政治背景下的最佳温情电影——《不速之客》

萍水相逢的几个人，漫长人生的一小段插曲，到底是谁改变了谁的人生？究竟谁是主人谁是外来者？

由集演员、编剧和导演三重身份于一身的托马斯•麦卡锡亲自编剧并执导的剧情类移民题材影片《不速之客》，在众望所归之下，获得第34届法国杜维尔美国电影节最高奖。虽然故事涉及到移民、后911等问题，但导演更多着墨于男主人公——老教授的心理层面上。以非法移民逃脱不了的政治问题为背景，勾勒出一个有关关爱、温暖、理解、融合以及人生变化的故事。

影片关于“鼓”的运用也堪称精妙。两人因“鼓”结缘，因“鼓”而乐，鼓这个古老的乐器，成为友谊的纽带，鼓声成为了传递友情的信号。尽管影片在反映一个深刻的关于种族、文化、人权的主题，但片中的鼓声永远是轻快的，主人公的乐观和希望在压抑中得以释放，观众也免被推入郁闷的深渊。

除了温暖简单、发人深省并且引人入胜的故事情节，本片的整个制作班底也令人难以小觑。导演托马斯•麦卡锡是一个具有多方面艺术天赋的人。他曾出演过包括《拜见岳父岳母》（Meet the Parents）、《晚安，好运》（Good Night, and Good Luck）和《父辈的旗帜》（Flags of Our Fathers）等多部电影，也曾出现在电视秀《波士顿人》（Boston Public）、《法律与秩序》（Law & Order）之中。相对于他的演艺事业，导演和编剧则给他带来了更大的声望。2003年，他自编自导的首部电影《心灵驿站》（The Station Agent）大获好评，在当年法国圣丹斯电影节获得了观众喜爱电影奖和Waldo Salt编剧奖，这部影片还获得英国电影和电视艺术学院颁发的最佳初次编剧奖和最具独立精神电影奖。出演本片男一号的理查德•詹金斯是一位资深的性格派演员，自1985年以来，他已在《新抢钱夫妻》、《北方风云》、《谈谈情，跳跳舞》和《儿女一箩筐》等影片中出演过近80个角色，他的表演自然脱俗，对于表现人物内心世界更有自己的独到之处，诠释人物一向精准无比的他不仅深得导演们的青睐，也赢得了观众的认可。扮演男二号的哈兹•斯雷曼曾分别于2004年和2005年凭借《叙利亚新娘》和《免税区》获得以色列电影学院最佳男主角和最佳男配角奖的提名。而女配角代奈•宅可塞•古瑞亚曾在《法律和秩序》中与托马斯有过合作，另一位配角西亚姆•阿巴斯则曾在反映人体炸弹的影片《天堂此时》中有上佳表现。

Director导演: Thomas McCarthy

Writer编剧: Thomas McCarthy (written by)

Release Date发行时间:18 April 2008 (USA)

Genre类型: Crime/ Drama/ Romance

Tagline剧情标签: Connection is everything

Plot Keywords剧情关键词: Statue of Liberty/ Manhattan/ Music/ African/ New York

Main Cast主要演员: Richard Jenkins

Hiam Abbass

Haaz Sleiman

Danai Jekesai Gurira

Awards获得奖项: Brisbane International Film Festival: Interfaith Award 2008 (Thomas McCarthy)

Deauville Film Festival: 2008 Grand Special Prize Best Film (Thomas McCarthy)

Method Fest: 2008 Best Actor (Richard Jenkins)

Best Director (Thomas McCarthy)

Best Supporting Actress（Danai Jekesai Gurira）

Moscow International Film Festival: 2008 Silver St. George Best Actor (Richard Jenkins)

Plot Outline 影片介绍

Sixty-two-year-old Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins ) is sleepwalking through his life. Having lost his passion for teaching and writing, his fills the void by unsuccessfully trying to learn to play classical piano. When his college sends him to Manhattan to attend a conference, Walter is surprised to find a young couple has taken up residence in his apartment. Victims of a real estate scam, Tarek (Haaz Sieiman), a Syrian man, and Zainab (Danai Gurira), his Senegalese girlfriend, have nowhere else to go. In the first of a series of tests of the heart, Walter reluctantly allows the couple to stay with him.

