化為六月息

-----【譯文初稿】-----

「雨季來臨前 ( 暫譯Before the Rains )」這部片，是印度籍導演桑多斯‧席萬(Santosh Sivan)所執導的第一部英語電影，故事背景設定於殖民時代充滿異國風情的印度，一位充滿理想的印度青年，在未來與過去之間擺盪、煎熬著。雖然電影所處的時空背景是在三零年代，但故事內容卻不受時間限制，觀眾能夠體會出其中的意涵來。導演席萬表示：「這部電影的故事情節主要在刻畫人性，人們偶爾會做出錯誤的選擇，或是遭遇困難的抉擇【shows 2】」。

由萊納斯‧羅徹 ( Linus Roache ) 所飾演的英國農場主人亨利‧莫爾斯 ( Henry Moores ) ，想要在南印度的一個城鎮，修築一條通往鄰近山陵的道路，好促進位於山陵地區的香料栽種事業。而由雷吾爾‧伯斯 ( Rahul Bose ) 所飾演的T.K.尼倫 ( T.K. Neelan )，則協助莫爾斯，兩人共同編織未來發財的美夢。但是莫爾斯與家中美麗的印度女傭薩佳妮 ( Sajani ) 之間，有著不倫之戀。在薩佳妮的丈夫雷傑特 ( Rajat ) ，在發現妻子的不忠行徑後，動手毆打她，不過薩佳妮並沒有透露她出軌的對象是誰。

導演席萬指出，印度村落對待犯有通姦行為婦女的方式，已經有了很大的改變。在過去，最常見的，就是公開進行羞辱或是趕離家園，如今這種方式已經不常見了。而在電影中，因為尼倫明白莫爾斯與薩佳妮不倫之戀的悲慘結局，這使得尼倫面臨兩難的窘境，究竟他該順從民族傳統，還是屈從於他未來的美夢呢？這部影片，就以兩個截然不同的文化作為背景，片中角色都試圖跨越兩種文化間的藩籬，而最終，他們都為自己的欲望所苦。

「雨季來臨前 ( 暫譯Before the Rains )」這部電影，在印度喀拉拉邦 ( Kerala )暮納市 ( Munnar ) 的一個偏遠地區進行拍攝，這裡曾被英國殖民統治過。導演席萬表示自己很喜歡這次的執導經驗，就好像從新體驗這裡人們的生活方式一樣。另外，他自己也很喜愛這種不同文化融合在一起的感覺。他說：「在經過五十年後，讓來自美國、英國等地各種不同的人聚集到這裡來，進行電影拍攝工作，非常的有趣。我們在這裡拍攝電影時，雖然說的都是英文，卻有相當多種的口音。能夠讓世界不同地區的人聚集在這裡一同工作，感覺很棒【shows 6】」。
 

電影「雨季來臨前 ( 暫譯Before the Rains )」於九月份在多倫多國際電影節中亮相後，也即將在南韓的釜山國際電影節上展出。

※ 正式定稿與影像：「新唐人電視台 ─ 娛樂新幹線」

※ The original article was taken from Reuters Website.  ( 原文取自路透社網站 )




-----【原文對照】-----

INTRO: Indian director makes English language debut with "Before the Rains". Acclaimed Indian director Santosh Sivan makes his English language debut with "Before the Rains," a story about a man torn between his loyalty ot the past and his ambitions. 



STORY:  Indian director Santosh Sivan(桑多斯‧席萬) makes his first English language debut, with "Before the Rains(雨季來臨前)," a multicultural story set in colonial India, in which an idealistic young Indian man finds himself torn between his future and his loyalty to his past. Sivan tells Reuters that while the film is set in the 1930s, the story is really a timeless story that people today can relate to."The story is a very human drama and sometimes people make wrong choices and it's also about people wanting to live in two worlds and having to make very hard choices."

British planter Henry Moores, played by Linus Roache, wants to build a road to the hills in a southern Indian town to commercially tap the spices grown there.  With the help of T.K. Neelan, played by Rahul Bose, the two set out on their dream of future riches. But Moores has an affair with his beautiful Indian housemaid, Sajani.  Sajani's husband Rajat beats her after finding out about the affair, but she will not reveal the identity of her lover.

Sivan says that Indian villages have come a long way in terms of how women who have committed adultery are treated.  While in the past, it may have been commonplace for women to be banished or humiliated in a public manner, today these practices are less common.  The tragic consequences of Moore and Sajani's illicit affair force T.K. to choose between his past and his commitment to his cultural legacy and his future, which he is building with a British colonialist.   The film is layered with symbols of the cultural divide, and while the characters fight to bridge the gap, they ultimately suffer for their attempts.

"Before the Rains" was filmed in a the remote region of Munnar, Kerala, which was inhabited by the British.  Sivan says he enjoyed the experience, which he says is "In a way it is like reliving how these people live, you know," Sivan says. The director adds that he enjoyed the multicultural feeling that embodied the set and extended beyond the script. "I also thought it was interesting that after 50 years you have all these different type of people coming here to make the film, from the U.S. from Britain, and all these people and us filming there.  And the English language is being spoken and us filming there, so many different accents – it was a very good feel to have so many different people from different parts of the world come together to make the film."

After opening at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, "Before the Rains" will be shown at the Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea.