投不信任票，而且歷史事實(shí)表明丘吉爾當(dāng)時(shí)遭到了保守黨同僚的質(zhì)疑。There is no conclusive（確鑿的）evidence that Chamberlain（張伯倫）and Lord Halifax（哈利法克斯勛爵，時(shí)任外交大臣）were planning an imminent（迫在眉睫的）vote of no confidence（不信任投票）， though that threat existed until early victories， and it is also historical fact that Churchill was an object of suspicion by his fellow Tories（托利黨人，即保守黨人）.

3. 故事情節(jié)

In May 1940， the opposition（反對黨）Labour Party（工黨）in Parliament demands the resignation of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain for being too weak in the face of the Nazi onslaught（猛烈攻擊）. Chamberlain tells Conservative Party（保守黨）advisers that he wants Lord Halifax as his successor， but Halifax does not want to become Prime Minister yet. Chamberlain must choose the only other man whom other parties will support： Winston Churchill， the First Lord of the Admiralty（海軍大臣）.

Although he was right about the danger from Adolf Hitler， Churchill has a poor reputation because of his record in the Admiralty， the Gallipoli Campaign（加利波利戰(zhàn)役）in the First World War， his views on India and his support for Edward VIII（愛德華八世）during the Abdication Crisis（退位危機(jī)）. Parliament reacts coolly to Churchills first speech promising “Blood， toil（辛勞）， tears and sweat，” for which he is chastised（訓(xùn)斥）by the King. Churchill refuses to negotiate for peace， believing that the Germans are untrustworthy， but the French Prime Minister thinks him delusional（妄想的）for not admitting that the Allies（盟軍，英法聯(lián)軍）are losing the Battle of France. Halifax and Chamberlain agree， keen to use Italian Ambassador Giuseppe Bastianini as intermediary（調(diào)解人）to negotiate with Germany. They plan to resign from the government if Churchill refuses， to cause a vote of no confidence that will allow Halifax to become Prime Minister.

The British Expeditionary Force（英國遠(yuǎn)征軍）is trapped at Dunkirk（敦刻爾克）and Calais（加萊）. Against the advice of the War Cabinet（戰(zhàn)時(shí)內(nèi)閣）， Churchill orders Brigadier（陸軍準(zhǔn)將）Claude Nicholson in Calais to lead the 30th Infantry Brigade（步兵旅）in a suicide attack to distract the enemy while the soldiers at Dunkirk evacuate（撤退）.

Defeat in France causes the War Cabinet to support negotiating with Germany. George VI（喬治六世，現(xiàn)今女王伊麗莎白二世的父親）unexpectedly visits Churchill； the King， not wanting to rule in exile（流亡）should Britain be invaded， encourages the Prime Minister to continue the war. Still uncertain of what to do， Churchill decides to ask London Underground（倫敦地鐵）passengers. To his surprise， all the passengers there want to continue to fight. This gives him more confidence and later meets with the Outer Cabinet（擴(kuò)大內(nèi)閣）and other members of Parliament. It turns out that they also support him. The evacuation of troops from Dunkirk is successful through the concerted efforts of the British government and the British people. As Churchill prepares to address Parliament， Halifax asks Chamberlain to continue with their plan to resign， but Chamberlain decides to listen to the address first. Towards the end of his speech， Churchill proclaims that “We shall fight on the beaches” should the Germans invade. Chamberlain decides to support Churchill， and Parliament applauds the Prime Ministers defiance（反抗敵人，蔑視敵人）.

4.丘吉爾在英國議會(huì)的演講

On Friday evening last I received from His Majesty（國王陛下）the mission to form a new administration（政府）.

It was the evident will（意愿）of Parliament and the nation that this should be conceived（孕育，組建）on the broadest possible basis and that it should include all parties.

I have already completed the most important part of this task. A war cabinet has been formed of five members， representing， with the Labor， Opposition and Liberals（自由黨）， the unity of the nation.

It was necessary that this should be done in one single day on account of（由于）the extreme urgency and rigor（嚴(yán)峻）of events. Other key positions were filled yesterday. I am submitting a further list to the King tonight. I hope to complete the appointment of principal Ministers（主要大臣）during tomorrow.

The appointment of other Ministers usually takes a little longer. I trust when Parliament meets again this part of my task will be completed and that the administration will be complete in all respects.

I considered it in the public interest to suggest to the Speaker（議長）that the House（下議院）should be summoned（召集）today. At the end of todays proceedings（議程）， the adjournmen（t休會(huì)）of the House will be proposed until May 21 with provision（規(guī)定）for earlier meeting if need be. Business for that will be notified to M. P. s（國會(huì)議員）at the earliest opportunity.