《涉外大饭店》

一.《涉外大饭店》――出人意料的成功

由约翰・麦登（John Madden，曾于1998年导演过极负盛名的《莎翁情史》）执导，玛吉・史密斯（Maggie Smith）、朱迪・丹奇（Judi Dench）、比尔・奈伊（Bill Nighy）、汤姆・威尔金森（Tom Wilkinson）主演的英国喜剧电影《涉外大饭店》（The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel）2012年上映后在英国与全球电影市场获得了出人意料的成功。影片讲述了一群各有各的问题的英国退休老人去印度旅游所遭遇的经历。他们在退休后为了要享受生活，决定去比较便宜的、充满神秘色彩的印度旅游度假。根据网上的广告，他们联系了一家刚刚修缮一新的大饭店，生活环境很舒适安逸。然而当他们到达住地的时候，却发现实际情况并非如广告所述……虽然新环境不如想象般的舒适美好，但是他们也因此有了一次别样的生活体验。

影片的制片布罗德本特（Graham Broadbent）和车尔宁（Peter Czernin）最初从英国作家麦格克（Deborah Moggach）的小说《这些愚蠢的事》（These Foolish

Things）中得到启发，决定投拍一部反映英国退休老人生活的喜剧电影，特别借用了外包退休生活的概念和养老方式。但是影片在寻求制片公司投资时遇到了困难，例如，英国著名电影公司Working Title Films认为影片的故事情节过于老套而拒绝投拍，因此该片是三家小公司联合投资的小众影片。

令人意想不到的是，影片在英国上映后获得意外成功，第一周票房即高达220万英镑，最终收获了3，100万美元的票房。美国的票房收入也超过了以前广受欢迎的《女王》（The Queen， 2006），达到6，900万美元。最终这部投资1，000万美元的小众喜剧片在全球获得1.37亿美元的票房收入，取得了引人注目的成功。

二.旅行、印度、老年危机、英国演员――成功背后的因素

这部影片的促成极大程度上是由于导演本身的“旅行情结”。在平时的工作中，麦登总是能将工作性质的出差和娱乐性质的旅行结合在一起，在陌生的环境中感受文化冲突与融合，发现不一样的故事。也正是这样的心态，才造就出了这部讲述旅行趣事的影片。

导演麦登将《涉外大饭店》外景地选在了印度的斋浦尔，而他之前的很多电影也把这里作为印度外景地。印度曾是大英帝国时期英国主要的殖民地，被u为皇冠上的明珠（Jewel on the Crown），其作为东方文明古国与现代英国的巨大文化差异常常成为英国小说、诗歌、电影等探索的主题，在一定程度上反映了英国人的殖民主义或后殖民主义的心理情结，也成为影片的卖点之一。

此外，英伦明星的风采在电影中也是一览无余。由朱迪・丹奇和玛吉・史密斯领衔，比尔・奈伊和汤姆・威尔金森搭档，再加上因《贫民窟的百万富翁》而成为银幕新宠的戴夫・帕特尔，整个剧组演员阵容堪称豪华。对于这一点，约翰・麦登说：“这一群BAFTA（英国电影和电视艺术学院奖）的最佳演员的确是我最大的财富，因为他们不仅有演技，而且拥有最宝贵的经验。他们明白在外国应该如何去拍片，知道如何去塑造一个角色，也明白该怎么与别人配戏。”

这些老戏骨所扮演的老年人物可谓各有千秋、珠联璧合。例如，朱迪・丹奇所扮演的新近丧夫并负债的家庭主妇伊夫林（Evelyn）性格独立而倔强，拒绝了儿子的抚养和关怀，来到印度度假养老，并在当地一家话务服务中心担任语言指导，从而找到了自己的价值。她在影片中的“日记”将影片不同人物的发展和插曲有机地串联起来。比尔・奈伊饰演的忠实的道格拉斯在与妻子共度39年之后终于忍受不了挑剔的妻子，让妻子一个人回英国，自己却留在了印度。玛吉・史密斯则饰演孤独而排外的老保姆一角。汤姆・威尔金森在影片中饰演了一位儿时在印度长大的退休高等法官的角色，他来印度养老度假的目的之一就是寻找少年时代的印度同性恋伙伴。这些各具特色的人物及其经历不仅仅是个人的问题，也反映了英国退休老人所面临的“老年危机”。

除了演员外，影片也有着超强实力的幕后团队：制片人格雷汉姆・布罗德本特、配乐托马斯・纽曼、摄影本・戴维斯，这样的实力班底也是影片成功的又一保障。正如导演麦登所说：“因为和才华横溢的人一起工作，我自己的创造力似乎也得到了提高。”

这些因素确保了《涉外大饭店》具有较强的文化性和娱乐性，使其获得了票房的成功以及较为正面的评价。烂番茄电影网站78%的影评给予该片正面评价，平均得分为6.6/10。该网站的综合评语为：“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel isn’t groundbreaking（开创性的）storytelling， but it’s a sweet story about the senior set（集合，一群人）featuring a top-notch（一流的）cast of veteran actors.”另外一家主要娱乐网站Metacritic则基于35篇影评给予该片62/100的评分。