六十二岁的沃尔特•威尔（理查德•詹金斯饰）过着麻木的生活。失去教学和写作激情的他，试图以钢琴来填补生活的空虚，却没成功。学院派他前往曼哈顿参加一个会议，沃尔特意外发现自己的公寓里居然住着一对年轻的恋人。而被租赁公司欺骗的这对受害者是来自叙利亚泰瑞克（哈兹•斯雷曼饰）和他的女朋友——来自塞内加尔的翟娜（代奈•宅可塞•古瑞亚饰）。他们无处可去。出于好心，沃尔特不情愿的收留了这对情侣。

Touched by his kindness, Tarek, a talented musician, insist on teaching the aging academic to play African drums. The instruments exuberant rhythms revitalize Walters faltering spirit and open his eyes to a vibrant world of local jazz clubs and Central Park drum circles. As the friendship between the two men deepens, the differences in culture, age and temperament fall away.

泰瑞克是一位才华横溢的乐手，因感激于沃尔特的好心，坚持要教这位老教授打非洲鼓。欢快的鼓声震开了他沉睡的心，开拓了他的眼界，让他接触到了充满活力的爵士俱乐部和当地中央公园的非洲鼓圈子。随着两人之间友情的加深，因文化、年龄和性格不同产生的距离逐渐消退。

After being stopped by police in the subway, Tarek is arrested as an undocumented citizen and held for deportation. As his situation turns desperate, Walter finds himself compelled to help his new friend with a passion he thought he had long ago lost. When Tareks beautiful mother Mouna ( Hiam Abbass) arrives unexpectedly in search of her son, the professors personal commitment develops into an unlikely romance.

在地铁站被警察拦下之后，泰瑞克因无合法居民身份被捕，且被关押等待驱逐出境。在泰瑞克危难之际，老教授却发现自己在以本以为早已失去的激情督促着自己帮助这位新朋友。而当泰瑞克的妈妈，风韵尤存的姆娜（西亚姆•阿巴斯饰）意外出现前来寻找自己的孩子，教授对朋友的承诺最后竟发展成了一段不同寻常的恋情。

Its through these newfound connections with three virtual strangers that Walter is awakened to a new world and a new life.

通过与三位跟自己本来毫不相关的陌生人新建立起来的关系，沃尔特醒悟过来，看到了焕然一新的世界并展开了全新的生活。

Interview of The Filmmaker导演、编剧、制作人爆料幕后

‘Its always difficult to point to the exact inspiration for a film, says Tom McCarthy, director and writer of The Visitor. ‘I collect a lot of different ideas and keep them in one big file, and then I pull out the ones that are most resonant for me. McCarthy wowed Hollywood with his first project. The Station Agent, a low budget independent movie that made waves well beyond the indie film world. In fact, the U.S State Department invited McCarthy to take it to the Middle East as part of a cultural outreach program. It was during that trip that McCarthy first started thinking about the deep chasm separating American from the inhabitants of much of the rest of the world. ‘I was struck by how little I knew about the region, about the people about the culture. Our country is so involved politically and militarily there, but with all the news and headlines and the drama, we cant forget that there are human beings on both sides of this. How can I eliminate that a little bit? That always is my call to arms.

