鯰魚很驚奇

這部電影雖然被歸類在喜劇，但是跟我想像中的喜劇還真是不太一樣。
　
習慣好萊塢的敘事風格還有運鏡之後，看來自其他地方的電影都會覺得運鏡啦、色調啦、還有音樂跟音效很新奇。這個導演對於特寫的熱愛顯而易見，前段的電影裡換場之後幾乎都是大特寫，一隻手、幾片麥片、或者是背包拉鍊，還有一些要想一下才認得出來的東西。搭配上手持拍攝的畫面晃動，整個影片的氛圍相當的疲倦，我猜導演是在模仿上了一整天班昏昏欲睡的走回家的感受：不時的閃神發呆，回過神來發現自己正盯著自己的指尖不知道在看些什麼，走在路上覺得很慢很慢，看到招牌路標在心裡讀了一次或兩次卻沒有真的看進去，等回到家裡坐下回想在路上到底看到了什麼其實也說不太上來。
　
最近看的電影不知為什麼總是醫院成分甚高，可能是生老病死本來就佔了人生的太大部分吧。故事是在超市擔任推銷員的Claudia在灰暗的日常生活裡有一天因為盲腸炎進了醫院，並且在醫院認識了Martha一家人，意外走入了他們的生活。劇名用的典是遠洋沙丁魚船在載回漁獲時，如果在當中加入一條鯰魚，帶來的刺激會讓漁獲的生還率大增的故事，我在進電影院的時候沒有意識到這點，一路很膚淺的等著那尾神奇的鯰魚出現。
　
這部電影相當的奇妙，雖然說高低潮的分佈回想起來大致上還是有，但在看的時候是一貫的淡淡過去，每個人過去的故事明明複雜的要命，卻不只沒有演出倒敘的部分，還有點過份的在閒聊中用一句話帶過；畫面上除了大量運用特寫外，鏡頭也都偏長，於是演出更為吃重，也變得不那麼象徵性的只演到「這是吃飯」、「這是通勤」就帶過進到下一個階段，於是節奏上也就緩和許多。
　
所以我看完的第一個想法是「竟然不無聊？」，畢竟對我來說它湊齊了無聊的眾多要素：一時抓不明白主軸、節奏緩慢、長鏡頭、平淡生活。故事的氣氛轉折大多是很微妙的用畫面節奏和色調的改變跟一點點的隱喻(像是金魚啦)來帶過，激情的成分幾乎可以說沒有，在病痛的主題上可以灑的狗血也沒怎麼用到。
　
非常輕口味的一部電影，雖然寫了老半天我還是無法拋下「不然就寫一句『我看不懂』就好」的念頭，但撇開想找到電影的意義的強迫症的話，這其實是個滿溫馨的故事。
　
　
　
To be honest, I don’t understand why this movie is put under comedy genre. It’s very different from my notion of being comedic.
　
Maybe it’s because I am fed by too many Hollywood films, I start to think movies from other places are “new”: New way of cuts, different kinds of storytelling, and exotic taste of music. I believe the director is a close-up shot lover because he really uses them a lot: A hand, several pieces of cereal, zipper on her backpack, or something I cannot recognize immediately because it’s so magnified. With the unstable shot resembling hand-held filming, the atmosphere of the start of this movie is like what I experience when I take a bus back to my dorm after a whole day of work: Stay idle and stare at some meaningless thing, and walk slowly and read the billboards on the street without understanding what’s written on them.
　
The story is again about illness and life. The heroine Claudia was working at a supermarket as a salesperson and lived an obviously dim life. She had to stay in the hospital due to acute appendicitis, and she met Martha and her family there. Accidentally she bumped in there life.
　
Catfish is not starring in this film. The title is from the story that when fishing ships are shipping Sardine fish back to the harbor, the fishermen would put on catfish in, and this amazing catfish provides the stimulation to the herd of fish, and keeps more of them alive. I did not know this when I walked into the theater, so I waited for the catfish…
　
I find this movie special. It collects all the features that I believe guarantee boring: No easily visible theme, slow tempo, long shots, and a plain story of a rather ordinary life. But actually it’s not. The storytelling depended on the subtle change of the tempo of cutting and some metaphor. There was no preaching or scene that is designed on purpose to make you cry, but it’s a good story with this very very subtle and humble flavor.