Who Is Jia Ling?贾玲是谁？

伊莱恩·邱（音译）

Hi， Mom actress and filmmaker who made Chinese box office history during the Lunar New Year holiday has a sad family story.電影《你好，李焕英》的主演兼导演贾玲在今年春节期间创造了中国电影票房的历史，但这背后的故事令人心酸。

Hi， Mom is the sleeper hit1 of this Lunar New Year holiday in Chinese cinemas. As of March 15， it has taken 5.26 billion yuan （US$808 million） at the domestic box office.

While Detective Chinatown 3 was the top draw2 during the first few days of the holiday， Hi， Moms good reviews （it was rated 8.1 out of 10 on Douban， Chinas equivalent of IMDB3） and word of mouth helped it overtake the franchise film on February 16 to become the box office champion.

As a result， its star， director and co-writer Jia Ling now owns the highest-grossing Chinese film directed by a woman， surpassing4 the 1.3 billion yuan earned in 2018 by René Lius directorial debut5 Us and Them.

Jia， 39， graduated from Beijings Central Academy of Drama 20 years ago and started her show business career as a crosstalk comedian. Crosstalk， or xiangsheng， is a traditional， rapid-fire comedic act starring two people who strive to outwit6 each other verbally.

In the past， she has talked about how she had to live rough and work odd jobs to continue in the male-dominated crosstalk industry. In 2008， she saw a surge of interest in her work thanks to Lunpengdou， a crosstalk stand-up comedy starring her and Bai Kainan， which ran for more than 80 sold-out performances in Beijing.

Jia went on to star in numerous comedies on television and on the big screen， which helped cement7 her status as one of the top woman comedians in China. In 2016， she set up Big Bowl Entertainment， and the production companys first work was the short play Hi Mom， from which her movie was adapted.

Her career， though， belies8 a personal life thats been filled with grief since her mother died in 2001. Hi， Mom， her directorial debut， is based on the real-life stories of Jia and her mother， and was made to express her longing and regret at failing to see her mother before she died.

In a recent interview with The Beijing News， Jia said her bubbly9 persona10 hides a melancholic11 streak12. “I am a crybaby，” she said. “I have quite big emotional swings. I love puppies. I like to share short videos about pets. Every time I watch videos about stray dogs， I burst out crying easily.”

Asked if she wants to move beyond comedic roles， Jia said she is not afraid of being typecast13. “For the moment， I dont have the desire to star in non-comedy works. For an actor， [a] performance should come from their heart. Besides being filled with emotions， I dont have other big talents. I can only display my raw emotions in front of the audience.”

She bares14 her emotions in Hi， Mom， a time-travel comedy in which Jia （playing herself） is transported back to 1981， before an accident that kills her mother （played by Zhang Xiaofei）.

On a talk show in 2016， Jia said her mum， a chemical factory worker， died after a fall while working on a farm. “She was clearing straw on the fields with Dad. Maybe the straw was heaped too high—she fell [onto the ground] when Dad was driving. She hit her head， and died [instantly]. I rushed back home， but she was already in the crematorium15. I couldnt believe she had left for good16.”

In the movie， Jia becomes friends with her mum， Li Huanying （her mothers real name）， a young woman working in a factory. When Li is hurt in a car crash， Jia stays by her side until she dies. The film has been praised by critics for its heartfelt emotions and authentic17 portrayal18 of Jias hometown of Xiangyang， in Hubei province， in the 1980s.

Audiences， who have only recently started returning to cinemas in large numbers since the pandemic， have been drawn to the story of family loss， and the identity of women as mothers.

On microblogging platform， Weibo， one hashtag19 relating to the movie had been viewed more than 1.67bn times， and reposted more than 580，000 times.

“The movie is telling a story of cherishing family and the awakening of contemporary womens consciousness，” wrote one audience member on Douban. “Instead of advocating for childbearing and marriage， the movie shows us that before any woman becomes a mother， her first identity is herself.”

Director Jia told Chinese media she had been tormented after the death of her mother， but hoped audience would enjoy the spirit and optimism on display in the film， rather than focus on the sadness.

“Our mums love for us is like air—it is there since we were born， so we often ignore it，” Jia told state TV. “But when we lose it， we experience a sense of suffocation and helplessness.”20

During her interview with The Beijing News， Jia said she worked on the script for more than three years. “After I finished， I opened a very expensive bottle of wine with the crew which I originally reserved for my wedding. I want to show the audience the happy days I spent with my mum. Those are the most precious days in my life.