“想要一针见血地指出一部影片的灵魂所在，总是非常困难的。我喜欢收集各种各样的不同想法，然后将它们汇聚成一个很大的文学体系，再从中挑选出最能引起我共鸣的元素。”《不速之客》的导演及编剧托马斯•麦卡锡如是说。托马斯•麦卡锡的处女作《心灵驿站》是一部低预算的独立电影，却震动了整个好莱坞。事实上，美国政府还邀请麦卡锡带着这部作品去中东走了一遭——作为超越文化计划中的一个组成部分。正是在这次旅行的过程中，麦卡锡第一次开始思考将美国人和这个世界其他人种分离开的原因，他说：“我为自己对这个地区、对这个地区的人和文化知之甚少感到震惊。我们的国家已经过度插手别国的政治和军事了，在媒体、新闻的夹攻之下，我们不能忘了参战的双方其实都是人，我没办法消除这种强烈的感觉，它不停地召唤着我为此付出行动。”

McCathy was struck by the artists he met there and the passion the brought to their work. ‘I thought, ‘I want to capture this. Thats where I got the idea for the character of Tarek. At the same time, the filmmaker had been separately developing the character of an aging college professor who had lost his passion for his vocation. ‘Somewhere along the way, the two came together , says McCarthy.

不仅如此，托马斯•麦卡锡还对在那里遇到的艺术家，以及他们在自己的作品中体现出的那种激情，印象深刻，他继续说：“我当时就想，‘我要把这些都捕捉下来。于是泰瑞克这个角色突然在我的脑海里成形。”在此之前，麦卡锡就已经开始构思故事中的另一个主要角色了，那是一个上了年纪，对工作失去激情的大学教授，麦卡锡说：“在某个地方，因为某个原因，这两个人相识并走到了一起。”

The Station Agent producer Mary Jane Skaiski was one of the first to read the developing screenplay. ‘I had an idea of what he was writing and Id read pages here and there, she remembers. ‘But when I got the first full draft, I didnt really know what to expect.

Skaiski was struck by the films humanity and its sense of hope. ‘Its a story about four people and how there lives come together and are changed because of it. Its about just going a little bit beyond yourself and how your life can change when you do that. Yes, its another opportunity to entertain people, but at the same time to encourage people to just be a little bit more.

《心灵驿站》的制作人玛丽•珍•斯凯斯基是最早看到还在创作过程中的剧本的读者之一。她回忆道：“我一直知道他在写一些东西，我也分散着阅读了其中的几个部分，但是当我第一次看到完整的剧本后，我实在是不知道还有谁能带给我比这个更好的故事了。”斯凯斯基是被剧本中所蕴含的人性和希望所打动了，她接着说：“这个故事中里主要涉及到4个角色，讲述了他们是如何生活到一起，如何因此而被改变的。如果你能够稍微超越现在的自己，那么你的生活就会因为你所做的努力而得到彻底地改观。确实，这是一个娱乐观众的机会，但同时。它也鼓励着人们拿出勇气。”

Little decision, says McCarthy, sometimes make the biggest differences in life. ‘Many of the choices that send us in a completely different direction in life are arbitrary. I think thats the magic of life, isnt it? It makes us realize, as much as we like to imagine we have control over our fate and destiny, we really dont. Thats something that happens in this movie, adds the director. ‘Walter has no intention of going to New York. He does everything he can to get out of it. He makes a snap decision to help two kids out of a jam, and in doing so he discovers a new musical life. Who could predict these things?

麦卡锡也承认，有的时候，只是一个小小的决定，就有可能为生活带来最大限度的改观，他说：“生活中许多把我们带往了完全不同方向的选择是很随意的。但我觉得，生活的不确定性，不正是其魅力所在吗？它让我们意识到，不管我们多么愿意去幻想自己能够控制未来和命运，可是我们真的做不到。发生在《不速之客》中的故事正是这样。沃尔特原本不想去纽约，而且他尽力摆脱它。可是他做出了一个突然的决定，想帮助两个孩子摆脱困境……他这么做之后，却发现了一个全新的音乐世界——有人能够预知这样的偶然吗？”

While McCarthy and Skaiski are adamant The Visitor is primarily about the characters, ultimately it also deals with issues surrounding the hot-button topic of immigration. After returning from the Middle East to his home base in New York, McCarthy began to spend time in the citys vibrant Arab community. During his research, he heard the story of a young man who had been confined to a government detention center on immigration charges. McCarthy eventually began visiting detainees and learned that many of them didnt have legal representation. ‘We are not standing on a soap box and saying this is right or this is wrong, but rather, lets approach this situation with empathy and with understanding, says the director. ‘Were dealing with people, not just a cause.

