黑色電影《白日焰火》票房過億

When Chinese director Diao Yinan began shooting his third feature film, his goal was to make a detective story involving ordinary people.

當中國導演刁亦男開始拍攝他的第三部作品——《白日焰火》(Black Coal, Thin Ice)時，他的目標是拍出一部講述普通人故事的偵探懸疑片。

The result -- 'Black Coal, Thin Ice' -- is a noirish story about a former police officer investigating a grisly murder in northern China and falling in love with a key figure in the case. It grabbed the top prize -- the coveted Golden Bear award -- at the Berlin International Film Festival in February, and Liao Fan was named best actor.

《白日焰火》是一部黑色電影，故事發生在中國北方，講述一名警察對一起可怕的謀殺案開展調查，卻愛上了案件中的一個關鍵人物。該片在2月份的柏林國際電影節上獲得了最佳影片“金熊獎”，主演廖凡獲得最佳男演員“銀熊獎”。

'China today is greatly changing,' Mr. Diao noted prior to Berlin. 'I wanted to make a detective film depicting life in contemporary China' and to 'create a true representation of our new reality.'

在該片摘奪柏林電影獎之前，刁亦男說：“如今中國的變化很大，我當時就想拍一部描繪當代中國生活的偵探懸疑片，創作一部真正代表新現實的影片。”

Mr. Diao graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing in the late 1980s with a major in literature, and he worked as a screenwriter before turning his attention to directing. His first two films, 'Uniform' (2003) and 'Night Train' (2007), received critical acclaim and scooped up international awards.

刁亦男上世紀80年代末畢業於北京中央戲劇學院文學系。畢業後他從事編劇工作，後來開始自己當導演。他導演的第一部電影《制服》（2003年）和第二部電影《夜車》（2007年）深受好評，並在國際電影節上獲獎。

With 'Black Coal, Thin Ice,' Mr. Diao has found his greatest success yet. Since its release in China last month, the film has pulled in more than 100 million yuan ($16.1 million) at the domestic box office -- a notable milestone for an art-house film in the country.

憑藉《白日焰火》，刁亦男取得了迄今爲止事業上的最大成功。該片上個月在中國公映，國內票房收入超過人民幣1億元（約合1,610萬美元），作爲一部國產文藝片，成績卓越。

It is now hitting major festivals around the world, including the Tribeca Film Festival this weekend, the Far East Film Festival in Italy later this month, and the Sydney Film Festival in June. It will also go into general release in Hong Kong, France and Germany over the next few months, with other markets expected to follow.

《白日焰火》接下來還將參賽全球其他重大電影節，其中包括本週末的翠貝卡電影節(Tribeca Film Festival)、本月晚些時候的意大利遠東電影節(Far East Film Festival)以及6月份的悉尼電影節(Sydney Film Festival)。未來幾個月《白日焰火》將在香港、法國和德國公映，之後預計還將在其他一些市場公映。

Mr. Diao sat down with the Journal in Beijing to talk about reworking his script in order to secure investment, the impact of international awards on Chinese audiences and his love of reading. Edited excerpts:

China Magic Film刁亦男說，希望爲觀衆呈現一部與衆不同、富有新意的電影。刁亦男在北京接受了《華爾街日報》的專訪，談到自己如何爲了吸引投資而修改劇本、在國際上拿獎對中國觀衆的影響以及他對閱讀的熱愛。以下是這次訪談的節選：

You have said that Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story 'Wakefield,' about a husband who vanishes from his home for 20 years, inspired 'Black Coal, Thin Ice.'

《華爾街日報》：你說拍攝《白日焰火》的靈感來自霍桑(Nathaniel Hawthorne)的一部講述丈夫離家出走20年的短篇小說《威克菲爾德》(Wakefield)。

At first, I wanted to write about a man in an irrational mental state. My original idea was that a man leaves home but secretly spies on his wife and kid for years, but then he eventually returns home. I wanted to show how irrational this man could be. Insanity always includes something complicated.

刁亦男：起初，我想寫一個精神狀態不正常的男人。我最初的構思是寫這個男人離家出走，祕密窺視自己的妻子和孩子多年，但是最後又回到了家裏。我想表現這個男人有多不正常。瘋狂的背後總是隱藏着一些複雜的東西。

What changes did you make while writing the screenplay?

《華爾街日報》：寫劇本的時候你做了哪些修改？

The first version was a very artistic story. The second one was based on a news story about a legal case, but it was too serious and had little commercial elements, and so it was hard to find investment.

刁亦男：第一個版本很文藝。第二個版本取材於一宗案件的新聞報道，但內容太嚴肅了，幾乎沒有商業元素，所以很難找到投資。

So you added a love story in the final version. Why?

《華爾街日報》：所以你在最終版本中加入了一個愛情故事。爲什麼？

Love encompasses a lot -- it is not only about saying 'I love you,' dating and getting married. The most attractive part of love is before a couple says, 'I love you' to each other. It is what love really is. The leading female role was only a minor character in the first two versions. It was added as a result of commercial considerations, and also a result of my renewed understanding about love.

