夏末雜記 Parade's End

灩夏將盡，從剛開始一個人不知做什麼好到後來的自得其樂, 自由讓人嚴重上癮, 專心工作盡情享受, 週末睡到自然醒無需遷就丈夫和孩子的作息, 沈浸好書好電影美食世界… 同事們頻頻稱讚這些日子LK容光煥發, 可見對我這款名士派, 充實的精神生活便是美容良方:)  上週末欣賞了同名原作改編的Parade's End, 華麗憂傷, 為我的暑假劃下別緻的句點.

picture credit:  BBC

Summer is coming to an end and so is my temporary bachelorettehood.  I watched, cooked, read... relishing anything best enjoyed in solitude like there’s no tomorrow.  Yes, yes I caught up on all three seasons of Game of Thrones and decided that scheming violence, the explosion of testosterone, and the juxtaposition of King Arthur Medieval Europe with Sinbad the Sailor all too baffling(entertaining nevertheless).

Just when I thought I would be haunted by the brutality of the Red Wedding for a very long time, I came across the lush and profound Parade’s End; the stunning cast and its arresting acting diverted my attention from blood to brain in the sweeping five-part miniseries.

Parade's End佈局沈瀲柔緩, 幾個轉角卻又膽大心細埋伏波濤洶湧的爆點, 三角苦戀擔綱主角演繹精湛, Rebecca Hall的Sylvia開到荼蘼, 絕艷也絕望, 於烽火戰地旅館對丈夫訴衷曲的那場戲, 是男人都會跪倒輕吻她纖纖指尖.  Benedict Cumberbatch的Christopher Tietjens是座孤軍堅守的圍城, 攻防之間寸寸崩壞.  Adelaide Clemens的Valentine略顯失色, 但她清甜勇敢,  如淡金色的陽光輕輕驅散流言濃霧. 

picture credit:  BBC

Although set in the same era with the First World War as its backdrop, Parade’s End is both sober and solemn, creating an entirely different cinemascape from the perfumed Downton Abbey.  The miniseries adaptation of the book speaks the love triangle of the principled aristocrat Christopher Tietjens, his sadistic alluring wife Sylvia, and his salvation, the bright young suffragette Valentine in the midst of the New breaching the Old when everything that a person once firmly believed in starting to shatter:  where and how does one to even pick up? Class satire and military absurdity mix with a vengeance in this ravishingly romantic melange of the heart breaking and the broken hearted. 

前些日子迷Hannibal, 下廚儘挑紅肉挑戰刀功火候.  微熱的傍晚準備傾心Parade's End,  後院現摘的無花果佐生火腿則是良伴. 

公司Sample Sale大家爭購Le Creuset, Staub… 眼見日本設計巨匠柳宗理沒人識貨, 我暗自欣喜抱回兩只鑄鐵鍋.

Rebecca Hall’s portrayal of Sylvia is sumptuous and touching.  Her delivery of the character is so powerful(and lovable) that makes one wonder:  How did such a ecstatic romance stab itself to a bloody ruin? Benedict Cumberbatch’s Christopher Tietjens and Adelaide Clemens' Valentine too make a picture perfect blonde couple, however their connections is incongruent; the former too wounded and the later too innocent.  Could innocence really heal wounds?  All Sylvia ever wanted was for her cerebral husband to love her simply, as a man would desire a woman, not because she is the mother of his child, and not because she is his wife.  She has her eyes on him and him only.  Christopher carries the duty and honor of the entire world on his shoulders(not a wise conviction for a very intelligent man…)  He soldiers on while the rest of the society falls apart.  He finds comradeship in Valentine.  I only wish the trueness of love has little to do with the amount of sufferings. 

Nambu Tekki煎出來的豬排鮮嫩多汁,  我覺得修長手指輕撫木柄的古典steak knife性感如porn.

也到校友家的船塢學做封存水果留點夏日回憶.

I love the smile on Christopher's face when he recalled the 'glorious' moment.  The fervent chemistry between Cumberbatch and Hall makes me wonder:  If The Age of Innocence is ever to be adapted again, Cumberbatch and Hall would make an intriguing Newland Archer and Madame Olenska pair. 

picture credit:  BBC

這兩人站在ㄧ起風光絕妙, 忍不住想如果The Age of Innocence(純真年代)要重拍, Benedict Cumberbatch和Rebecca Hall會是極動人的Newland Archer和Madame Olenska(當年主演是Daniel-Day Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer) 

ps.  倦鳥思歸, 雖在臺北受萬千寵愛, 小V某次與我facetime後竟人小鬼大的宣佈: 想念媽咪, 是時候回美國了… 機場將孩子抱個滿懷, LK家的三人行, 比Tietjens幸福許多.

pps.  原來Parade's End影集名稱中文譯為'隊列之末'或'ㄧ戰往事', , 我可能會翻譯成'譽戀盡頭'(他的榮譽使命感, 她鬱結的苦戀... 都走向終極毀滅)? 翻譯還真是大學問 :)