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Gran Torino
2009/02/20 15:02:57瀏覽939|回應8|推薦24


這禮拜兩個孩子放寒假,於是我也請了兩天假。北橋妻還要上班,我便自己帶他們吃飯看電影去。(本來想打保齡球去的,但大兒前幾天打籃球磨破了腳底,只好做靜態活動)。

近幾日暖和起來,不似新英格蘭二月的天氣。我們先去 Olive Garden 吃中飯;這家意大利餐廳的 Pasta 10塊美金不到,但新鮮可口,頗為實惠,人氣一向興旺。我點了 Linguine alla Marinara,是素的細麵,只有番茄、香菜、些許洋蔥,沒有肉。在熱番茄的香氣和洋人環繞之中我和孩子練習中文會話,他們的程度令我驚喜(當然也因為我的期望很低啦);本以為他們遜透了,想不到竟然還是可造之材。愈來愈喜歡這樣簡單的休假,像那盤素麵一樣,不需複雜的計劃、不需長途跋涉,就是放慢步調,享受簡單的樂趣。

吃飽了,去看一點鐘的電影,是克林伊斯威特自導自演的 "Gran Torino." 禮拜四一點鐘的電影,又便宜又沒什麼人,可以挑最好的座位。片子是 R 級的,小兒不滿14歲,我本來有點猶豫。但是他不想看粉紅豹第二集,我對克大俠的片子又極有信心,就決定了。

片子開始有點悶,但味道漸漸燉出來,有些對話讓人絕倒,我笑得快從椅子上掉下來,孩子也看得饒有興味。當然這不是笑片;克大俠愈老功力愈爐火純青,劇情一步步收攏,感情由淡轉濃。到了片尾,我默然無聲,若不是兩個兒子在旁,或許已經熱淚縱橫。

好友普希金介紹過這部片子,我就不贅言。如果你喜歡克大俠的 Unforgiven, 那麼一定不可錯過 Gran Torino. 這兩部片子
雖設定於不同的情境,基本主題則相當接近,皆是鐵血柔情的俠客電影,有弱者、有欺凌壓榨弱者的人渣、有強者;有善惡,有抉擇,有犧牲,有救贖。兩片的拍攝手法也都類似舞臺劇,人物簡單,張力十足。

我欣賞片中主角華特(Walt)教訓教區年輕神父的話:學歷過高不諳人事的嫩雞,喜歡握著迷信老太太的手講永生的應許,有什麼資格談生死之道?
(Quote: "I think you're an over-educated 27-year-old virgin who likes to hold the hands of superstitious old ladies and promise them everlasting life.") 這句話用來提醒今天的基督徒(包括我和孩子在內)和從神學院講堂畢業的傳道人也是極為恰當的。復活節快到了,我覺得基督徒 - 包括心智較成熟的青少年 - 都該去看看這片子。

這片子提醒我:個人信仰生活的真正危機只有一樣:虛浮。教會的危機向來只有一樣,也是虛浮。因為虛浮,我們熱切尋找進天堂的公式,對人類的處境卻僅有膚淺的體會,所以很難真正懂得耶穌受難的意義,尤其不懂“人為朋友捨命,人間的愛沒有比這個更大的了(約翰福音15:13)”這句經文,因為我們完全在狀況外。這情況在富裕郊區的中產階級教會更是明顯。我不是說信徒要主動尋求極端的情境(比如把家搬到犯罪率高、幫派猖獗的地區,我就做不到 - 最好有明確的呼召才做這種事,以免後來怨天尤人),但是擴大心胸、少點教條、多點同情,深入一點了解別人的處境,應該是可以努力的。

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引用網址:https://classic-blog.udn.com/article/trackback.jsp?uid=northbridge&aid=2667530

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寄居者
等級:8
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謝謝北橋客的回應
2009/02/22 14:49
Let's not put the missionaries on the pedestal. ^_^

I live and work with missionaries. They are not different than non-missionary Christians.  They have good times and they have bad times.  Yes, they make sacrifices.  But they sin, too, just as any ordinary Christian.  And sometimes they commit really bad sins, sins that churches usually don't want to talk about. 

No work, not even sacrificical work, earns us any favor before the Lord.  We are justified by faith, and by faith only.  The missionary work does not grant a person a higher status than his/her fellow Christians.

The Chruch is One Body with many parts, The Body of Christ.  Each part does its work and supports one another.  Bible scholars, theologians, seminary professors ... and missionaries are all parts of The Body and they are all important to The Body.

