稻草人的黑夜

　　基特（亨利·戈尔丁 Henry Golding 饰）年幼时跟随着父母躲避战火，一家人从越南前往英国，之后就再也没有回去过。一晃眼三十年过去，基特的父母早就双双离开了人世，基特带着两人的骨灰打算返回越南，让双亲的魂魄能够在故乡的土壤里安息。
　　当基特踏上阔别了三十年的祖国的故土时，内心里百感交集。这里的一切都和他模糊的记忆截然不同，久远的过去对于基特来说仿佛一场快要消弭的梦。在越南，基特在社交软件上结识了一个名为路易斯（帕克·索耶 Parker Sawyers 饰）的男人，路易斯的父亲曾经参加过越南战争，即便两人在国别和立场上有着微妙的对立，但他们之间还是渐渐碰撞出了爱情的火花。

　　Fraught with over obvious symbolism, Hartley's early feature is nonetheless a joy to watch. Hal here shows us his uncanny ability to cast his characters perfectly came early in his career.
　　Adrienne Shelley is a near perfect foil to herself, equal parts annoying teen burgeoning in her sexuality (though using sex for several years); obsessed with doom and inspired by idealism gone wrong she is deceptively – and simultaneously – complex and simple. Her Audrey inspires so many levels of symbolism it is almost embarrassingly rich (e.g., her modeling career beginning with photos of her foot – culminating her doing nude (but unseen) work; Manhattan move; Europe trip; her stealing, then sleeping with the mechanics wrench, etc.)
　　As Josh, Robert Burke gives an absolutely masterful performance. A reformed prisoner/penitent he returns to his home town to face down past demons, accept his lot and begin a new life. Dressed in black, and repeatedly mistaken for a priest, he corrects everyone ("I'm a mechanic"), yet the symbolism is rich: he abstains from alcohol, he practices celibacy (is, in fact a virgin), and seemingly has taken on vows of poverty, and humility as well. The humility seems hardest to swallow seeming, at times, almost false, a pretense. Yet, as we learn more of Josh we see genuineness in his modesty, that his humility is indeed earnest and believable. What seems ironic is the character is fairly forthright in his simplicity, yet so richly drawn it becomes the viewer who wants to make him out as more than what he actually is. A fascinatingly written character, perfectly played.
　　The scene between Josh and Jane (a wonderful, young Edie Falco . . . "You need a woman not a girl") is hilarious . . . real. But Hartley can't leave it as such and his trick, having the actors repeat the dialogue over-and-over becomes frustratingly "arty" and annoying . . . until again it becomes hilarious. What a terrific sense of bizarre reality this lends the film (like kids in a perpetual "am not"/"are too" argument).
　　Hartley's weaves all of a small neighborhood's idiosyncrasies into a tapestry of seeming stereotypes but which delves far beneath the surface, the catalyst being that everyone believes they know what the "unbelievable truth" of the title is, yet no two people can agree (including our hero) on what exactly that truth is. A wonderful little movie with some big ideas.

　　30岁的劳拉（桑德拉·切卡莱利 Sandra Ceccarelli 饰）一直渴望能够成为一名演员，然而，她的运气不太好，表演天赋始终没能够得到挖掘，星途一片黯淡。某日，在影片《茶花女》的试镜中，劳拉大放异彩，吸引了大明星史蒂芬洛（卢伊吉洛·肖卡 Luigi Lo Cascio 饰）的注意，史蒂芬洛把本该由自己的好友基娅拉（格拉迪亚·兰芝 Galatea Ranzi 饰）所扮演的女主角一角给予了劳拉，一直对史蒂芬洛心存爱慕的基娅拉选择了接受，并且扮演了剧中的一个配角。
　　影片正式开拍了，随着剧情的推进，劳拉、史蒂芬洛和基娅拉三人之间的关系也变得越来越复杂起来。当劳拉的才华逐渐被旁人发现并且接受时，史蒂芬洛心中浮现出的是嫉妒的心情。

　　影片分为两个不同的部分。第一部分由米尔恰·韦罗尤执导，描述了二十世纪初罗马尼亚一个寡妇的悲惨生活。第二部分由丹·皮察执导，讲的是一个婚礼上的新娘。
　　米尔恰·韦罗尤(1941年出生)和丹·皮察(1938年出生)是罗马尼亚最具独创性的电影制作人，他们一起制作了两部杰出的电影：《石婚》(1972)和《金魂》(1974)。毫无疑问，两部电影都是罗马尼亚有史以来最好的电影之一，在全世界受到了巨大的好评，被纽约现代艺术博物馆收藏。
　　《石婚》根据罗马尼亚作家Ion Agarbiceanu的小说改编，描写了上世纪初特兰西瓦尼亚乡村的生活状况。这些故事充满了一种深深的悲剧性的震撼，一种似乎无处不在的宿命感。所有这些都在令人难忘的摄影中被表达出来。毫不夸张地说，每一个镜头都是一件艺术品。
　　在第一部分中，女演员 Leopoldina Balanuta 的每一个动作、每一个眼神都充满了感性和智慧，她知道如何暗示多年的生活、希望和绝望的积累、固执的爱以及在沉默的斗篷下压抑的巨大痛苦。这些有力的镜头语言，只有第二部分的 Mircea Diaconu (逃兵) 眼中悲剧性的天真才能匹配。
　　两位导演中，米尔恰·韦罗尤喜欢充满沉思的冰冷凝结的风格，而丹·皮察在他的部分，则把它变成了一个充满活力的故事，有许多讽刺的时刻，富有表现力的人物，并在最后有一个痛苦的悲剧转折。
　　无论如何，《石婚》是一部值得一遍又一遍地观看的电影。每一遍，它似乎都增长了新的维度。