经济学人63:世界尽头的银幕

 　　Books and Arts; Book Review;New theatre: “Travelling Light”;

　　文艺；书评；新剧院：《轻装上阵》；

　　The screen at the end of the world;Antony Sher plays the part of a lifetime;

　　世界尽头的银幕；安东尼·谢尔：生为犹太身，今演犹太人；

　　Jacob Bindel, the timber merchant in Nicholas Wright's “Travelling Light” at the Lyttelton theatre, is the second of three Jewish roles that Sir Antony Sher has signed up for in less than a year—after decades of parts from other worlds than that of his forefathers¹. First he was Phillip Gellburg in last autumn's production of Arthur Miller's “Broken Glass” at London's Tricycle theatre, a repressed businessman in 1938 New York who tries to ignore the violent pogroms taking place in Germany. And later this summer he will reanimate Sigmund Freud in Terry Johnson's “Hysteria” in Bath.

　　身为犹太人，安东尼·谢尔爵士（Sir Antony Sher）数十年从未演过本民族角色。而最近不到一年，他已接下了三个犹太角色。去年秋季，他在伦敦三轮车剧院首度出演犹太人，于阿瑟·米勒（Arthur Miller）剧《碎玻璃杯》中饰演菲利普·盖尔博格（Phillip Gellburg），一个情感压抑的商人，1938年住在纽约，试图忽视德国残暴的犹太人大屠杀。第二个角色便是在利特尔顿剧院扮演尼古拉斯·赖特（Nicholas Wright）剧《轻装上阵》中的犹太木材商人雅各布·宾德尔（Jacob Bindel）。而今夏，他将在巴斯重新诠释泰利·约翰逊（Terry Johnson）剧《歇斯底里》中的西格蒙德·佛洛依德。

　　Of the three roles, Jacob Bindel may well prove the most memorable². It could make the South African-born actor as unforgettable to London audiences as Chaim Topol was as Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof” half a century ago.

　　安东尼的三个角色中，雅各布·宾德尔可能最令人难忘。也许该角能使这位南非出生的演员与哈伊姆·托波尔（Chaim Topol）一样让伦敦观众无法忘怀——托波尔五十年前曾在前音乐剧《屋顶上的小提琴手》中出演泰维（Tevye）一角。

　　Mr Wright has set his new play in a remote village in eastern Europe at the dawn of the 20th century. Motl Mendl (a fluid and captivating Damien Molony) has returned after a long absence to his uncle's photography studio, where he is entranced by the flickering³ shadows of a motion picture. Jacob enters, intent on having a photograph taken of his wife and their only son before the boy is called upon to don the uniform of the tsar. At least, that is his plan until he decides to have the family farewell filmed as a motion picture and succumbs⁴ to the allure⁵ of the movies.

　　这部赖特新作中的故事发生在20世纪初叶一个遥远的东欧小镇上。莫特尔·门德尔（Motl Mendl）长相酷似达米恩·莫罗尼（Damien Molony），动作灵活优雅，充满魅力。久别之后，他回到了叔叔的照相馆，在那儿对电影闪烁的光影着了迷。某天，雅各布来到相馆，本想在独子应征加入沙皇的军队前为妻儿照张合照，后来决定将家人的惜别之景摄为电影；电影的魅力征服了他。

　　Orphaned⁶ and illiterate⁷, the ebullient⁸ self-made businessman explains why: “Me, I don't know words. Words for me are like stone wall around God's world. So I am stranger to God's world…Then I see your motion picture, and the door to paradise open for me. I see big light, big sun, big sky! Because no words! No words but all of feelings! Love, happiness, sadness, tears. I see them clear.” Inspired by Anna, Motl's clever and captivating assistant (Lauren O'Neil), the young director begins making films with Jacob as the world's first movie producer.

　　这位白手起家的商人幼时失荫，一字不识，却对电影满腔热情。对此，他解释道：“俺——我不识字。那些字儿跟石头墙似的把我挡在上帝的世界外头。对那里头我啥也不晓得……后来看到你的电影，天堂的大门就开了。我看到好多的光，好大的日头，好宽的天空！爱啊，幸福啊，伤心啊，眼泪啊，全都能看清。”莫特尔从聪慧迷人的女助手安娜（Anna）（Lauren O'Neil饰）身上得到灵感，开始拍摄电影。雅各布与他合作，成为世上第一位制片人。

　　Mr Wright's paean⁹ to the earliest days of film-making—a homage¹⁰ to the birth of Hollywood with its Sam Goldwyns and its Louis B. Mayers—is funny and generous. The warmth of the shtetl feeds the creativity of these nascent¹¹ cinephiles. Together the two men go back to the flood, discovering the power of stories, dramatic montage, captivated audiences and the thrill of the casting couch.