“If the audience want to call their mothers after seeing the film， I am satisfied.”            ■

《你好，李煥英》绝对算是这个春节档中国电影院线的一匹黑马，截至3月15日，国内票房已达到52.6亿元（相当于8.08亿美元）。

同期上映的《唐人街探案3》最初几日居于票房榜首，但是《你好，李焕英》收获的好评（在相当于中国IMDB的豆瓣网上，它的评分为8.1）和口碑最终使之于2月16日超过《唐探3》，一举成为票房冠军。

《你好，李焕英》已打破刘若英2018年的处女作《后来的我们》13亿票房的纪录，贾玲作为《你好，李焕英》的主演、导演和编剧，成为了中国影史上票房最高的女导演。

贾玲今年39岁，2001年毕业于中央戏剧学院，以相声演员的身份开始了她的演艺生涯。相声是中国的一种传统喜剧表演形式，两个演员一捧一逗，语速很快，相互辩驳斗智抖包袱。

在以前的访谈中，贾玲曾提到自己当年为了在以男性为主的相声行业中待下去，只能打零工，过苦日子。2008年，她凭借与白凯南搭档的相声《论捧逗》迅速蹿红，这段相声在北京连演80多场，场场爆满。

此后，贾玲又参演了众多影视喜剧作品，这也在一定程度上巩固了她作为国内一线喜剧女演员的地位。2016年，贾玲成立大碗娱乐公司，公司成立后推出的第一个作品是小品《你好，李焕英》，电影《你好，李焕英》就是由这个同名小品改编而来。

可是，虽然贾玲在台上一直都释放着快乐的能量，但生活中的她自2001年母亲离世后一直难以走出丧母之痛。《你好，李焕英》是贾玲执导的首部影片，根据她和母亲的真实经历而创作，以寄托她对母亲的思念，弥补她未能在母亲去世前见她最后一面的遗憾。

最近接受《新京报》记者采访时，贾玲说自己开心快乐的外表之下其实是悲伤体质。“我太爱哭了，”她说，“情感波动比较大，特别情绪化。举个例子，我喜欢小狗，短视频里就推荐很多宠物相关的内容，比如有流浪狗之类的，（我就不敢看又忍不住想看，）每次看到就容易哭。”

当被问及是否渴望去做其他类型的电影时，贾玲表示自己不怕被定型：“暂时还没有这种欲望，我的作品必须要发自内心。其实我没有什么才华，也没有天大的本事，我的才华就在于情感浓度比较高，能够把自己的情感很顺畅地表达给观众，我只能做到这一步。”

贾玲在《你好，李焕英》中，将自己的情感展露给观众看。在这部喜剧中，贾玲（饰演自己）穿越回1981年，和发生车祸去世以前的妈妈（张小斐饰）相遇。

贾玲在2016年的一次访谈节目中提到，她的母亲是化工厂职工，干农活时失足摔落，不幸身亡。她说：“当时她和我爸在田里收稻草。我爸开的拖拉机，她在上面压着稻草，可能是稻草堆得太高了，她从上面掉下来，摔到了头，[立刻]就不行了。我赶回来以后，她已经被送到火葬场了。我没法相信她已经不在了。”

在影片中，贾玲和年轻时代在工厂上班的妈妈李焕英（贾玲母亲的真实姓名）成了朋友，母亲遭遇车祸后，贾玲一直陪在她身边，直到她去世。不少影评人称赞说，这部影片表达了真情实感，也真实再现了贾玲家乡湖北襄阳20世纪80年代的面貌。

这部影片所讲述的痛失至亲的故事，及其对女性母职身份的探讨，深深吸引了观众。这也是新冠疫情暴发以来，观众首次大规模重回影院。

微博上一条有关这部电影的话题，浏览量已经超过了16.7亿次，转发量超过了58万次。

有观众在豆瓣上这样留言：“这部电影讲述了一个珍惜家庭和当代女性意识觉醒的故事。影片的着眼点并非育儿和婚姻，而是告诉世人，任何女性在成为母亲之前首先是她自己。”

导演贾玲接受中国媒体采访时说，母亲去世后她感到很煎熬，但希望观众也不要因此就只关注影片悲情的部分，而是去盡情感受影片展现的欢乐精神和积极态度。

“妈妈对我们的爱，（就像我们刚被生出来那一刹那，）她的爱就像空气一样，你又经常忽略它，因为你一生下来它就已经在那了，”贾玲接受总台央视记者专访时说，“失去时就会感到窒息和无助。”

贾玲接受《新京报》采访时说，自己花了三年多的时间来打磨剧本。“拍完以后，我和团队开了一瓶很贵的酒，本来这是我打算结婚时才喝的。我也想把我和母亲以前的（相处方式与）快乐时光告诉大家，那是我最珍惜的日子。

“如果观众看完电影能想着给自己妈妈打个电话，我就满足了。”                                  □

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者;单位：南京信息工程大学文学院）

1 sleeper hit意想不到的佳作，黑马。  2 draw有吸引力的人（或事物）。  3 = Internet Movie Database互联网电影数据库。  4 surpass超过。  5 debut处女作。

6 outwit比……更机灵。  7 cement巩固。  8 belie给人以假象。

9 bubbly快活热情的。  10 persona表面形象。  11 melancholic忧郁的。  12 streak（常指不好的）特点，个性特征。  13 typecast担任特定类型角色。  14 bare暴露。  15 crematorium火葬场。

16 for good永远。  17 authentic可信的。  18 portrayal呈现，刻画。  19 hashtag在社交媒体上发文时用来描述主题的#号。

20此处对应的采访原话是：“但是当你失去她的时候，你才知道那种窒息感，那种无助感，是你这辈子都不愿意去体验的那种痛苦。”