捕鼠者1999

《捕鼠者》电影剧照。

电影的开场镜头是一片若隐若现的白色。而后，白色的窗框勾勒出寒冷的乳白色天空。白色的帷幔从上面垂下，包裹了一个正在旋转着的男孩的头顶，帷幔的花边以无声地慢动作扭曲着。外面孩子们的笑声加剧了他的旋转。白袍遮住了他闭着的眼睛，就像新娘的面纱或洗礼帽一样。他似乎又是在水下旋转，尽管阳光已经照亮了他的头顶。屏幕外一只手的敲击结束了他苦行僧人式的白日梦。“看在上帝的份上，看看我的窗帘，”一位30多岁的女人说道。在荧幕的右上角，“捕鼠者”（Ratcatcher）以黑色小字体出现了。薄纱也开始以正常的速度徐徐展开。

苏格兰女性导演琳恩·拉姆塞（Lynne Ramsay，1969）1999年的处女作就是以这样的方式打开，这部电影可以说是20世纪描绘贫困儿童影响最为深远的杰作之一。被帘子遮住的男孩名叫瑞安·奎因（Ryan Quinn，由托马斯·麦克塔格特饰演），他只在银幕上出现了五分钟，之后就在他和他单身母亲杰基·奎因（Jackie Quinn）居住的公共住房外的运河里溺水身亡。故事发生于1973年，在格拉斯哥的一次“清洁工罢工”（dustmen strikes）运动中，垃圾堆积了好几个月，直到最后陆军坦克开过来清理。《捕鼠者》（Ratcatcher）是一部非常罕见的反映贫困的电影，它并没有丝毫的感伤，也没有短暂的煽情。拉姆塞用丰富的图像向童年致敬，让我们在一个充斥着害虫的世界中，得以诗意地瞥见纯真无邪的欢乐与残酷。

《捕鼠者》（Ratcatcher，1999）4K修复版电影海报，导演：琳恩·拉姆塞，片长：1小时34分钟。

由非传统演员扮演的“捕鼠者”的孩子们是本片的关键所在。我们通过他们的眼睛、耳朵和指尖感知到他们与被污染的社区的紧密联系。我们观察到政府对他们住房项目的忽视：楼梯间的油漆剥落，老鼠从地板上爬出来，垃圾袋像黑色、破裂的恶性细胞一样繁殖。而与此同时，地面上粉笔画出的游戏格子照亮了人行道，足球在破旧的鞋子之间滚动，一只脚下的老鼠得到了短暂的友好对待 —— 一块奶酪。一位小女孩把晾衣绳变成了惊险刺激的秋千，在垃圾袋宝座上吃着冰淇淋甜筒。捉老鼠成了五岁以上任何人的日常运动。但《捕鼠者》并没有让我们对这些孩子或他们饱受困境的父母之遭遇感到震撼或怜悯，而是仿佛诉求我们要正视每一个生命的尊严和复杂性，无论它是多么脆弱，多么看似堕落；我们被恳求去见证和珍惜那些凄凉中的美丽。

虽然瑞安的死一直萦绕在叙事当中，但情节在场景安排和人物深度方面却居于次要地位。12岁的主人公詹姆斯·吉莱斯皮（James Gillespie，由威廉·伊迪饰演）是一个敏锐、安静、偶尔也会吵闹的孩子。当瑞安掉入水里时，他是怎么知道他的朋友永远无法上岸？当他的朋友没有跟着他回家时，他为什么决定不回头看看呢？据推测，这些孩子，或者他们的父母都没有学过游泳。这条运河既是一个玩耍的地点，也是一个不合时宜的坟墓，这是永远存在着贫穷危险的一个转喻。

《捕鼠者》电影剧照。

当然，看似简单，甚至是不可避免的事情并非如此。决策是由那些负责人做出的，他们很少（如果有的话）出现在屏幕上。吉莱斯皮一家和许多房客一样，无精打采地希望有一天他们能被安置在一个有现代化厕所和自来水的新公寓里。与此同时，孩子们被训练要对偶尔出现在门口的社会工作者撒谎；在詹姆斯和他的两个妹妹的故事中，母亲（曼迪·马修斯饰）和父亲（汤米·弗拉纳根饰）总是“外出”—— 他们在商店，在酒吧，在任何地方，但从来没有一份稳定的工作。