　　这部音乐剧情节有趣，内容丰富，是赖特献给电影制作最初时光的赞美诗，也是赖特对好莱坞诞生的敬意。当时，它拥有许多像山姆·高德温、路易斯·梅耶一样的大人物。在剧中，犹太小镇的温情滋养着两位初出茅庐的电影迷的创造力。他们一同投身事业的洪流，逐渐明白了应该如何讲述故事，如何进行戏剧性剪辑，如何抓住观众，还知道了选角时办公室沙发上发生的那些“让人激动的事儿”。

　　Earthy, wheedling¹² and endlessly instinctive¹³, Sir Antony's Jacob is at the heart of it all, whether he is trying to meddle¹⁴ in the directing or keep his wife and daughter out of the film and cast Anna, instead, as the leading lady (“When I look at that girl…I like 18 again. I like tree in springtime with hot sap like kettle rise into every branch. You hear my meaning?”) Or even when he tries surreptitiously to rent out his cow to the studio. In fact, Sir Antony is so powerfully Jacob Bindel that it becomes a problem. The second act takes place in Hollywood 30 years later. Jacob barely appears. The audience feels bereft¹⁵.

　　安东尼深得人物精髓，他的雅各布土里土气、满嘴甜言蜜语、办事依赖直觉，在所有场景中始终表现如一。雅各布试图插手导演，不让妻女涉足影片，反而将安娜定为女主角（“我看着那姑娘……好像又回到了18岁。我像棵春天的树，滚烫的树液像在烧开的水壶里一样扑腾，冲进每根树枝。你听懂我说啥了吧？”），甚至还想偷偷把自己的牛租给制片厂。事实上，他演的雅各布实在太出彩了，反倒成了麻烦。该剧第二幕的背景是三十年后的好莱坞。雅各布很少出现，让观众怅然若失。

1 forefathers   

n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left. 它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先，大家都气得怒发冲冠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

3 flickering   

adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的

参考例句：

• The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
• The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。

4 succumbs   

不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的第三人称单数 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死

参考例句：

• Eventually the virus prevails and the infected person succumbs to the infection. 最终病毒体会战胜药物，而导致感染者死亡。
• A German lender succumbs to perverse incentives. Who's next? 一德国贷方受制屈服于非正当（投资）动机。谁将步其后尘？

5 allure   

n.诱惑力，魅力；vt.诱惑，引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• The window displays allure customers to buy goods.橱窗陈列品吸引顾客购买货物。
• The book has a certain allure for which it is hard to find a reason.这本书有一种难以解释的魅力。

6 orphaned   

[计][修]孤立

参考例句：

• Orphaned children were consigned to institutions. 孤儿都打发到了福利院。
• He was orphaned at an early age. 他幼年时便成了孤儿。

7 illiterate   

adj.文盲的；无知的；n.文盲

参考例句：

• There are still many illiterate people in our country.在我国还有许多文盲。
• I was an illiterate in the old society,but now I can read.我这个旧社会的文盲，今天也认字了。

8 ebullient   

adj.兴高采烈的，奔放的

参考例句：

• He was ebullient over the reception of his novel.他因小说获好评而兴高采烈。
• She wrote the ebullient letter when she got back to her flat.她一回到自己的寓所,就写了那封热情洋溢的信。

9 paean   

n.赞美歌，欢乐歌

参考例句：

• She struck up the first paean on the grand piano.她开始在那架大钢琴上演奏起第一首颂歌。
• The novel is a paean to the end of empire.该小说奏响了一个帝国落寞的赞歌。

10 homage   

n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬

参考例句：

• We pay homage to the genius of Shakespeare.我们对莎士比亚的天才表示敬仰。
• The soldiers swore to pay their homage to the Queen.士兵们宣誓效忠于女王陛下。

11 nascent   

adj.初生的，发生中的

参考例句：

• That slim book showed the Chinese intelligentsia and the nascent working class.那本小册子讲述了中国的知识界和新兴的工人阶级。
• Despite a nascent democracy movement,there's little traction for direct suffrage.尽管有过一次新生的民主运动，但几乎不会带来直接选举。

12 wheedling   

v.骗取（某物），哄骗（某人干某事）( wheedle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He wheedled his way into the building, ie got into it by wheedling. 他靠花言巧语混进了那所楼房。 来自辞典例句
• An honorable32 weepie uses none of these33) wheedling34) devices. 一部体面的伤感电影用不着这些花招。 来自互联网

13 instinctive   

adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的

参考例句：

• He tried to conceal his instinctive revulsion at the idea.他试图饰盖自己对这一想法本能的厌恶。
• Animals have an instinctive fear of fire.动物本能地怕火。

14 meddle   

v.干预，干涉，插手

参考例句：

• I hope he doesn't try to meddle in my affairs.我希望他不来干预我的事情。
• Do not meddle in things that do not concern you.别参与和自己无关的事。

15 bereft   

adj.被剥夺的

参考例句：

• The place seemed to be utterly bereft of human life.这个地方似乎根本没有人烟。
• She was bereft of happiness.她失去了幸福。