評論
打印
Hard Choices is a low-budget film that has been well received by many critics this past summer, but that does not make it a runaway hit.
在剛剛過去的夏天里，《艱難抉擇》是一部備受評論家好評的低成本電影，但并未在大眾中風靡。
In fact, its thirty-four-year-old producer, Robert Michaelson,
實際情況是，該電影34歲的制片人羅伯特·邁克爾森
has been found at the film's openings passing out fliers in front of the theaters.
在許多影院門前分發(fā)電影宣傳單。
Critic Bob Mondello says he shouldn't have to do that.
評論家鮑勃·蒙代洛表示，羅伯特不必如此。
In a perfect world, little movies about Tennessee kids who get caught on the wrong side of the law would get the publicity they need,
在無可挑剔的環(huán)境里，那種描述田納西州孩子因為犯法而被捕的電影很少會獲得應(yīng)有的關(guān)注，
and film companies would stop hyping pre-sold blockbusters about psychotic cops.
而且就算是大片，只要電影講的是瘋?cè)司爝@樣的人物，那么各家電影公司也不會為影片的預售做什么宣傳。
This is not, however, a perfect world.
但其實我們生活的世界并非無可挑剔。
And I don't want to imply that Hard Choice is a perfect movie, either.
我并不是想說這部電影就是完美的電影。
But it's so much more involving and suspenseful and just plain interesting
但它比其它電影都更切合實際、引人入勝，也更饒有趣味，
than most of the juck Hollywood puts out that it makes you want to do hand flips.
相比于其它好萊塢爛片強多了，也讓你想給出極高的評價。
It's the story of a rural sixteen-year-old, named Bobby, played winningly by new comer Gary McCleary,
影片講述的是一個農(nóng)村的16歲孩子，名為博比。這個角色是由新人蓋理·麥卡利飾演的。
who goes along for the ride one evening with his hell-raising older brothers.
當時是晚上，博比和自己喜歡鬧騰的哥哥一起出門兜風。
When they decide to rob a local pharmacy, Bobby stays out in the truck,
出來后，他們決定搶劫一家當?shù)氐乃幍辍２┍仍诳ㄜ嚴锏雀绺绲臅r候，
and that's where he is when one of his brothers panics and kills a policeman.
他哥哥出于恐慌，殺了一名警察。
Bobby's soon on the run with his brothers, and soon in jail.
他們迅速逃跑，但很快就被抓拿歸案。
Now, up to this point, this could be any of a dozen rebel-rousing teen movies, but Bobby's not your average teen protagonist.
影片演到這里，可能會有人覺得這不過是少年叛逆的片子，但博比跟普通影片里的少年主角不同。
He's a sweet kid, so innocent in fact, that he can't even lie to his mother, who's a bit innocent herself.
他是個好孩子，很單純，單純得甚至不想對自己的母親撒謊，因為她的母親也是一個單純的人。
"Bobby, how come everybody says you boys took drugs? I know you wasn't sick."
“博比，為什么大家都說你和哥哥搶了藥呢？我不相信你們會這樣做。”
"Cause it's true. We did."
“因為大家說的是真的，我們確實搶了藥。”
Now, talking about the innocence of a kid who takes drugs may seem a little odd,
說搶了藥店的孩子單純似乎有些奇怪，
but what made Hard Choices such a compelling movie is that it doesn't settle for easy answers.
但這部影片之所以讓人挪不開眼就是因為答案永遠是你想不到的。
Having Bobby sit in jail is clearly not in anyone's best interests.
博比坐監(jiān)獄顯然不是觀眾所期待的結(jié)局。
So when his case is taken by Laura, a young social worker played by Margaret Clenk, you're mightily relieved.
所以當博比的案子由瑪格麗特飾演的年輕社會服務(wù)人員勞拉接手后，觀眾會大松一口氣。
Unfortunately this kid isn't very lucky in the folks who take a shine to him.
不幸的是，喜歡博比的人也沒能讓他擺脫厄運。
Clenk, who's probably best known as Edwena Louis in the soap opera "One Life to Live",
曾出演電視劇《只此一生》中路易斯的瑪格麗特將勞拉
makes Laura a tired activist who's so won over by Bobby's lopsided grin and optimism,
塑造成了一個倦怠的活動家形象，她被博比撇向一邊的咧嘴笑和他的樂觀
she's soon doing something supremely dumb: pointing a pistol at the Sheriff.
