国王与国家

ThelasttimeBritainwasamajorforceinworldcinemawasinthe1960s; adocumentaryofafewyearsbackonthesubjectwasentitled 'HollywoodUK .ThiswastheeraoftheKitchenSink, socialrealism, angryyoungmeaboveall, thetheatrical.Andyet,具有讽刺意味的是,thebestBritishfilmsofthedecadeweremadebytwoAmericans, RichardLesterandJosephLosey, wholargelystayedclearoftheperiod 'smoretypicalsubjectmatter,, likeallattemptsatgreaterrealism, nowseemscuriouslyarchaic。KingandCountry”不过,seemstobetheLoseyfilmthattriestobelongtoitsera.Like孩子们ookBackinAnger神经末梢'ATasteofHoney”、itisbasedonaplay andoftenseemscumbersomelytheatrical.Like 'Lonelinessofthelongdistancerunner’,itsheroisanexploited, reluctantlytransgressiveworkingclassladplayedbyTomCourtenay.Like (theadmittedlybrilliant) ChargeoftheLightBrigade, itisahorrified, nefarcical (thoughhumourless) lookatthehorrorsofwar mostparticularlyitsgapingclassinjustices.PrivateHampisayoungvolunteersoldieratPachendaele, havingservedthreeyearsatthefront whoiscourtmartialledfordesertion.Increasinglyterrorisedbytheinhumanpointlessnessoftrenchwarfare thespeedy,阴森可怖,violentdeathsofhiscomradesandthemedieval、ratinfestedconditionsofhistrench heclaimstohaveemergeddazedfromonegruesomeattackanddecidedtowalkhome, toEngland.HeisdefendedbythearchetypalBritishofficer, CaptainHargreaves, whoprofessesdisdainfortheman 'scowardice, butmustdohisduty。Heattemptstospinadefenceonthegroundsofmadness, buttheupper crustofficershavehearditallbefore。Thisisaverynice、dulyhorrifying liberalhandwringing, classplay中间。ItpanderstoalltheclichesoftheGreatWar thedisgracefulworkingclassmassacre whiletheofficerssupwhiskey(黑格!)figuredinsomecharminglyobvioussymbolism: Hargreavesthrowingadyingcigaretteinthemud; Hamphystericallyplayingblindman 'sbuff.Thesetsarepicturesquelygrim,中世纪,amoderninferno, asthesemenlietrappedinaneverending, subterraneanlabyrinth, litbyhellishfires withratsforcompanyandtheconstantsoundofshellsandgunfireremindingthemoftheoutsideworld。Theplay, inaverymiddleclassway、isnotreallyabouttheworkingclassatallHampismoreofasymbol anessence, lyinginthedark、desolatelyplayinghisharmonica anoteofhumanityinascoreofinhumanity.Hedoesn 'tdevelopasacharacter.TheplayisreallyaboutHargreaves, hisrealisationoftheshabbyinadequacyofnotionslikeduty.Hedevelops.Thisrealisationsendshimtodrink (tastierthandying !) .Likehisprolesubordinates hefallsinthemud, justasHampissaidtohavedone; heevensaystohissuperior 'Weareallmurderers .Thisisallveryeffective, ifnotmuchofadevelopmentofRCSherriff”screaky 'Journey 'sEnd’,filmedbyJamesWhalein1930.Itsearnestnessandverbositymayseemalittlestiltedintheageof 'PathsofGlory神经末梢'Dr.Strangelove”;wemayfeelthat 'Blackaddergoesforth 'isatruerrepresentationoftheGreatWar.ButwhatIhavedescribedisnotthefilmLoseyhasmade.Heistoosophisticatedandcannyanintellectualforthat.ThefilmopenswithalingeringpanoveroneofthosemonumentalWarmemorialsyouseealloverBritain (andpresumablyEurope) asiftosayLoseyisgoingtoquestionthereceivedideasofthisstatue, thehumancost.Butwhathe 'sreallyquestioningisthisplay、anditswoefulinadequacytorepresentthemanifoldcomplexitiesoftheWar.ThisisBrechtianfilmmakingatitsmostsubtle.Weareconstantlymadeawareoftheartificeofthefilm thetheatricalthestilteddialogueisspokenwithdeliberatestiffness; theatricalritualsareemphasised (theinitialinterrogation; thecourtscene whereactorsliterallytreadtheboards, enunciatingthepredictablespeeches; themirrorplayputonbythehystericalsoldiersandtherats; thereligiousceremony thehorriblefarceoftheexecution) .Prosceniumarchesaremadeprominent audiencesobserveevents.Thisisaplaythatwouldseektocontain,人性化,explaintheGreatWar.Thisisahopelesstask, asLosey 'sprovisionalapparatusexplains,“真正的'photographsofharrowingdetritusfadingfromthescreenasifeventhesearenotenoughtoconveytheWar, nevermindawellmade, bourgeoisplay。一丁点它们'svisionmaybeapocalypticitquestionsthepossibilityofrepresentationatallthevarioustagsofpoetryquotedmakenoimpactonhardmenmenwhorattledthemoffwhenyoung; theShakespeareandualityof 'noble 'dramacommentedonby 'low 'comedy、effectsnotranscendence nogreaterinsight.Losey 'scameraworkandcompositionrepeatedlybreaksourinvolvementwiththedrama, anywishwemighthaveformanlysentimentality; inoneremarkablesceneanofficertakesanAubreyBeardsleybookfromthecameraman ! Thisideaofthetheatricalevidentlymirrorstherigidclass 'roles 'playedbythemaincharacters (Hamp 'sfatherandgrandfatherwerecobblerstoo; presumablyHargreaves 'werealwaysSandhurstcadets) .Loseyalsotakesasideswipeatthekitchensinkproject byusingitstoolshistoryhasbornehimout。