真意尽在平淡中Finding the Meaning in Meaninglessness

李潇 林巍

比起轰轰烈烈1的其他贺岁片，《四个春天》真是太平淡2了，平淡得甚至在开头的若干分钟里，让人有些看不下去。这里似乎没有情节，没有主题，没有摄影技巧，更没有明星大腕儿，谁竟然会拍出这样的电影？但是，随着镜头的缓缓推进，一幅幅生活场景的展现，一个个细节的白描3，一缕缕情丝的牵动……最后，我被它感动了。想来，只有用陶渊明的那句诗来表述：“此中有真意，欲辨已忘言4”！

导演是45岁的贵州人陆庆屹， 15岁因青春期的叛逆而离开了学校、家乡，到北京来“北漂5”，从事过多种职业，目前是个纪录片独立制作人。他每年春天回家探亲，于是将镜头对准了自己年逾古稀的父母，记录他们日常的劳作、对话、交往、爱好、情趣、悲欢离合6等画面，从2013年到2016年，构成了这四个春天纪录片的主要素材。

纪录片的主角有四个：父母、哥哥、姐姐和导演本人。父亲陆运坤是个退休教师，性格随和而沉默寡言，却多才多艺，永远在不停地做事：整腊肠，拉二胡、小提琴、手风琴，吹笛、箫，学习剪辑自己拍的DV视频，真正是活到老、学到老、玩到老7。母亲李桂贤，一个农家妇女，则性格相反，热情洋溢，活泼开朗，即兴唱歌跳舞，无论是在吃饭的兴头上，还是走在乡野山路，总能即兴唱歌跳舞，但与老伴儿的性格并不冲突，反而成了天然的互补。据导演说，父母当年在一次活动中相识，彼此有好感8，不久妈带着爸去见了姥爷。老人开始嫌爸瘦弱，意思是怀疑他能否担起家庭重任，但爸说：“放心，我会照顾你女儿一辈子的。”于是，他们第二天就结婚了，用现在话讲，可谓“闪婚”，而他们的和谐美满关系延续至今六十多年。相比之下，媒體上常看到，一些名人伴侣，相恋多年，一旦结了婚，关系迅速恶化，很快便离了。问题何在？——耐不住平淡！

影片里，老两口在日常的琐事中你来我往、水乳交融。他们一起做饭、歌唱、踏青、摘花、喂鱼、养蜂、探亲、奔葬、缝缝补补、欢聚离别。老夫老妻之间，亦可含情脉脉——在一声对答、一个眼神、一起大笑之中;在一方唱歌、一方伴奏的时候;在爬山时拉起对方的手，在烈日下给对方戴上一顶草帽……不禁让人领悟：日常生活中最重要的品质，其实不是智慧、学问、才气，而是温柔、耐心、体谅。9

姐姐陆庆伟的性格似乎融合了父母的优点10，既活泼又理性，体贴而孝顺。虽镜头不多，却也勾勒出了一个现代的善良女性，是和谐幸福家庭中不可或缺的。

他们的生活告诉人们，乐观的生活态度、有趣的生活内容、和谐的家庭关系，与财富、地位、学识、地域没有关系，而完全取决于人11！平淡不等于无味，平凡也能富有诗意。生活本身就是最好的艺术。

纪录片导演的可贵之处，在于对生活的独特理解和体会，在于挖掘和表述被一般人忽略的平淡，在于从冬天的夹缝里捡拾起春天的碎片。

时间平静如流水。电影的画面让人感到，如果没有天灾人祸，中国的百姓似乎可以世世代代12这样平静地生活下去。然而，时间又是残酷的，在表面的平静之下，一切其实时时刻刻都发生着由量到质的变化。姐姐突然查出了肺癌，住进医院，很快便去世了。

这一变故，一时搅动了宁静家庭的一池春水。白发人送黑发人。但是，镜头里没有哀嚎，有的仍然是平静：母亲呆呆地站在棺木前，瞬间显得苍老了很多;父亲常常坐在电脑前翻看家人的照片和录像。此时无声胜有声13。光阴荏苒，岁月悠悠，人说没就没了！人生就是一场有去无回的旅行。

导演进而用了富有诗意的淡化处理：在姐姐的坟头前，父母种起植物、蔬菜，一片绿意盎然，似乎要把一切的美好带给在另一世界的姐姐。母亲叨念14着：“前一阵花开的真好啊，七八朵七八朵一枝……你最爱花。”而后，父母各自撑着伞，背对背，看向远方，唱起了山歌。镜头拉远，放空，融入苍茫之中。

电影人说：在故事片中，导演是上帝;在纪录片中，上帝是导演。纪录片自打开拍之日，就踏上了未知的征程，其中充满变数、风险和时运。姐弟关系从小亲密，弟弟从小就是姐姐的“跟屁虫”。姐姐生病、去世的过程，竟然被弟弟如实地拍摄了下来！这一巨大的家庭悲剧使导演惊愕，却令作品出奇15。真实胜于虚构。

又是一个春天，院子里的迎春花开了，屋檐下的燕子飞回来了，日子恢复了平静，生活还要继续下去。生老病死就是生活本身。令人唏嘘16，也给人希望17。

美学家说，生活中并不缺乏美，而是缺乏发现美的眼睛。其实，美的实质是本色18，是平淡中对人心灵的触动。

看了这部电影，又怎能让人不联想到自己的父母、不审视19自己的人生？

结论是珍惜当下。          □

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！