尽管麦卡锡和斯凯斯基一直坚持《不速之客》应该属于那种以角色为主的故事，发展到后来，他们也不得不同意让故事围绕着热门的移民问题展开。当麦卡锡结束了中东之旅，回到他在纽约的家之后，就开始把所有的时间都花在了拜访当地的阿拉伯人社区上。在调查研究的过程中，麦卡锡听到了有关一个年轻人曾经被关在政府移民管理中心、等待遣返的拘留室的故事……他随即改变了自己的探索方向，最终开始走访那些已经因为不合法身份而被关押的人，并知晓原来他们中的许多人都没有律师。麦卡锡说：“对这样的事，我们不能光用法律就一概而论，去评判这样的做法是对还是错。因为我们应该带着同情和理解去剖析这种现状，要知道我们面对的是人，而不仅仅是一个动机或目标。”

In addition to Mary Jane Skaiski, McCarthy brought back a number of his collaborators from The Station Agent to work on The visitor. ‘My cinematographer, Oliver Bokelberg, read a very early draft of this. Tom McArdle, my editor, and John Paino, my production designer, did as well. Its a joy to be able to include these guys very early on because we share a common vision of the type of movies we want to make. Weve even started to develop a shorthand for working with each other. ‘MacArdle and I sat down a number of times before we shot the movies to talk through all the things we would usually talk through after we shot the movie, he continues. Its a wonderful opportunity to do that with an editor you trust. What happens by the time you actually begin shooting or the design stage or the editing stage, is that you have a story with these people and the story has a history among you, which is crucial. They keep me on track and remind me of the vision we had when we started.

除了玛丽•简•斯凯斯基之外，麦卡锡还将他在《心灵驿站》中合作过的一干同事都带回到这部影片中，他说：“包括我的摄影师奥利弗•伯克伯格——他也是一早就读过剧本了，还有剪辑师汤姆•麦克阿德尔和美工师约翰•派诺……能够和他们再度合作，是一件非常让人高兴的事，因为我们在想制作什么样的电影类型方面，有着相似的观点。我们甚至开始发明了互相之间在一起工作时候的速记。在影片开拍之前，我和麦克阿德尔坐在一起讨论了很多往往我们会在影片拍完之后才会讨论的事情。这种能够和一个信任的剪辑师一起工作的情况，无疑是一个非常难得的好机会，影片从拍摄到布景再到剪辑，于是你有了跟这些人在一起的故事，而这些故事里面有了你的历史，这就是关键所在正是因为有他们在身边，我才能心无旁骛地专注于我自己的问题，而且他们还会时刻地提醒我，千万不要偏离最初制定的拍摄计划。”

McCarthy and Skaiski were working with two new partners as well, the production companies Participant and Groundswell. McCarthy had previous experience working with both companies as an actor – in Syriana and Good Night and Good Luck for Participant and in The Guru for Groundswell.

玛丽•简•斯凯斯基和托马斯•麦卡锡还和另外两个新伙伴进行搭档，即参与者制片公司和格伦德沃制片公司，麦卡锡之前曾以演员的身份与这两家公司分别合作过——参与Participant拍摄的影片《辛瑞那》和《晚安，好运》，跟格伦德沃制片公司合作的则是《性福大师》。

Authenticity was one of the most important elements for McCarthy throughout the making of this movie, Says Skaiski. ‘The movie hinges on people who are taking a leap of faith and therefore the audience has to take that leap of faith, too. And how could they do that if a moment ever didnt feel true?

