西雅圖：中國人眼裏的浪漫之都

　　9月24日口譯文章：從片子元素看美國的西雅圖：中國人眼裏的浪漫之都

　　一提起美國的都會，很少有中國人會起首想到西雅圖。實在，許多中國人大概根天職不清華盛頓州和華盛頓特區的差別。

　　兩部浪漫笑劇無疑塑造了西雅圖在中國"大眾,"內心的形象。是以，可以絕不誇大地說，西雅圖被國人視為美國浪漫之都，有幾分相似天下對巴黎的意見。

　　在諾拉·艾芙倫1993年執導的熱點片子《西雅圖夜未眠》中，山姆(湯姆·漢克斯飾)在老婆離世後帶著年幼的兒子從芝加哥搬到西雅圖，追求一個新生存的開端。影片將這座美國寧靖洋西北地域最大的都會塑造成為了一個放蕩任氣的藝術家和計劃師的聚居的地方，而非高樓林立之都。其時大概並未給中國觀眾留下甚麽印象。

　　比來上映的小說改編影片《五十度灰》大概轉變了人們對西雅圖的熟悉。這部影片取景地大部門在西雅圖，包括許多航拍、低俗的炫富和性虐的元素。

　　《西雅圖夜未眠》敘事設定很中式：山姆和安妮(梅格·瑞恩飾)在素未碰面的情形下就相愛了。試想那些接收經辦婚姻的中國伉儷，在新婚之夜前都沒有會晤的權力。這部影片有大概給他們帶來了一線願望和鼓動。

　　相較之下，中國影片《北京趕上西雅圖》(Finding Mr. Right)則極具好萊塢戲劇的作風。這部2013年的票房黑馬采取了異性相吸的故事計謀：男主與女主相遇卻沒有走到一路，然則咱們曉得他們終極必定會在一路，由於咱們早已習氣了這類題材。

　　與《西雅圖夜未眠》同樣，這部影片中的男女主角並不是初涉戀愛的年青人。吳秀波飾演的弗蘭克(Frank)同山姆同樣，帶著一個跟前妻生的孩子;不外湯唯扮演的佳佳和安妮的閱歷完整分歧。她是個拜金女，來到西雅圖是為了給已婚的富豪男朋友生子。孩子的父親是爆發戶的意味，並未在影片中露面。他奢華的室廬與西雅圖中產階層的居處構成光鮮的比較。

　　因為預算緣故原由，影片其實是在溫哥華拍攝的。而這部在中國的票房收入到達5億元國民幣(合7800萬美元)的影片的通用英文題目也完整沒有表現出這部影片會有多麽的告白效應。

　　《北京趕上西雅圖》的故事配景重要設定在西雅圖，美國入境處官員向女主角揮手、答應她入境的情節鑒戒了艾芙倫執導的影片的經典橋段，也是對《西雅圖不眠夜》的又一處致敬。

　　這部影片的編劇兼導演薛曉路也是一位女性。但該片並不是那部1993年經典片子的重制或續集，然則影片將末了一幕場景設在紐約的帝國大廈，險些是對經典最原汁原味的致敬。假如我是西雅圖的市長，我必定會說服薛曉路將末了的拍攝園地改到太空針塔，那末這座都會的真愛磁鐵之名就會加倍牢固了。

　　大概大可沒必要如許做。據報導，影片上映後前去西雅圖的中國旅客數目激增。而來歲《北京趕上西雅圖2》行將上映，這股熱忱近期不太大概消退。

　　【參考譯文】

　　Seattleis rarely the first US city that comes to Chinese minds. In fact, few people could probably tell Washington state from Washington DC.

　　Two romantic comedy films have irrevocably shaped the image of Xiyatu, as the city is known in Mandarin, among the Chinese public, and as a result it would not be a stretch to say Seattle is seen as the American capital of romance, somewhat akin to how the world perceives Paris.

　　In Sleepless in Seattle, Nora Ephron's 1993 runaway hit, Tom Hanks' character, Sam, moves with his young son from Chicago to Seattle for a fresh start after the death of his wife. The movie portrays the largest city in the Pacific Northwest not as a canyon of high-rises, but as a bohemian enclave of artists and designers, which possibly did not impress Chinese at the time.

　　This image may have been altered recently by the screen adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey, which is largely set in the Seattle area and includes frequent aerial shots and the less-than-tasteful flaunting of wealth and kinky sex.

　　The narrative setup in Sleepless is almost Chinese to the core: Sam and Annie, played by Meg Ryan, fall in love before actually meeting each other in the flesh. Imagine all those Chinese couples in arranged marriages who were denied the right to face-to-face encounters before their wedding night. This story could have been their silver lining and inspiration.

　　By contrast, the Chinese movie Finding Mr. Right- the title in Mandarin translates as Beijing Meets Seattle - is very Hollywood in its dramatic arc. The 2013 sleeper hit employs the opposites-attract strategy: Boy meets girl and nothing works out, but we know they'll end up together because we've been conditioned by the genre.

　　Like with Sleepless, the boy and girl in this story are no youngsters in puppy love. Frank, played by Wu Xiubo, is similar to Sam in that he has a child from a previous marriage, but Tang Wei's Jiajia has nothing in common with Annie. She is a gold digger who is in Seattle to give birth to a child by her wealthy, married boyfriend. The father, who remains unseen, is a symbol of the nouveau riche, whose opulent residence stands in sharp contrast to middle-class living in the Emerald City.

　　For financial reasons, the movie was actually shot in Vancouver, while the generic English title does not even hint at the promotional power of a movie that made 500 million yuan ($78 million) at the box office in China.

　　The movie Finding Mr. Right is predominantly set in Seattle and even references Ephron's classic when the female protagonist is questioned by a US immigration officer who waves her in as another Sleepless pilgrim.

　　The movie, also written and directed by a woman, is neither a remake nor a sequel to the 1993 classic, but it pays almost slavish homage by setting the final scene in New York's Empire State Building. If I were the mayor of Seattle, I would have persuaded director Xue Xiaolu to change the location to the Space Needle, which would have cemented the city's reputation as a magnet for true love.

　　It may not have been necessary anyway. There was reportedly a spike in the number of Chinese tourists in Seattle after the movie was released, and that enthusiasm is unlikely to abate anytime soon, with a sequel on the way next year.