精神所感染，于是她做了一件事：向警長開槍。
Do you have a gun, Bobby? It's on the wall. Go get it. Wait a minute. Go get the gun!
博比，你有槍嗎？有，在墻上。女：去拿過來。等一下再拿。現(xiàn)在就去！
Bobby, don't do it. You're making a big mistake. I'm going to have to come and get you.
博比，別聽她的。你拿了就是鑄成大錯。我必須要現(xiàn)在將你緝拿歸案。
Don't you want to be free? Since he's being tried as an adult, that is a hard choice.
博比你不想要自由嗎？畢竟做大人真的很累，所以這對他來說是個艱難的抉擇。
Now, this may remind you of a real life story recently in which a lawyer in Tennessee fell in love with her client and helped him escape,
影片演到這里，大家或許會聯(lián)想到現(xiàn)實生活中最近發(fā)生的例子：田納西州的一名律師愛上了自己的當事人，并幫他逍遙法外。如果大家不知道這個新聞，
or it may just generally remind you of real life.
那至少也能讓你們想起現(xiàn)實生活中的人性。
One of the best things about Hard Choices is that everything in it seems so utterly natural.
這部影片的一個絕妙之處在于里面的每一幕都是如此自然。
The supporting cast, for instance, which includes Secaucus Seven director, John King's.
比如，助演陣容里就有《西卡柯七個人的返來》的導演約翰·金。
It's generally terrific, which you could also say about Rick King's casually suspenseful direction.
總體來說，這部影片懸疑性很強，是匹克·金隨意就能吊人胃口的風格。
He keeps you just a little off balance, which is wonderful.
他的影片總會讓你意想不到又會心一笑，是非常棒的電影。
Unfortunately, his movie seems to have its Hollywood's sponsors a little off balance, too.
不幸的是，好萊塢的贊助商們似乎都get不到他的點。
Despite reviews that called the sleeper of the summer, Lorimar Pictures can't seem to get handle on how to sell it.
雖然有評論家認為這部影片是顆被掩埋的金子，但電影娛樂公司Lorimar Pictures似乎還是想不到如何推介這部影片。
And frankly, with major media advertising costing what it does,
而且，直言不諱地說，由于主流媒體的廣告成本處于當前這個形式，
if a film can't be described in a phrase of six words or less, like "crime is the disease, cobra's the cure".
所以影片必須要能用不多于6個字的宣傳語來進行推介，比如“罪惡是病，也是藥”。
Tuisel Town often has to throw up its hands.
圖索城也只能絕望地放棄。
The thing is that Hard Choices in just what Hollywood needs right now.
關(guān)鍵是《艱難抉擇》好萊塢當前需要的影片。
With idiotic fantasies about talking ducks costing as much as 40,000,000 dollars,
現(xiàn)在很多搞噱頭的影片，成本高達4000萬。跟這些影片相比，
this is practically the definitive small movie, made for what most Hollywood epics spend on catering.
這部電影絕對是小成本電影了，成本只相當于前者的伙食費。
I don't want to oversell it. It's certainly not perfect. But it sure makes the adrenaline flow.
我不想過度吹噓，畢竟這部電影也不完美。但它一定會讓人跟著緊張激動。
And when you take its budget into account, it's nothing less than amazing.
再結(jié)合成本之小后，就能體會到影片令人咋舌之處。
If the studios can't figure out how to make a picture like this work, they deserve disasters like Howard the Duck.
如果體會不到這部電影的精妙，也就只能拍出《天降神兵》這樣的爛片了。
The problem is, if you want to see it, you may have to search for Hard Choices because it's not being released all at once.
問題是，如果想看的話，要專門搜索它的名字，因為不是所有影院都有。
There are only a few prints. But it's worth asking your local theater owner to book.
只有部分影院可以觀影。但讓當?shù)赜霸侯A定這部電影還是值得的。
With summer hold-overs as the alternative, it makes your September movie going an easy choice.
夏天已經(jīng)過去，9月的必看名單里無疑是要有這部電影的。
Hard Choices opens tomorrow in Chicago and Minneapolis.
明天，芝加哥和明尼阿波里斯市就開始上映這部電影了。
Next weekend in San Francisco and at the Boston Film Festival.
下周末是在舊金山和波士頓電影節(jié)。
Bob Mondello was the film critic for All Things Considered.
鮑勃·蒙代洛是《時事縱觀》的電影評論家。
