真意盡在平淡中Finding the Meaning in Meaninglessness

李瀟 林巍

比起轟轟烈烈1的其他賀歲片，《四個春天》真是太平淡2了，平淡得甚至在開頭的若干分鐘里，讓人有些看不下去。這里似乎沒有情節(jié)，沒有主題，沒有攝影技巧，更沒有明星大腕兒，誰竟然會拍出這樣的電影？但是，隨著鏡頭的緩緩?fù)七M(jìn)，一幅幅生活場景的展現(xiàn)，一個個細(xì)節(jié)的白描3，一縷縷情絲的牽動……最后，我被它感動了。想來，只有用陶淵明的那句詩來表述：“此中有真意，欲辨已忘言4”！

導(dǎo)演是45歲的貴州人陸慶屹， 15歲因青春期的叛逆而離開了學(xué)校、家鄉(xiāng)，到北京來“北漂5”，從事過多種職業(yè)，目前是個紀(jì)錄片獨(dú)立制作人。他每年春天回家探親，于是將鏡頭對準(zhǔn)了自己年逾古稀的父母，記錄他們?nèi)粘５膭谧鳌υ?、交往、愛好、情趣、悲歡離合6等畫面，從2013年到2016年，構(gòu)成了這四個春天紀(jì)錄片的主要素材。

紀(jì)錄片的主角有四個：父母、哥哥、姐姐和導(dǎo)演本人。父親陸運(yùn)坤是個退休教師，性格隨和而沉默寡言，卻多才多藝，永遠(yuǎn)在不停地做事：整臘腸，拉二胡、小提琴、手風(fēng)琴，吹笛、簫，學(xué)習(xí)剪輯自己拍的DV視頻，真正是活到老、學(xué)到老、玩到老7。母親李桂賢，一個農(nóng)家婦女，則性格相反，熱情洋溢，活潑開朗，即興唱歌跳舞，無論是在吃飯的興頭上，還是走在鄉(xiāng)野山路，總能即興唱歌跳舞，但與老伴兒的性格并不沖突，反而成了天然的互補(bǔ)。據(jù)導(dǎo)演說，父母當(dāng)年在一次活動中相識，彼此有好感8，不久媽帶著爸去見了姥爺。老人開始嫌爸瘦弱，意思是懷疑他能否擔(dān)起家庭重任，但爸說：“放心，我會照顧你女兒一輩子的。”于是，他們第二天就結(jié)婚了，用現(xiàn)在話講，可謂“閃婚”，而他們的和諧美滿關(guān)系延續(xù)至今六十多年。相比之下，媒體上?？吹剑恍┟税閭H，相戀多年，一旦結(jié)了婚，關(guān)系迅速惡化，很快便離了。問題何在？——耐不住平淡！

影片里，老兩口在日常的瑣事中你來我往、水乳交融。他們一起做飯、歌唱、踏青、摘花、喂魚、養(yǎng)蜂、探親、奔葬、縫縫補(bǔ)補(bǔ)、歡聚離別。老夫老妻之間，亦可含情脈脈——在一聲對答、一個眼神、一起大笑之中;在一方唱歌、一方伴奏的時候;在爬山時拉起對方的手，在烈日下給對方戴上一頂草帽……不禁讓人領(lǐng)悟：日常生活中最重要的品質(zhì)，其實(shí)不是智慧、學(xué)問、才氣，而是溫柔、耐心、體諒。9

姐姐陸慶偉的性格似乎融合了父母的優(yōu)點(diǎn)10，既活潑又理性，體貼而孝順。雖鏡頭不多，卻也勾勒出了一個現(xiàn)代的善良女性，是和諧幸福家庭中不可或缺的。

他們的生活告訴人們，樂觀的生活態(tài)度、有趣的生活內(nèi)容、和諧的家庭關(guān)系，與財富、地位、學(xué)識、地域沒有關(guān)系，而完全取決于人11！平淡不等于無味，平凡也能富有詩意。生活本身就是最好的藝術(shù)。

