中国益智游戏

Chinese Puzzle is the new film by director Cédric Klapisch, staring Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou and Kelly Reilly. We caught up with Klapisch on the day of the film’s UK release to ask him about the film, its possible sequel and what it means to be forty.
Chinese Puzzle is the third film of a trilogy. How have you changed as a director since the first film, L’Auberge Espagnole?
I think the first one,L’Auberge Espagnole, was a lot more spontaneous, and we were working with the idea of the actors being spontaneous. So in (Chinese Puzzle), it’s a lot more about thinking things over, about preparing things, and it’s not about improvisation any more. I think it went along with the subject of the movie, because this one is about someone being forty years old, and the first one was about being twenty five years old and really improvising your life. I think that is what changed for me and what changed for Xavier (played by Romain Duris).
What’s the significance of being 40?

I think it’s about admitting that you have to take responsibility for your life, you know? You have to accept that you can’t really be a teenager forever, or have fun all the time, so you have to choose your way and accept that. I think that being forty is really about that.

Forty years old, for me, is the end of youth, but you’re not old either, so it’s an age that is interesting because of that. You can really enjoy life, because you don’t have the problems of being old: problems with your health or with your body, and yet you don’t have the excitement of the first times. When you’re twenty, you’re in love for the first time, you have a job for the first time, you’re going to new countries for the first time. When you are forty, you don’t have first times like that, so it’s not about that excitement, it’s about trying to find the enthusiasm without that kind of first time experience enthusiasm.

When I watched the film, there were some scenes that stood out for me, especially the scenes with his arrogant lawyer (Played by Jason Kravits). Which scene was was your favourite?

I really liked this scene because, as you said, I really like that character. For me it’s really about America. He says you have to follow the rules, and then at the end he says you can manage without the rules. For me America is really about that, that maybe you can improvise, but you have to follow the rules first, so I think it’s really about America for me.

I like the scene with the father, because this movie is a lot about being a father yourself. You have children and you have to experience what it is to be a father, but you also have to revisit the relationship that you have with your own dad. I really like what happens with Xavier because in order to be a father himself he has to set things straight with his own father. I really liked that.

You’ve described L’Auberge Espagnole, Russian Dolls and Chinese puzzle as a trilogy, but at the end of Chinese Puzzle, I couldn’t help but think I’d love to see these characters in another ten years. Is there any possibility that there could be a fourth film?

I have no Idea. I think that the two possibilities exist and it depends on whether in ten years I want to do a fourth one, and especially if the actors want to do a fourth one. In a sense I really can’t answer that question now.

Also about the story itself, I think that if there is a major event, if Europe doesn’t exist anymore, if there is a war, if Africa becomes what China is today or something like that, then yes, it would be really interesting to do a fourth one. It will tell a story about that, about how time changes, and about how far it can change. I think if there is a fourth one, it will be also be about change in the world and how the world can change with the characters.

The three films are set in different cities around the world, but a lot of Chinese Puzzle is set not only in New York, but in Chinatown. What elements of Chinese culture were important for you to include in the film?

The idea of the French sentence Casse-tête Chinois (the original french title), is not exactly the same as “Chinese Puzzle”. The idea is that it’s a puzzle that’s hard to solve, that’s what it means in French. It means something complicated, that we don’t understand because that’s what we think about the Chinese language, it’s hard to understand because it doesn’t have an alphabet, it has ideograms. It feels like the culture which is the furthest away.

I think what I wanted to say with that, is what Xavier always says about things being complicated to understand. It’s really about dealing with a culture that you don’t understand at the beginning, that then becomes simple. If you spend ten years in China then it becomes your culture. I think that I wanted to get across the idea that everything that seems impossible to understand and far away from yourself, it can be close, and it can be understandable at some point.

Not all the characters have made a return for this movie. Wendy’s brother, William (played by Kevin Bishop), is absent. What do you think he’s doing now?

Well, for a long time he was in the script but unfortunately there was a planning problem, (Kevin) was the main character in a TV series, so we forgot about his presence, although I really wanted him to be there. For me William’s presence – and it will happen in the next episode if it exists – is what Xavier can’t be. I think it’s funny that at the beginning of L’Auberge Espagnole he’s someone who is really unimportant and annoying, and then he becomes someone a lot more mature and a lot more trustworthy than Xavier so I think that’s what he should mean.

（应该不算剧透吧？不过请谨慎浏览）

故事的男主有着失败的婚姻，他妈妈反对他离婚的时候说到，就像你爸爸当年一样。在故事的后半段，男主的父亲去纽约看他，之后男主一系列的内心独白，让我感到了原来亲人之间的关爱，最具渗透力的表现形式，其实是陪伴和不过问。在很多年没有相见之后，男主在纽约的街头和父亲一起穿梭，他奇怪父亲没有机关枪式的对他生活境况的提问，而是欣赏着街景，回忆和他母亲在纽约度过的时光，路过的街道。当男主接到电话说他的蕾丝朋友在医院生产了，需要他感快过去看望。他很自然的把事情告诉了父亲，他自己都很惊讶本来无需解释的事情，他却如同倾诉般的道给父亲听。父亲得知事情的紧急之后，没有说一句话，伸手拦下了一辆出租车，把他送上了去医院的路上。
很多时候，最得体的关心人的方式，其实是沉默，即使脑海里有100个问题需要解答，当你知道对方没有欲望倾诉时，沉默是一种对他选择不告诉的尊重。而不是想：我是你的xx(父亲)，我有权知道你的一切。

