外中國人能看懂這部電影嗎？
今天我們就跟隨《衛報》影評家Cath Clarke的腳步，一同回味下這部電影：
The domestic release of this thunderous Chinese war epic was delayed last year for what trade magazine Variety described as “mysterious political reasons”. It is thought the film portrayed Kuomintang army officers during the 1937 Sino-Japanese war in too positive a light. To an outsider, however, The Eight Hundred looks like a paragon of tub-thumping patriotism in its description of heroic Chinese soldiers defending the Sihang warehouse in the battle for Shanghai. Like Dunkirk for Brits, the incident is seen here as an honourable defeat, a moment to galvanise national pride.
去年，這部轟轟烈烈的中國戰爭史詩電影被推遲在國內上映，專業性雜誌《視相》（Variety）將其形容為“神祕的政治原因”。有人認為，這部電影對1937年中日戰爭期間國民黨軍官的刻畫過於正面。然而，在外人看來，《八佰》講述了在淞滬會戰中，英勇的中國士兵堅守四行倉庫的故事，這看起來像是一個慷慨激昂的愛國主義典範。就像英中國人眼中的《敦刻爾克》一樣，這一事件被視為光榮的失敗，是激發民族自豪感的時刻。
Director Guan Hu plunges straight into nightmarish battlefield chaos with breathtaking scenes of Shanghai bombed to ashes and burning rubble. The Chinese army is defeated, outnumbered and outgunned. The city has fallen but a single regiment is ordered stay behind to defend the warehouse – a symbolic last stand (western newspapers called it “the Chinese Alamo”). It would be miracle if these troops could hold out for a single day against the Japanese artillery slamming into the factory walls. And Guan goes hammer and tongs with the special effects, delivering stupendously, joint-rattlingly-loud battle scenes and combat sequences edited to the lightning pace of a superhero movie.
導演管虎直接就開始展現了噩夢般的戰場混亂，加入了上海被炸成灰燼和燃燒的廢墟這些驚險場面。中國軍隊被打敗了，人數上和武器上都處於劣勢。上海已經淪陷，但有一個團奉命留下來保衛這個倉庫——這是具有象徵意義的最後抗爭（西方報紙稱之為“中國的阿拉莫”）。如果這些部隊能在日本大炮轟擊工廠牆壁的情況下堅持一天，那將是一個奇蹟。而且管虎在特效方面全力以赴，以超級英雄電影中閃電般的節奏呈現出震撼人心、響動刺耳的戰爭場面和戰鬥場景。
Across the river from the warehouse is Shanghai’s neutral zone – populated by a chic cosmopolitan mix of Chinese and foreigners, who initially watch the spectacle across the water while sipping cocktails as if it was free street theatre. As the four-day struggle for survival nears its end, the bravery of Chinese soldiers becomes suicidal, as they strap on grenades and leap out of windows on to the Japanese troops below. But with so much intense focus lavished on the action, there’s none to spare for the characters’ emotional lives, and it’s hard to care much about who lives or dies. As for the musical score, it ought to be cautioned by the police for sonic assault and battery.
倉庫的河對面是上海的中立區——那裡住著一群時髦的中中國人和外中國人，他們最初一邊喝著雞尾酒一邊看著河對岸的壯觀景象，彷彿這是一場免費的街頭戲劇。隨著為期四天的求生之戰接近尾聲，中國士兵的英勇變成了自殺，他們繫上手榴彈，跳出窗戶，撲向下面的日軍。但是由於這部電影對動作場面投入了太多的關注，並沒有多餘的空間來描述劇中人物的情感生活，也很難去關心誰的生死。至於配樂，它應該因攻擊和炮火的音效受到警方的警告。