紀(jì)錄片導(dǎo)演的可貴之處，在于對生活的獨(dú)特理解和體會，在于挖掘和表述被一般人忽略的平淡，在于從冬天的夾縫里撿拾起春天的碎片。

時間平靜如流水。電影的畫面讓人感到，如果沒有天災(zāi)人禍，中國的百姓似乎可以世世代代12這樣平靜地生活下去。然而，時間又是殘酷的，在表面的平靜之下，一切其實(shí)時時刻刻都發(fā)生著由量到質(zhì)的變化。姐姐突然查出了肺癌，住進(jìn)醫(yī)院，很快便去世了。

這一變故，一時攪動了寧靜家庭的一池春水。白發(fā)人送黑發(fā)人。但是，鏡頭里沒有哀嚎，有的仍然是平靜：母親呆呆地站在棺木前，瞬間顯得蒼老了很多;父親常常坐在電腦前翻看家人的照片和錄像。此時無聲勝有聲13。光陰荏苒，歲月悠悠，人說沒就沒了！人生就是一場有去無回的旅行。

導(dǎo)演進(jìn)而用了富有詩意的淡化處理：在姐姐的墳頭前，父母種起植物、蔬菜，一片綠意盎然，似乎要把一切的美好帶給在另一世界的姐姐。母親叨念14著：“前一陣花開的真好啊，七八朵七八朵一枝……你最愛花。”而后，父母各自撐著傘，背對背，看向遠(yuǎn)方，唱起了山歌。鏡頭拉遠(yuǎn)，放空，融入蒼茫之中。

電影人說：在故事片中，導(dǎo)演是上帝;在紀(jì)錄片中，上帝是導(dǎo)演。紀(jì)錄片自打開拍之日，就踏上了未知的征程，其中充滿變數(shù)、風(fēng)險和時運(yùn)。姐弟關(guān)系從小親密，弟弟從小就是姐姐的“跟屁蟲”。姐姐生病、去世的過程，竟然被弟弟如實(shí)地拍攝了下來！這一巨大的家庭悲劇使導(dǎo)演驚愕，卻令作品出奇15。真實(shí)勝于虛構(gòu)。

又是一個春天，院子里的迎春花開了，屋檐下的燕子飛回來了，日子恢復(fù)了平靜，生活還要繼續(xù)下去。生老病死就是生活本身。令人唏噓16，也給人希望17。

美學(xué)家說，生活中并不缺乏美，而是缺乏發(fā)現(xiàn)美的眼睛。其實(shí)，美的實(shí)質(zhì)是本色18，是平淡中對人心靈的觸動。

看了這部電影，又怎能讓人不聯(lián)想到自己的父母、不審視19自己的人生？

結(jié)論是珍惜當(dāng)下。? ? ? ? ? □

Unlike other New Year’s movies of big hit， Four Springs seems to be so unattractive， its slow start may turn away many viewers. There seems to be no plot， theme nor photographic techniques， let alone movie stars. Who has possibly made such a film？ However， following its opening shots， unpolished life scenes， details， emotions appeared on the screen one after another. By the end， I was deeply moved. To describe such a feeling， a verse of Tao Yuanming （365—427）， a well-known poem in the Jin Dynasty （266—420）， may be appropriate： “The meaningful can only be sensed but not expressed.”

The director， Lu Qingyi， a 45-year-old resident of Guizhou province， is now an independent producer of documentary films. He left school and home， on the urge of “adolescent rebellion”， for Beijing as a “northern drifter” and engaged in various trades. Returning home every spring， he was inspired to turn the camera on his elderly parents， both in their seventies at the time， recording their daily labor， dialogues， intercourse， hobbies， interests， joys and sorrows. The four springs of 2013 to 2016 were thus vividly documented in the film.