“在制作《不速之客》的过程中，‘真实性是托马斯•麦卡锡贯彻到底的一个最重要的组成元素，”玛丽•简•斯凯斯基说，“这部影片是根据那些在信仰上有了飞跃性发展的角色慢慢展开故事的，所以也需要观众也不得不跟着进程随之跳跃……但是，如果他们觉得这个故事一点都不具备可信度、不真实，又怎么能完成这个跳跃呢？”

McCarthy says that he didnt set out to make a political statement, but rather to reveal the human face on something that was quickly becoming a major issue. ‘The characters are embroiled in a situation that is very much in the national consciousness right now; immigration and detention. It may not change the world, but at the very least, its reminding us of the human element and consequences to a very divisive issue. I guess, in some small way, I am holding the mirror up and saying. “This is whats going on. Do we like it? Do we not? Is there room for debate? Rather than providing answers, McCarthy sees the filmmakers job as raising the questions – but never at the expense of telling a compelling story. ‘In the end, this is a love story, and a story of friendship. The story keeps evolving in a very simple way. There are funny moments, tragic moments, and even mundane moments. I think its reflective of how life unfolds.

托马斯•麦卡锡还表示，自己无心借着影片做一次政治陈述，而是在那些即将成为焦点的大事件上揭示出人类的面目。“角色们都陷入了一场类似于大家每天都在讨论的纠纷当中；移民、监禁。它可能不会改变我们的生活，但至少它提醒了在有争议的话题中的人类因素以及结果。我想，在某些方面，我反映了社会现实并进行呼吁。”这是现在正发生的事情。我们喜欢吗？我们讨厌吗？有争论的余地吗？麦卡锡没有给出答案，他深知电影制作者的任务是提出问题——但从不以提出一个惊世骇俗的问题为代价。“最后，这只是一个关于爱情、友情的故事。故事一直保持简单的叙述手法。有开心的片刻、痛苦的瞬间，甚至平淡的时候。我想它反映了生活进行的方式。”

Movie Reviews 七嘴八舌论经典

This is a wonderful film, sad, angry, and without a comforting little happy ending. But I must not describe what happens, because the whole point of serious fiction is to show people changing, and how they change in The Visitor is the film's beauty. So much goes unsaid, and unseen. Events in Walter's professorial job happen off-screen. We are left to listen to the silences and observe the spaces.

All four actors are charismatic, in quite different ways. Hiam Abbass is one of those actresses who respects small gestures; she knows that when a good cook is using an unfamiliar salt-shaker, she shakes the salt first into her hand, and then throws it into the pot. And she has other small gestures here that are much more fraught with meaning. Haaz Sleiman and Danai Gurira, as a musician and a jewelry-maker, are young, in love and simply nice people. The less complicated they are, the better the characters work. And as Walter, Jenkins creates a surprisingly touching, very quiet, character study. Not all actors have to call out to us. The better ones make us call out to them.

这是一部好电影，悲伤、愤怒，非大团圆的结尾。但是我不能写出到底发生了什么事情，因为整部剧本想展现给人们的重点就是人们的改变，他们在《不速之客》里面如何改变正是这部电影的迷人之处。很多东西都没说出来，也没表演出来。所有关于沃尔特工作的事件都没有在屏幕上被展示出来。电影留了沉默给我们倾听，留了空间给我们观察。

四位演员魅力之处各有不同。西亚姆•阿巴斯是个注重使用小手势的女演员，她知道一名好的厨师会怎么样使用自己不熟悉的盐洒，她首先会把盐洒到自己手上，然后再洒到锅里。在这部电影里她用了一些其它的小动作来表达更多更好的意义。哈兹•斯雷曼和代奈•古瑞亚，分别作为音乐家和首饰制作者，年轻、有爱情滋润、单纯友善。他们越简单，角色就塑造的越好。而作为沃尔特的扮演者，詹金斯塑造了一个异常感人、安静的角色。不是所有演员都让我们欢呼，我们只会为好的电影叫好。

By Roger Ebert / July 17, 2008

This was an incredible heartwarming and heart-breaking movie. Its power lies in its simplicity. In some ways its a coming of age movie about a middle-aged professor coming to terms with his life and allowing himself to finally be who he is. Or perhaps a re-birthing movie in which, having died psychologically and spiritually, he emerges from his cocoon.

