3688想入飞飞的思考

喜欢在看完电影后才开始翻阅影评，继续慢慢咀嚼电影的各种细节。如果是和家人一起看的本地电影（因为我爹娘现在几乎只会为本地电影走入电影院，陪我一起当啦啦队），那就会茶余饭后继续讨论。昨天一起看的3688，其实引人思考的空间很多，很多蜻蜓点水的处理，有人说流于表面，刻画得不够深入，但是只要耐心地跟着导演的镜头漫步，就会看到镜头下很多发人深省的思考。

电影的前半部有很多小小的元素，即将在你我成长的岛国消失，有些则已经走入历史了。感觉导演急于保留这些代表着你我他的珍贵记忆，所以在电影的前半部花了不少时间把这些宝贝都剪入影片中。昨天看完后，觉得电影的后半部着实精彩，父女俩的戏牵动了心中的一种隐忧。电影后半段的沉重感，与前半段缤纷绚丽的镜头飨宴形成了相当强烈的对比。陪着父母变老的感觉是怎样的，你我都会有不一样的体会，然而戏中人的体验却是如此真实的。

戏中老父患了失智症，迷失于现在，滞留在过去。然而，导演说的岂止是老父的失智症呢？有人问，电影中的飞翔貌似可有可无，但是他的出现却正好凸显了岛国在神速发展的过程中，有很多景物在十年、二十年间全然消失。今天的老人在一辈子跨越了三个世代的城市建设和经济发展，年少回忆中的乐园几乎荡然无存。我们跟着岛国一起发展，也许大多数的我们都习惯了这样的变迁，很少再为一个地标的消失痛心，又或者已经习惯心痛后的无奈接受。但是，戏中抱着丽的呼声的失智老父不断地迷失在当下的情境，除了刻画失智症患者的境况外，是否也在悄悄地暗示着很多心智清醒的年长者因为语言政策的改变而被隔离于今天之外，因为社会的急速发展而无所适从？当今天显得那么熟悉时，只有记忆是可靠的。但是，当现实中没有标记记忆和岁月的地标和物品时，有时连记忆也不一定那么可靠了。所以电影尝试用镜头捕捉岛国这些稍纵即逝的珍贵印迹。

而我爸则看到什么呢？同样的人文思考，他则非常理性地用议论文大纲的方式写了属于他自己的影评： 

昨天去看了由陳子謙導演的本土影片3688，故事简单但却构出新加坡人面对的问题：
1. 大家庭的消失，小家庭面临照顾家老的问题越来越严重。
2. 人类的身体从七十古来稀能延长至八十，但某些身体组织如大脑，眼睛等却没停的退化，失智症患者越来越多，所以我们感觉到此病患者多了。
3. 当我们的乡情因生活方式的改变而越来越淡时，新加坡人还在找走出“不快乐”的途径。
4. 影片带出因“企业思维”而自动化，造成了社会问题。
5. 我们有不少年长还怀念着方言群体的生活年代。他们很无奈的以没亲切感的语言生活着。
6. 我们的建设经济成功了，但，是以“无形”的代价换来的。Amos 事件可能只是冰山一角。

我只能说，不同生活经验的人，会从同一部电影中看到不同的细节。一部用心采集元素的电影，则会触发隐藏在观众内心深处某一角的情感。电影尽管有不尽完美的地方，但还是能从不同角度拨动你我的心弦。Royston Tan 谢谢！

3688, A Lens into another Singapore.

3688.
Watched. How's it? Some will ask. First,  I have to admit that I have biases and am always in awe of people who dare to dream and take the less travelled path. So I tend to see the strengths and is more receptive to imperfections. And so, having followed Royston Tan films since his short film days,  I tend to see all the effort and the motivations in the movie. So,  while some may agree with the movie critics who have commented on the loose narrative structure, no one can take away the strong Singapore flavour,  and that strong sense of loss that's being portrayed in this colourful film. The colours are just a cover for the strong and sad emotions.

Maybe the director was trying to show too much of things very close to his heart that I had a little problem trying to grasp everything that was being highlighted in the beginning . But I could identify with that sense of loss that the movie was trying to build. That sense of loss, that sense of losing familiarity in your own land, losing the mementos of your precious  memories. Something I had written in proses as a uni student when I was overseas and witnessing all the landscape and societal changes. I liked the film despite its shortcomings. Joi Chua was a natural and the main plot between Feifei and her dad was quite strong that it brought some tears. I suspect the person beside me teared too. 

So, the verdict is? Bring your folks to the theatre, I mean your family,  parents, grandparents included. I brought my family to the movies because we love Singapore and we like to support local productions. The visuals are strong, colourful and beautiful. The singing is so good that the songs kept playing in my ears. And I always remember my friend Lynn Ling who shared how thankful and touched she was by the whole 881 experience some years ago because it was one movie her grandma understood and it had been decades since her grandma went to the movies. Yes,  it is about that sense of loss too.

My mom read an additional meaning to that huge sense of loss in that rediffusion box. To her, the box itself is a direct representation of that break in communication some elderly experienced when their world changed along with language policy. She said the songs were touching. I am sure my uncle and aunt had different emotions turning in them when they were watching it too. 

I guess,  every movie has different meaning to the individual viewer, depending on life experiences. It is like, how often does our movie theatre shows something that's speaks to the hearts of our older folks? And sometimes,  watching a local production is really an experience of dialoging with our inner selves, especially in this rapidly changing society. So, bring your folks to the theatre.