电影里的这个小细节，让我觉得亲情又多了另外一种表达方式，一种中国的父母很难想象并且难以接受，但有时候确实化解很多矛盾的很好的方式 。

四星半给这部电影；另外半星给男主角。

这是Cédric Klapisch的“法国青年三部曲”的终章（三部曲的名号是我鬼扯的...）。继L'auberge espagnole的青涩和Les Poupées Russes的风流之后，四十而不惑的男主角Xavier转战纽约唐人街，继续抱着他的苹果笔记本，与自己的生活（及其中的女人们）周旋搏斗。
这次他丢下了俄罗斯套娃，手中拿起了鲁班锁——中国玩意儿。

法国偏远地区的电影院照例都是银发的老头老太太。电影开场，“益智游戏”四个中文大字闪烁着，这样魂归故里的还感觉还真是奇怪呢。要是有一个龙标就齐活了，唔。

===========开始剧透咯===========

走出电影院的时候，我向朋友说，如果我要写影评，标题一定是《初恋是道过不去的坎儿》。

影片开头的手法和第二部如出一辙，大色块、快节奏、倒叙式的入场十分讨喜。在第三部的故事开始之前，Xavier和Wendy已经经历了相恋、结婚、生子和离婚的全过程，Wendy带着一双子女Tom和Mia飞去纽约，和美国大叔John在第五大道（窗外就是绿油油的中央公园的那种...）开始了新生活。
Xavier照例在电脑上敲着字。这一次，他写下“Ma Vie: C'est le bordel.” 伴着这样一团屎的生活，他也飞去纽约。
同性恋好友Isabelle照例做他的临时房东（Isabelle总是可以在男主角出现的地方有一套大房子=.=）。此时的她已然长发，和女友Ju生活在一起，并通过Xavier的“un coup de la main一臂之力”受孕成功。Xavier最终住在了Ju以前的公寓——公寓在唐人街中，中国房东张口就是“腻耗”。
为了他的孩子，Xavier必须拿到美国定居身份。不靠谱律师则给了他一个非常轻松愉快的建议——假结婚。无巧不成书。Xavier在人生的关键时分恰到好处地打了一次车；小黄出租车的中国司机恰到好处地被老黑的货车堵在街上；争执中老黑恰到好处地用球棒打残了中国司机——给了Xavier一次助人为乐的机会。当中国司机的七大姑八大姨知恩图报之时，Xavier淡定地说，“我需要一个妻子，明天去民政局领证。”
就这样，Xavier和华人女孩结了婚。
前女友Martine同样莫名其妙地出现在纽约（和中国商人谈茶叶生意，并大肆用中文背诵《登鹳雀楼》...）。初恋是道过不去的坎儿。他们约炮约了十五年，终于等到Xavier玩够了这个世界，或是被这个世界玩够。
生活开始呈现出生活本应该有的样貌：Xavier和Martine开始住在一起，带着两人各自共四个孩子；Wendy准备和新男友John结婚，“我不是为了钱，我真的爱他”；Isabelle的孩子也几乎同时降生。
影片的高潮向第一部最后的桥段致敬。在Isabelle借Xavier的公寓身体出轨的时候，其女友Ju，华人女孩，移民官，Wendy和Martine同时驾临三宝殿。Xavier闪转腾挪借力打力，和华人女孩忽悠过签证官，和Isabelle忽悠过Ju。直到一切终了，在粉萌粉萌的小正太Tom怂恿下，Xavier穿过抖动的镜头，拦下正登上客车（风华巴士...）的Martine。“Reste ici.” 留下吧，为了大团圆结局。

“Tu parle de ta vie, ou ton roman?”
Xavier抱着厚厚的书稿，被胖而秃顶的出版社老板问道，“你是在说你的小说，还是在说你的现实生活？” Xavier和Martine一同出现在Spype视窗前。“La vie.” 他们说。

===========剧透结束咯==============

法国青年三部曲，在Xavier的四十岁完结。
从第一部中青春和自我的碰撞，第二部荷尔蒙下的猎艳和寻觅，直到第三部中，生活终于成了主题。就像每一个人都会从无知走向起伏，从挣扎中归于平淡。我们遇到人，经历和他们的故事，并在其中塑造自己的形状，藉此生活。
我不知道是不是一千个读者就有一千个哈姆雷特。当Xavie的故事映射到我的身上时，我感受到的是不可逆转的成长。

犹记得尾声前的一幕。Isabelle，Wendy和Martine，三个出现在Xavier生命中的女人共坐一把长椅。纽约的地铁站灯光昏暗却闪烁，流浪的黑人乐手用塑料桶敲着鼓点，Xavier站在镜头中，我忘了他说了什么。

===========我要开始吐槽============

Martine在谈判桌上信手拈来“白日依山尽，黄河入海流，欲穷千里目，更上一层楼”时，字幕很识趣地消失了。整个影院，只有两个奇怪的中国人知道电影上在说什么...咻。

莫名的中国元素卖点。谈判桌上操着广东普通话的茶叶商人，背景音是最炫民族风（大误...）的老年广场舞，从扭腰到巴黎莫名会乘坐的华埠风华巴士，点点点。可是为什么Xavier要和小朋友们在家里吃洋快餐，难道不能换成肉夹馍小笼包驴肉火烧麻辣香锅么么么！？

导演你真的是想开拓中国市场么，你知道广电总局会把你的片子剪掉九又四分之三的...而且，那样的黑体中文标题，你的目的其实是忽悠很傻很天真又东方脑残粉的外国人吧，一定的。

这么文艺的电影难道就不能有一个文艺一点儿的名字吗？为什么“西班牙客栈”就听起来那么文艺，“俄罗斯套娃”就听起来很二逼，而“中国益智游戏”简直就是脑残...
然后竟然还能“中国七巧板”“中国鲁班锁”“中国华容道”“中国九连环”“中国奥赛题”“中国五年高考三年模拟”这样来一个系列啊摔！