这是一部异常温暖又令人心碎的电影。而这种力量是源于其中的简约。从某个角度来说，这是一部体现成长的电影，上了年纪的教授 并让自己最终成为自己想要成为的人。或者说这是一部关于重生的电影，从心理和精神两方面死去，然后破茧重生。

By dedoc1/anada

A series of random events coincide to bring about a life-changing event (isn't that always the case?). The unfolding of the story occurs at a slow and steady (but never boring) pace that is in perfect keeping with the tone of the movie. It operates at many levels at once, presenting a comedy, drama, social statement and lesson, magnificently intertwined. Without much fanfare viewers are carried along quietly and unknowingly by the movie before realizing they are totally caught up in the depth and humanity of the story. The events opens up the main character as well as the audience's awareness of what is happening all around us in everyday life, of which few are aware and most of us prefer not to know about.

一系列随意发生的事情却恰巧带来一件令命运改变的事件（是不是总是这样呢？）故事以缓慢而稳定（但绝不沉闷）的步调展开，使得整部电影得以保持完美的基调。它同时在不同的层次展开，将喜剧、剧情、社会陈述以及教育意义，完美的结合在一起。

The most remarkable part of The Visitor is the way it organically shows the way life can change un-expectantly, unfairly and without warning and does it with real, raw emotion. Just when you think you've figured out what the movie is about, you slapped with a new reality. It is frightening, timely and angering. Even the ending, which is not the typical movie ending, is emotive in a subtle and realistic way. I was not overwhelmed or underwhelmed by the movie, I was perfectly whelmed; a task indeed.

《不速之客》最可圈可点之处在于它原原本本的展现了生活会怎样出人意料的发生改变——不公平的、没有预示的发生，并夹杂着真实，纯粹的情感。就在你以为你已经弄明白这电影是有关什么的时候，新的现实会掴你一掌。它是令人恐惧的、适时的并且令人愤怒的。即使是结尾，也不是一般电影的结尾，而是一种敏感而现实的感性表达方式。我没有被电影完全控制也不是完全不受感染，它对我的影响恰到好处。赞一个！

By Laraemeadow from United States

Music is an important element. It forms the initial bridge between Walter and Tarek and becomes a critical element of Walter's re-birth. Tarek plays African drums and he gives lessons to Walter, who has been haltingly trying to play the piano. Some of Walter's early attempts to practice provide a few chuckles but he develops into a surprisingly adept pupil. We learn that Walter's late wife was an accomplished pianist and now he has rediscovered the joy of living through another form of music. He gives up the past, as represented by the piano, and embraces the future, as represented by the drums. The symbolism is simplistic but effective.

The Visitor might easily be called The Awakening of Walter Vale. As the movie progresses and Walter becomes more embroiled in Tarek's cause, the film gives us longer and more frequent glimpses of the man he must have been before his wife's death. His quasi-romantic relationship with Tarek's mother (Hiam Abbass), which takes up the bulk of the production's second half, is a little forced and doesn't always ring true, but it aids in the protagonist's revival. The Visitor ends on an ambiguous, bittersweet note, but the last scene offers a portrait that is tinged more with hope than sadness.

音乐是一个重要的元素。它在沃尔特和泰瑞克之间搭起了最初的桥梁，并成为沃尔特重生的关键因素。泰瑞克演奏非洲鼓并教本来对要不要学弹钢琴迟疑不决的沃尔特击鼓。沃尔特刚开始试击的几下有点让人发笑，但是后来他以惊人的速度熟练起来。我 知道他的亡妻是一名小有成就的钢琴师，而现在他又通过另外一种乐器重新找到了生活的乐趣。以钢琴为标志，他告别了过去；以鼓为标志，他拥抱未来。这些象征都简单有效果。