CRYING OUT LOVE, IN THE CENTER OF THE WORLD在世界中心呼喚愛
HAVING BEEN RAISED
by my dad on a macho movie diet of samurai and wuxia films, I was immune to female- centric weepies – until Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World came along.
I was living in Japan in 2004 when my friends dragged me to see this new hit that had attracted over six million viewers. Directed by Isao Yukisada, it was advertised as a hanky-soaking experience.
The film segues from present to past and back, as Tokyo salaryman Saku ( Takao Ozawa) returns to his hometown in Shikoku and becomes overwhelmed with memories of his first love, Aki (Masami Nagasawa). Their courtship, set in Ehime prefecture and painted in a sun-kissed palette, not only fuels 1980s nostalgia but evokes an age of innocence.
Few nations’ artists beautify death and glorify youth with such aesthetic finesse as the Japanese. That spirit runs deep in Crying, which is dotted with scenes and metaphors evoking this feeling. The young lovers – with teenage Saku played by Mirai Moriyama – are at one point marooned on an island and find refuge in an abandoned hotel that looks like the Garden of Eden. When Aki spreads her arms on the edge of a cliff, the ecstasy (and impending doom) is akin to Jack and Rose at the prow of the Titanic.
Even as tragedy closes in on the protagonists, a bittersweet tone prevails thanks to Nagasawa’s angelic serenity and Moriyama’s gawky charm. I kept my composure throughout their struggles, but when a secret about Saku’s fiancée (Kou Shibasaki) is revealed, the irony of fate hit with such force that my tear ducts surrendered.
Crying’s nostalgic view of first love is the epitome of Japanese cinema’s take on the ‘pure love’ genre, and also recalls Shunji Iwai’s ’90s classic Love Letter. That’s not surprising, considering that Yukisada was Iwai’s protégé and worked as assistant director on that timeless romance.
小時候，父親經常帶我去看日本武士或中式武俠等陽剛氣十足的電影，因此對於以女性為主角的催淚文藝片沒有什麼感覺，直至我看了《在世界中心呼喚愛》。
2004年時我在日本居住，被朋友們拉去看一部已吸引超過600萬觀眾進場的新片。這部電影由行定勳導演，廣告宣傳說是一部會令人看得淚濕手帕的電影。
故事穿梭於現在與過去的時空，講述東京薪水族朔太郎（大澤隆夫飾）回到家 鄉四國探親時，觸動回憶，想起了少年時代的初戀情人亞紀（長澤雅美飾）。兩人的戀情在一片陽光明媚的愛媛縣展開，不但勾起對1980年代的懷舊感覺，同時也喚回純真年代的記憶。
日本藝術家擅長美化死亡和歌頌青春，技巧登峰造極，很少民族能望其項背。《在世界中心呼喚愛》亦承襲了這種精神，影片中出現不少令人聯想到死亡和青春的場面和隱喻。少年時代的朔太郎（森山未來飾）與亞紀這對小情人曾被困海島上，棲身於看來有如伊甸園的荒廢酒店內。當亞紀站在山崖邊緣上張開雙臂時，那分狂喜的情緒（以及隨後不久發生的慘劇），就跟 Jack 與Rose站在鐵達尼號船首的場面十分相似。
儘管悲劇逐步臨近兩位主角身上，長澤雅美的清麗脫俗，加上森山未來的愚鈍笨拙，令影片瀰漫著甜蜜中夾雜絲絲苦澀的氣息。看著一對戀人面對難關，我還能保持沉著冷；可是當朔太郎的未婚妻（柴崎幸飾）的秘密被揭露時，命運的諷刺狠狠地擊中我的心，我的眼淚有如河水缺堤，就此滾滾而下。
《在世界中心呼喚愛》是日本電影中典型的「純愛」類型片，洋溢對初戀的不捨情懷，不禁令人想起岩井俊二1990 年代的浪漫經典之作《情書》。我對此一點也不感到意外，因為行定勳是岩井俊二的門生，曾擔任過《情書》的副導演。
OUR CRITIC: Maggie Lee, f ilm critic for Variety and artistic director of CinemAsia
選片人 :
李詩才，《Variety》影評人及CinemAsia 電影節藝術總監