《捕鼠者》电影剧照。

父亲长期酗酒，母亲尽她最大的努力维持家里的秩序。詹姆斯的妹妹安-玛丽（Ann-Marie，由导演的女儿小琳恩·拉姆塞饰）是一位心直口快且开朗的告密者。一群四处游荡的十几岁男孩折磨着詹姆斯和他的伙伴玛格丽特-安妮（莉安·马伦饰），后者最终出于乏味和恐惧对这群人进行了性服务。“你想摸摸它吗?”在开头的一场戏中，安妮指着自己血迹斑斑的膝盖上刚出现的痂问詹姆斯。詹姆斯愿意，但又不敢，后来，作为一种不寻常的求爱方式，他主动提出要帮她梳理那乱成一团和有虱子的头发。

拉姆塞最令人震惊的成就之一便是描绘了这对伙伴之间纯洁的性友谊——令人吃惊的是，他们的性欲几乎是奇迹般地从未被拿来利用（为了获取某种震撼性的价值）。詹姆斯和玛格丽特·安妮被允许拥有彼此好奇和性感的身体，但这些身体却没有被性化。在他们裸体出现的一个场景中，在詹姆斯进行虱子处理后，就好像摄像机正在尽一切可能来中和视觉内容 —— 四分之三的镜头捕捉到了她肘部以下的身体，玛格丽特·安妮有条不紊地脱下衣服去洗澡，背对着镜头。在她的右边，詹姆斯正低头盯着手里的那块药皂，偶尔偷瞄她一眼。为了更好地帮她洗头发，他脱下衣服进入浴室，一场水战随之而来，双方在对方的鬃毛上涂上泡沫，变成莫西干发型。“我要小便，”她说着走出去上厕所。詹姆斯继续向她泼水，听到她的小便声咯咯地笑着。在最后一个镜头中，她也在回笑，画面有意地不去捕捉她的乳房。

国家的权力，或者更准确地说，它对权力的放弃，就像从孩子们头上剔除的虱子一样，潜伏在表层以下。在这个住宅空间中，没有人因为他们悲惨的处境而受到指责或被妖魔化，也没有人指责或妖魔化那些自我疗愈的方法，正是这些方法才可能会让角色活到下一天。电视屏幕上的记者的口音如此清脆，如此英国，想到他们是来自同一个国家，这样的反差真是令人惊讶，“虽然双方都不愿意公开这么说，很明显，正是威胁要动用军队才使罢工领导人做出让步。清理这堆垃圾意味着清洁工将获得数千英镑的奖金和加班费，这是对他们罢工九周的补偿......”（记者）

詹姆斯和玛格丽特·安妮坐在沙发上看着午间新闻，用着和身型不搭的浴巾吃着白面包片。他们一声不吭，同时眨着眼睛；电视里描绘的内容看似与他们无关，实则又与他们息息相关。在整部《鼠捕者》中，公屋居民并没有对系统性的不公表现出积极的愤怒，而是故意漠不关心，他们知道他们的一言一行都不会产生巨大的改变。在电影的背景下，当涉及到他们个人生活的结果时，这种可怕的剥夺权利赋予了他们一种纯真性，或者至少是无罪的感觉。

反映城市（或郊区）白人贫困的电影作品少得可怜，对于任何有才华或良好职业道德的人来说，阶级只是一个可渗透的边界——《捕鼠者》完全拒绝对穷人进行道德化或陈词滥调式的说教，这可能会让人感到非常不安。通过这种方式，拉姆塞为肖恩·贝克（Sean Baker，1971，美国导演）2017 年的《佛罗里达乐园》（The Florida Project）等影片奠定了基础，后者记录了一个年轻女孩与她的性工作者母亲在迪士尼世界外的一家汽车旅馆里生活的经历。

《捕鼠者》电影剧照。

就像在《佛罗里达乐园》中一样，一个孩子能想象出一个比现实世界更奇妙、更温馨的世界，这是《鼠捕者》的核心精神——这种精神在一个令人愉快的分离场景中显现，一只小白鼠和一个红气球不仅逃离了公寓住宅，而且完全离开了地球。拉姆塞本人回避了这样一种假设，即这部电影对贫困的残酷描述必然会被贴上一个真实的标签。她在1999年接受《IndieWire》采访时表示：“很多人都把这部电影误解为社会现实主义，但我不这么认为。我尽量避免那些陈词滥调。说实话，我试图深入到这些场景的心理，探究为什么我们要这样拍摄，为什么我们要这样看待它，试着深入了解它的表层之下，深入到这个男孩（詹姆斯）的内心深处。”