刁亦男：愛情包含許多東西，不僅僅是說“我愛你”，約會，然後結婚。愛情最吸引人的部分是在戀人彼此說“我愛你”之前，那纔是愛的真正含義。在前兩個版本中，女主人公只是一個沒多少分量的配角。加入愛情故事是出於商業考慮，也是因爲我對愛情有了新的理解。

Your three films use crime as a theme. Why?

《華爾街日報》：你的三部電影都與犯罪有關。爲什麼？

Crime is what people carry out when they struggle in life or are tortured by their feelings when they are lonely. It is a vivid expression of the relationship between humans and society. Everyone has an impulse inside that is waiting to be triggered. I always give a sympathetic look at those dark souls.

刁亦男：當人們在現實生活中掙扎或者在孤獨時被情感所折磨，他們就會犯罪。這是對人與社會關係的一種宣泄。每個人的內心都會有犯罪的衝動，等待一個契機把它點燃。對於人性中的這些陰暗面我總是抱有同情。

Is there anything you won't compromise on when meeting with potential investors?

《華爾街日報》：在與潛在投資方見面時，有什麼是你不會做出妥協的麼？

The pursuit of art. The director must be the one in charge. The tone of the film cannot be altered. On the other hand, I understand that investors need to earn a profit. These two objectives can be coordinated. Luckily, we reached a win-win situation with this film.

刁亦男：對藝術的追求。電影拍攝必須是導演說了算。電影的基調不能改變。另一方面，我也理解投資方需要獲利。這兩個目標可以協調起來。幸運的是，在這部電影裏，我們實現了雙贏。

Did you have any concerns about censorship?

《華爾街日報》：您對審查制度有什麼擔心麼？

I did not think about censorship until I submitted the film to the censors. After we received their revision suggestions, we discussed with them some points that we wanted to keep and they adjusted their suggestions. For the audience, I added commercial elements. I wanted to make a different and fresh film for them.

刁亦男：在向審查人員提交電影之前，我並沒有考慮這個問題。在收到修改意見後，我們與審查人員討論了一些我們希望保留的地方，他們也調整了修改意見。對觀衆而言，我加入了商業元素，我希望爲他們呈現一部與衆不同、富有新意的電影。

What were your box-office expectations?

《華爾街日報》：您對票房的預期如何？

Right after the film won in Berlin, I did not expect it would earn so much. I thought it would be awesome if it could reach 50 million yuan, because many art-house films only earn about one or two million yuan in China's cinemas. Both the film and the leading actor won in Berlin, which triggered audiences' curiosity, so we got quite a lot of attention -- it became an event film. [Chinese film authorities] supported this film, which helped to expand the number of screenings. All of that contributed to the box office.

刁亦男：這部電影剛剛在柏林獲獎時，我沒有想到票房會這麼高。我覺得如果能達到人民幣5,000萬元就不錯了。因爲很多藝術片在中國院線的票房收入只有人民幣一二百萬元。《白日焰火》及其主演均在柏林電影節上獲獎，這激起觀衆的好奇心，所以我們受到很多關注，它已經成爲一部事件電影。中國電影管理部門支持這部電影，這有助於提高其排片率。所有這些因素都對票房構成提振。

What are your thoughts on authorities' support?

《華爾街日報》：你怎麼看有關部門的支持？

It went beyond my expectations. I think it is a good thing. It really can help to change the market structure -- if the leadership takes the lead to support art-house film, audiences will be influenced.

刁亦男：超出我的預期。我覺得這是好事。它的確可以改變市場結構——如果管理部門帶頭支持藝術片，觀衆就會受到影響。

Could it happen again?

《華爾街日報》：這種情況可能重現麼？

Yes, because Chinese directors of art-house films are very capable. They can definitely make films that are entertaining and intriguing.

刁亦男：會的，因爲中國藝術片導演的能力很強。他們肯定可以製作出具有娛樂性和趣味性的電影。

Does international recognition influence domestic audiences?

《華爾街日報》：國際認可會影響國內觀衆嗎？

Many of the local audiences are watching the film simply because it won big awards. Chinese people are not that confident about our own work -- not until others recognize it. They go to watch it no matter whether they really understand it or not, but maybe some of them will fall in love with this kind of film after watching it.

刁亦男：很多國內觀衆看這部電影只是因爲它得了大獎。在得到其他人認可之前，中國人對國產電影不是很有信心。不管是否真正看懂，他們會去看這部電影，但可能有些人在看過之後會喜歡上這種類型的電影。

What do you do in your free time?

《華爾街日報》：您業餘時間會做什麼？

Stare in a daze, play poker with friends and reading. In college, my classmates and I competed to see who could read more and whose books were more off the mainstream.

刁亦男：發呆、和朋友打牌、讀書。上大學的時候，我和同學們比賽，看誰讀的書多，誰讀的書更加非主流。