羅馬書 12:4-8

正如我們一個身子上有好些肢體,肢體也不都是一樣的用處。

我們這許多人,在基督裡成為一身,互相聯絡作肢體,也是如此。

按我們所得的恩賜,各有不同。

或說預言,就當照著信心的程度說預言,或作執事,就當專一執事;或作教導的,就當專一教導;或作勸化的,就當專一勸化;

施捨的,就當誠實;治理的,就當殷勤;憐憫人的,就當甘心。

北橋客(northbridge) 於 2009-02-22 21:50 回覆:
>> No work,not even sacrificical work, earns us any favor before the Lord.  We are justified by faith, and by faith only.  The missionary work does not grant a person a higher status than his/her fellow Christians.

Justification and favor are two very different things. I do not believe our Lord view a hardworking missionary (granted equally equipped with human flaws) and an empty talking-head the same way. The very person who wrote the books of Romans and Galatians is the same one who labored the most.

普希金 酷不停囉
等級:7
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電影
2009/02/22 13:08
一些好片子的影像  像一本好書  會陪你一輩子  


雪人娘
等級:8
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不真實
2009/02/22 13:02

克先生的螢幕形象很樣板,不像真人。我不喜歡他演劇情片,尤其是他擔綱的,"英雄老矣",讓人很沒安全感!

不過北橋客介紹的,一定有水準,我要去看看這部片子,借DVD回家看。

北橋客(northbridge) 於 2009-02-22 21:33 回覆:
您記得麥迪遜之橋(The Bridges of Madison County)?老牛仔有時也很溫柔蘊藉的。


behappy
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我喜歡你最後的一句話
2009/02/22 06:43
如果能做到,我相信會有更多人接近基督教.

寄居者
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把家搬到犯罪率高、幫派猖獗的地區
2009/02/21 19:19

還真的認識這樣一位宣教士,一家人從矽谷的 Suburb,特意搬到 Boston 的 Downtown ,孩子上 Public School,就為了對那裏的人傳福音。

是的,一定要有主的呼召才行。

有機會希望能看這部電影,謝謝介紹。

北橋客(northbridge) 於 2009-02-21 23:00 回覆:
我也認識一對夫婦(他們不認識我),從波士頓到泰北做宣教士已經超過十年了,現在仍在那裡。他們在異域胼手胝足,蓋房子辦學校、教導孩子、安慰困苦流離的人,與政府、毒梟、土匪、蚊蟲、酷熱周旋,每年為上百人在河裡受洗。認識這種宣教士,再回頭看看自己,看看袖手高談神學心腸冷漠的蛋頭,對我的震撼是很大的。

B
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謝謝介紹,恰巧剛看過這預告片,會找時間去見識此片。。。
2009/02/21 17:04
不知道您看過Clint Eastwood(導兼演)Million Dollar Baby沒有?

此片給B的感觸極深。。。看後對片中故事的結尾深感憤怒與不滿,但幾天後卻感覺:人生不就該好好的“曾經”活過,其餘的還需要爭什麼?

旅人世界 & B's 心眼 -
遊賞世間美的人、事、物...究境一探,是否真的"物以類聚"?
北橋客(northbridge) 於 2009-02-21 22:44 回覆:
看過,感覺挺難過的。有些片子讓我不忍回顧,這是其中之一。

Apple *
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Open Minded
2009/02/21 05:04
I don't think you were rude.  You just expressed your opinion about a novel, about an author. I have read quite a few books written by Dan Brown. I found them quite entertaining, even though I did not learn anything from them.
 
I feel free to disagree with other bloggers. Maybe it's a mistake. But, hey, if I agree with every body all the time, Apple would not exist.
 
Apple
 
PS. I still think Ron Howard is a good director and Tom Hanks is a good actor. I just prefer Eastwood sometimes, my bias.
 
北橋客(northbridge) 於 2009-02-21 12:22 回覆:
I appreciate your openness and understanding.

Apple *
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Science & Religion
2009/02/20 19:48
Science & Religion
 
談到宗教, 我是無知. 但是有本小說談到科學和宗教的衝突, 倒是很有意思.
 
"Angels & Demons" by Dan Brown.
 
不知你看過沒有? 老克年紀大了. 否則由他演 Dan Brown's Novel 系列的主角一定很棒. I prefer Eastwood to Hanks.
 
Apple
 
北橋客(northbridge) 於 2009-02-21 00:43 回覆:
Hi Apple,
You have put me in a to-answer-or-not-to situation. I'd like to answer, but am afraid of sounding rude. So let me give it a try and pray that you trust my sincerity.

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown. Yes, how funny, I did read that one and that experience saved me from reading anything further from that author. I picked it up on an airport to kill time; I've always felt lonely in an airport and loneliness tempts people do stupid things from time to time. That kind of book is about fantasy. Science however is about systematic logical reasoning, and religion is about sincerity in understanding and facing human conditions. Brown's book has little to do with either. It's OK to have harmless pastimes (such as martial arts or Scifi novels), as long as we do not confuse them with more genuine quests for truth (that is, assuming one is interested in such quests at all).

Eastwood is too much for Dan Brown's kind to handle, I think.