在《鼠捕者》虚幻的最后一幕中（既华丽又极度令人印象深刻），吉莱斯皮一家行进在一片开阔的田野上，这也是詹姆斯在参观一处空置的房屋建筑工地之前，曾逃到郊外的那片田地。父亲在前面引路，抬起一张白色的小沙发，大麦沙沙作响。母亲抱着一个白色的娃娃屋。白色的天空到处是鸟儿。在队伍的后面，安妮-玛丽凝视着一面镜子，镜子里捕捉到了她在阳光下闪烁的脸庞。在她身后，她的哥哥坐在椅子上。在电影的最后，当看着他所爱的人朝着一个更美好的家园的希望前进时，詹姆斯第一次张开嘴微笑了。

《捕鼠者》电影剧照。

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#BFI# #BigsScreenClassics# 现实主义作品，带有肯洛奇的风格，与《小孩与鹰》一样，以英国底层小孩的眼睛看这个全英范围内的大罢工，再看这个社会。

本片在开场就展现给观众了一场惨剧，让观众与小男主一样参与到了这次意外中，弱肉强食的社会中，谁有确定自己是那捕鼠人，而不是只老鼠，片中老鼠似乎就象征着小男主自己，垃圾在城市之中堆积，大量的工程停摆，老鼠在大量繁殖，那条承载了大量悲伤的河又一次送葬了一条生命，与开始呼应。

视觉上，构图和运镜非常棒，尤其是构图，画面分割，大量的前景遮挡，都让同样知道秘密的观众从视觉上体会到那种空间被大量压缩的窒息感。特写升格很大程度的放大了情绪。

听觉上，很多时候配乐还是偏欢快的，带有“青春成长”的节奏感，当然对于悲剧的烘托使用的耳鸣也很不错，让观众把注意力都集中在画面上。

不太喜欢超现实表达的部分，无论是小白鼠的升空和结尾处的处理，逃避现实的残酷再以超现实展现的笑容始终不如现实来的更有冲击力。

This blog post will engage with the main themes in the popular reception of the film Ratcatcher (Ramsay, 1999), using as a sample 25 user reviews and comments from the Chinese review-aggregation website Douban, selected on the basis of their length and complexity.

One of the most frequently encountered opinions, 10 of the reviews that I examined interpreted the film from the perspective of teenagers. They think this film depicts the inner world of a depressed, lonely, and sensitive teenager in a realistic way, and reflects the poverty and unbearable life of working-class life in Britain through the vision of a child. In particular, users write of ‘the growing pains of a teenager at the bottom of the pile’. Most people are saddened by the desperate emotional rendering of the film – a story of a traumatized teenager's confusion and sadness in the face of society and the world. For viewers of Douban, the film has reaped the most accolades for its portrayal of British society. Similarly frequent are views about the director’s shooting technique and cinematography, with users often remarking on Ramsay’s solid work as a photographer, revelling in the close-ups and contrasts between the movements and stillness of the shots in the film’s scene.

The film does reflect the oppression and suffering of the British working class through the eyes of the child, James, and many social contradictions are further revealed through James’s interactions with his family and friends. Although Chinese audiences are immersed in an atmosphere of despair and sadness, in my viewpoint, there is still a sense of redemption and hope in some scenes.

In the Ratcatcher, the story is set in the 1970s during a general strike by rubbish workers in the Glasgow area, where the streets were littered with rubbish, houses were in disrepair and rivers were muddy. Like many films typified by the British Kitchen sink Drama, Ratcatcher exposes the grim characteristics of society. It focuses on the lives of poor communities and the impact of poverty on families, and shows the depression and powerlessness of working-class life (Williams,1977; Higson, 1984). But Ramsey largely rejects institutional context and history, abandoning traditional political drives in favour of a more symbolic, suggestive, obscure narrative (Carlota, 2016). Thus, the Ratcatcher can be seen as a film of poetic realism and viewers can feel its hints of hope and redemption in scenes of despair.