There are four main characters： his parents， elder brother and sister and the director himself. Father Lu Yunkun， a retired teacher， is easy-going， taciturn and versatile， always busying himself with something. In making whole sausages， playing erhu， violin， accordion， flute， xiao， learning to edit his own DV videos， he shows himself as a truly joyful life-long learner. Mother Li Guixian， a peasant woman， has a character seemingly opposite to her husband—passionate， open， lively and cheerful， an impromptu singer and dancer， whether at the pleasure of eating or simply walking on a countryside road. Strangely， the two characters do not contradict but rather complement each other perfectly. As the director revealed， in their early days， his parents met each other at a social activity， where the right chemicals reacted. Before long， she brought him to see her father. Initially， the old man was worried about the young guy’s weak physique for shouldering the burden of a family， but he replied firmly： “Surely I will take care of your daughter for a lifetime.” Then they married next day， a true “flash marriage” in today’s terminology. Ever since， for over sixty years now， their cordial and harmonious relationship has been maintained. In contrast， as seen in the media many celebrity partners， having been in love for many years， once married， see their relationship quickly deteriorate. Why？ They cannot survive ordinary life！

In the film， the old couple get along swimmingly with each other in their daily chores. Together they cook， sing， stroll， pluck flowers， feed fish， raise bees， visit relatives， attend funerals， sew and mend， gather and depart. It can still be amorous between an old couple， whenever they reply， gaze at each another and laugh together， or while one sings the other accompanies; on certain occasions， they pull one another up by hand while climbing a mountain， or put a straw hat on the other’s head under the hot sun… Certain secrets of life seem to have emerged： In a couple’s relations， it’s not so much wisdom， knowledge or talent as gentleness， patience and consideration that count.

The character of his sister Lu Qingwei seems to have fused the virtues of his parents， both lively and rational， considerate and filial. Although there are not many shots of her， a nice modern lady is impressively portrayed， integrating an inseparable component of a happy and harmonious family.

Their ways of living reveal that an optimistic attitude towards an interesting life and a harmonious family relationship have nothing to do with wealth， status， knowledge or geography， but have everything to do with personality. Insipidness doesn’t mean tastelessness and mundanity can still be poetic. Life itself is the best art.

The rarest quality of documentary filmmakers lies in their unique understanding and experience of life， in their ability to explore and present neglected ordinary lives of ordinary people and in picking up the fragments of spring from the crevices of winter.

Time is so calm， flowing like water. The movie footage seems to have provided an illusion that people on this land could live in peace forever. Nevertheless， time is cruel. Underneath its tranquil surface， everything is being transformed， changing from quantity to quality. All of a sudden， the sister had lung cancer， was hospitalized and died very soon afterwards.

This change stirred the spring waters of a peaceful family for a time. It’s a true tragedy for the elderly to bury their young loved ones. However， instead of wailing， the scene is still calm： the mother， standing in front of the coffin silently， has suddenly become much older; the father sitting in front of their computer， looks through the family photos and videos of the past. The meaningful here is in the meaninglessness. Time flies. How come a person has gone in the blink of an eye？ Life is a one-way journey indeed.

The director went on to adopt the technique of “poetic fade-out”： In front of his sister’s grave， a piece of green land was landscaped by their parents， full of plants and vegetables， wishing to send all these good things to their daughter in another world. The mother murmured “It was a perfect time for blooming earlier on， … seven or eight flowers on a branch， which should favor you most.” And then， back to back， each holding an umbrella， looking into the distance， the parents started to sing folk songs. Retracting the lens， the scene becomes blurred， fading out everything into the boundless.

There is a saying in the circle of filmmakers that in feature films， the director is God， while in documentaries， God is the director. Since day one after shooting commenced， the documentary embarked on an uncharted journey， full of variables， risks and luck. As the sister and brother （the director） were quite close during their childhood （the brother was described as a “faithful follower” of his elder sister）， it was extremely difficult for the brother to document the process of his sister’s illness and dying. The huge family tragedy saddened the director but accomplished his project. No fiction is more dramatized than life itself.

It is spring again. Flowers are blooming in the yard， swallows have returned to nest under the eaves， peace has been restored， life goes on. This is life！ It never lacks surprises， but desperation gives way to hope， doom to rebirth and growth.

In aestheticians’ words， there is no lack of beauty in life， only a lack of sensitive eyes. In fact， nothing is more moving than the inner beauty of real life.

Having watched the movie， how can people not to relate to their parents？? And to their own lives？

Cherish the present！