從短篇故事到電影： 王穎對李翊雲《千年敬祈》的電影改編

Abstract

本文聚焦王穎對當代美國移民作家李翊雲的短篇故事 《千年敬祈》的電影改編。論文首先從已發表的文章及採訪 中回顧李翊雲的人生經歷,主要目的是關注王穎是如何在 由其執導、李翊雲編劇的同名電影中利用這些自傳體片段 的。文章認為,將短篇小說改拍成故事片可以更加生動地 再現中國極權統治下政治與社會暴力所造成的長期的情感 孽債。影片乍看似乎呈現了兩種選擇。一個是極權政治下 沈默的生活,另一個是移居到以民主和言論自由為傲的西 方發達國家。但仔細審視電影後發現,它揭示了在沈默與 發聲之間做出選擇並非易事,尤其是涉及家庭親密關係的 時候。

This article focuses on Wayne Wang’s film adaptation of contemporary US-based migrant writer Yiyun Li’s short story “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers.” I will first briefly recount Yiyun Li’s life story as it emerges through her published articles and interviews, although I am primarily concerned with how these autobiographical fragments provide a way to unlock Wayne Wang’s film A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, for which Li developed the screenplay. The expansion of the original short story into a feature-length film allows for a more vivid representation of the long-term emotional consequences of the political and social violence of the Chinese totalitarian regime. At a glance, the alternatives the film seems to present are, on the one hand, a life of silence under political totalitarianism, or on the other, migration to a developed western country that boasts democracy and freedom of speech. On closer inspection, however, it is revealed that the decision to be made between silence and speech is not an easy one, particularly in terms of familial intimacy.