Figure 1: The city streets are full of rubbish

Kenny's Snowball seems to be an amalgamation of destruction and hope. James has to endure the violence of those older than him but also wants to protect this cute little mouse. In the next series of shots, which are James's fantasy, the mouse flies to the moon in a red balloon and joins other mouse companions. This fantasy is also James's longing, which also represents the innocence and hope of children. As Aitken (2011) points out, Ramsey's use of fantasy techniques belies some of the tones of realism and makes surprises to create a form of poetic realism. Because at this point, James hopes to find his true playmate, who will no longer have to endure violence and pain. Just like rats fleeing from the earth, he wants to escape this awful community. Thus, poetically, the Ratcatcher gives the audience a child's perspective of how the underclass grows from the rubbish and how James releases his guilt and pain in his fantasies. James' fantasies seem to escape the mire of life and this moment of innocent simplicity contrasts with the dreary tone of the film, which makes the audience realise that these underclass teenagers still harbour hope, only to slowly fade away in the struggle of reality.

Figure 2: James’ fantasy of Snowball flying to the moon

If the fantasy of a snowball flying to the moon represents the innocence and hope of a child, James in the wheat field has a sense of redemption in the film's desperate and heavy tone. The golden fields of wheat are a stark contrast to the dirty canals and rubbish-strewn city streets, where James can run freely through them without suffering violence or pain. In this poetic scene, James steps through the window and jumps into the wheat field. And at the same time, the cheerful and melodious music brings the audience to the romantic world of the child. Here he fantasizes about having a new house built in a field, which is also James' hope. The Ratcatcher seems to set up a 'paradise' in which the hope of society is rediscovered in the children’s vision.

Figure 3: James in the wheat field

Sadly, at the end of the film, James is unable to cope with the growing pains in a society of inequality and despair, and he chooses to die. However, the scenes immediately following add some imaginative warmth as he and his family arrive in the wheat field carrying belongings with the smile on their face, where their new home has been built. But they are still framed beyond the window, which seems to suggest their isolation from real life. After this scene, there is still a grey scene in which James sinks into the dirty river. This is a combination of landscape and narrative; thus, the dialectic of illusion and disillusionment is carried out, from the good mess into the bad mess (Trotter, 2008). Moreover, this tragic ending seems to hint at the disillusionment of James’s hope, but some pauses in the scenes, such as the pauses in the shot as James sinks and the pause in the running through the wheat field, still give the audience a powerful sense of redemption.

Figure 4: James’s fantasy of moving to a new house

Figure 5: James sinks into the canal

In sum, Ratcatcher is a poetic realist film that places individual confusion and social trauma in the scenes of despair and sadness through the eyes of children. However, the film leaves room for hope and redemption for the children, preserving them between fantasies and camera pauses.

Words: 1013

Reference list:

Aitken, S. C. (2007). Poetic child realism: Scottish film and the construction of childhood. Scottish Geographical Journal, 123 (1), 68-86.

Higson, A. (1984). Space, Place, Spectacle. Screen25 (4/5), 2-21.

Larrea, C. (2016). Ratcatcher. Senses of Cinema, 80, 1–5.

Ramsay, L. (Screenwriter/ Director). (1999). Ratcatcher[Motion picture]. France: Pathé Pictures International

Trotter, D. (2008). Lynne Ramsay’s “Ratcatcher”: Towards a Theory of Haptic Narrative. Paragraph, 31(2), 138–158.

Williams, R. (1977). A Lecture on Realism. Screen18 (1), pp.61-74

这是一个容易在回忆里退色的夏日午后，东中街明晃的太阳下，脑中阴凉的潮水泛起。想起这部电影。 70年代的夏天，苏格兰的格拉斯哥。垃圾工人罢工，垃圾袋侵入了门前的领地与人们的生活。大人们忙碌生计，或许做着搬进新房的美梦。孩童在恶臭的池塘边混乱垃圾堆上玩耍。混混叼着香烟，嘴角弯起嘲弄的笑，近视的女孩乖从地褪去衣服。傻子幻想他的雪球白鼠能飞上月球，在那里愉快地繁衍生息。James 是一个掌扣在此般氛围中生长的孩子。对这一切有着似懂非懂的眼神和忧郁的天真。有对玩伴意外死亡的阴影。有与同一屋檐下父母姐妹的疏离。对傻孩子的友善。对安妮温暖的向往。偷拿了父亲口袋里的钱，搭上莫名其妙的公车，去探寻自己的小小出口——彼岸某地，窗外一望无际的麦田。远离肮脏污秽的城镇，远离病态阴郁的现实。