Almost Buddhist - 戲‧論

★★★☆☆ I’m sort of immune to horror films. Most of them are like a comedy to me but not this one. ‘A Quiet Place’ is overall decent, sometimes terrifying, potentially a tearjerker to some who value the value of family! It’s more like a melancholy drama than a typical horror film out there. It’s got a smart setup like the one in ‘ Don’t Breathe ’, where you make sounds you get killed! So it basically plays out in silence with mostly sign languages plus subtitles, and very few dialogues. It’d better be seen in a cinema with lights out and respectful audiences around not making a single sound! The film’s overall watchable but there’re head-scratching flaws like how come a sister would carelessly leave her little brother behind to do what he wants without making sure that the toy is safe for him to play; why the parents are still risking to have a baby afterwards knowing that it would inevitably cause them so much trouble and danger; how come they even bother to take precautions wh...

★★★★☆ 這部俄羅斯電影確實令人難受。難受的其中一個原因是它的拍攝手法，有別於時下節奏明快、緊張刺激的商業電影。電影裡充斥長鏡，而很多長鏡都是長時間的寂靜畫面，煽情鏡頭極少，看似沉悶，但當你慢慢沉溺，細心感受的時候，你會驟然覺得震撼非常，情況好似漸漸失去麻醉藥效的手術傷口，開頭好像沒有什麼，但你會感覺它越來越痛！ 難受另一個原因是它的題材。故事講述一個男孩的雙親正在搞離婚，目的是為了落實各自心目中「真正的幸福」！男孩本是不討好的「意外產物」，在此情況下，他成為雙親的「氣袋」。在一次雙親激烈爭吵之後，痛哭流涕的他決定不再回到這個無愛的家。於是，本來已反目成仇的雙親，被迫一起配合警方尋找失蹤的兒子……我不知道過程中他們是帶著多少的悔恨，而最終的結果又為他們帶來多少的反省，事件有沒有令他們變成一個「比較好」的人……或者當你永遠失去一樣東西的時候，才來悔恨、才來反省、才來開始懂得珍惜，其實又有何用？ 導演運用令人難受的拍攝技巧，拍出一個令人難受的故事，抨擊了個人主義膨脹，缺乏愛和關懷的現代社會！就連電影裡頭那些本來可能會令人面紅耳赤的性愛鏡頭，看上去也覺得噁心。沒錯，的確令人有點作嘔的感覺，因為我看到的不是甚麼高潮或浪漫，而是悲慘和顛倒的輪迴！ 有時細心想想，就會發覺這個現代社會其實越來越畸形變態。你發脾氣罵人的時候，你又要求被你罵的人冷靜；你對人吝嗇，但你又想人家對你慷慨；你對人冷漠，但你又期望人家對你熱情；你自私，但又期望人家無私；你自己都沒有愛，但又抱怨這個社會沒有愛！人人都想得到幸福，但為何好似人人尋尋覓覓一生，到了最後一刻都覺得沒有得到？孰不知真正幸福的是在你放下「自我」和「貪婪」之後！有人說這是只有在俄羅斯才會發生的典型故事，但我覺得電影裡頭的那種冷漠是普世的！其實不是一個地方讓人變得怎樣，而是有怎樣的人就會造就出怎樣的地方！與其抱怨這個世界沒有愛，不如你先撫心自問：自己是不是一個有愛的人？ 這是一齣令人悲痛的電影！但悲傷的情緒是不是完全沒有價值？一味追求開心是不是就是正常？或者悲傷過，你才更加懂得珍惜開心的時刻，但也不要忘記，你之所以會悲傷，是你曾經開心過！悲傷和開心其實是一體的兩面，太過逃避側重一面都不是正確的人生態度。「悲觀負面」電影如〈雙親不相愛〉者，不是完全沒有意義的，至少，它讓我反省並下定決心，要做一個有愛...

★★★☆☆ Simply put, if not for money, nothing would’ve happened here. No doubt money would make you feel safe but it could also be quite destructive when you just want to keep it safe, or you feel like you need more of it than necessary. Some say money is the root of all evil, but you know it never is. It’s the way of thinking so that is! Nothing is going to hurt as long as you don’t feel attached to it. You use money but it’ll start to feel like the other way round when you get greedy! The thing is, you’re actually losing control when you think you have it! I don’t know since when Liam Neeson became an action hero! Probably since he was ‘ Taken ’. I don’t know why either, he’s been so addicted doing it ever since, as in fact he could pull off so well in serious dramas like ‘Schindler’s List’. I’m not implying that ‘The Commuter’ sucks here. On the contrary, it’s quite a decent piece of entertainment where supposedly an easy catch of cash turns out a pretty ugly conspiracy! The ...