《旧金山纪事报》（San Francisco Chronicle）影评人米克・拉塞尔（Mick LaSalle）认为《涉外大饭店》是“a rare reminder from movies that the grand emotions are not only for the young and the middle-aged”， 赞扬影片“too well made to be dismissed and contains too much truth to be scorned（轻视）.”《芝加哥太阳时报》（Chicago Sun-Times）著名影评人罗杰・易伯特（Roger Ebert）称赞该片为“a charming， funny and heartwarming movie [and] a smoothly crafted entertainment that makes good use of seven superb veterans（老演员）.”《今日美国》（USA Today）影评人柯劳迪亚・普易格（Claudia Puig）赞扬该片为“a refreshing， mature fairy tale with a top-notch ensemble cas（t全体演员）”。《滚石》杂志（Rolling Stone）影评人彼得・特拉沃斯（Peter Travers）高度评价了这群英国老戏骨精湛的演技：“with a lesser（较次的）cast， the movie would be a lineup（阵容）of TVmovie（电视电影）clichés（老套，老生常谈）. But this is a cast that never makes a false move even when the script settles for（无奈接受）formula（公式，配方）.”虽然也有一些负面评论，例如批评该片在对待印度时仍然流露出英国人的殖民主义和东方主义观点，但总体来说大多数评论是正面的。

三.故事情节

Recently widowed housewife Evelyn （Judi Dench） must sell her home to cover huge debts left by her late husband. Graham （Tom Wilkinson）， a high-court judge who had spent his first 18 years in India， abruptly（突然地）decides to retire and return there. Jean （Penelope Wilton） and Douglas （Bill Nighy） seek a retirement they can afford， having lost most of their savings through investing in their daughter’s internet business. Muriel （Maggie Smith）， a retired housekeeper prejudiced against Indians， needs a hip replacement operation（髋关节置换手术）which can be done far more quickly and inexpensively in India. Madge （Celia Imrie） is hunting for another husband， and Norman （Ronald Pickup）， an aging Lothario（登徒子，色狼）， is trying to recapture his youth. They each decide on a retirement hotel in India， based on pictures on its website.

When the group arrives at the picturesque hotel， they find an energetic young manager Sonny （Dev Patel） but a dilapidated（荒U的）facility， not yet what he had promised. Overwhelmed by the cultural changes， Jean often stays inside at the hotel， while her husband Douglas explores the sights（风景，名胜）. Graham finds that the area has greatly changed since his youth and disappears on long outings（短途旅游）every day. Muriel， despite her xenophobia（仇外，排外）， starts to appreciate her doctor for his skill and the hotel maid for her good service. Evelyn gets a job advising the staff of a call centre（呼叫中心，电话服务中心）on how to interact with older British customers. Sonny struggles to raise funds to renovate（更新，修复）the hotel and sees his girlfriend Sunaina （Tena Desae）， despite his mother’s disapproval. Madge joins the Viceroy Club（酒店俱乐部）seeking a spouse， where she is surprised to find Norman. She introduces him to Carol （Diana Hardcastle）. He admits he is lonely and seeking a companion， and the two begin an affair.

Graham confides in（向……吐露秘密）Evelyn that he is trying to find the Indian lover he was forced to abandon as a youth. Social-climber（攀高枝者，攀龙附凤者）Jean is attracted to Graham， and makes a rare excursion（短途旅行，远足）to follow him， but is humiliated when he explains he is gay. Graham reunites with his former lover， who is in an arranged marriage of mutual trust and respect. Reconciled（重归于好，和解）， the Englishman dies of an existing heart condition（心脏病）. Evelyn and Douglas grow increasingly close， angering（激怒）his wife， which results in an outburst（爆发）from Douglas denouncing（宣告废除）this marriage. Muriel reveals that she was once housekeeper to a family who had her train her younger replacement（替代者）and now， having been forced out of the home and into retirement， she feels that she has lost any purpose in her life.

Sonny’s more successful brothers each own a third of the hotel and plan to demolish（拆毁）it. His mother（Lillete Dubey） agrees and wants him to return to Delhi for an arranged marriage. Jean and Douglas prepare to return to England after money is found through their daughter’s company. Jean eagerly awaits returning to England， but Douglas is more hesitant. Now that the hotel is closing against Sonny’s wishes and pleas（恳求）， Madge prepares to return to England， and Norman agrees to move in with Carol. Madge， after encouragement from Carol and Muriel， decides to keep searching for another husband.

Sonny， encouraged by Evelyn， finally tells Sunaina that he loves her. He confronts his mother， who first forbids the match but then is persuaded by Young Wasim， who speaks no English. He explains that he once knew another man who wanted to marry a smart beautiful woman against his family’s wishes. Sonny’s mother interprets for Young Wasim， realizing he is talking about her， and she finally gives the couple her blessing. She asks Sunaina to take good care of her “favourite son”. Before the remaining guests can leave， Muriel reveals that her experience running the family’s household gave her the knowledge how to balance a budget and that the hotel can make a profit. She approaches Sonny’s investor privately and then invites him to visit the hotel to discuss matters with Sonny. The investor agrees to fund Sonny’s plans for renovation so long as Muriel stays on as an assistant manager.

All the guests agree to stay―except Jean and Douglas. Due to their daughter’s long-awaited（期待已久的）success， they decide to return home but on the way to the airport， their taxi gets caught in a traffic jam. A rickshaw（人力）driver says that he can take only one of them. Jean sees it as a sign that it is time to split with Douglas； she bids him farewell and departs. He winds up （以……告终）at another hotel， discovering that it’s nothing more than a brothel（妓院）and drug den（窝巢，贼窝）， and spends the rest of the night wandering the streets. He returns to the hotel just as Evelyn is leaving for work， and asks when she’ll be back. A closing montage （蒙太奇，剪辑）with a voiceover（画外音，画外解说）shows Muriel checking in customers in an elegant renovated lobby， Madge dining with a handsome older Indian man， and Norman and Carol living happily together. Sonny and Sunaina are shown riding a motorbike and passing Douglas and Evelyn on another bike.