- 下含內容 -
《潛行凶間》像條密集的壽司帶，不斷向觀眾輸送琳琅滿目的情節：國際集團的情報設局、扭曲現實的潛夢技術、人物關係的幾線發展、中場生出的枝節、多層次的意識及潛意識..... 觀眾被影像佈局雷到的同時也追看得過癮，怪不得電影在各地大賣。正如方俊傑在壹周刊的影評說：「情況似〔導演〕Christopher Nolan同時間跟不同對手捉緊鬥獸棋、飛行棋、象棋、鬥地主，全贏。」方俊傑更認為Inception的票房，是電影人以觀眾無腦口味窄為藉口而繼續拍其通俗電影的最好反證。
同意得不能再同意。
問題是，Nolan餵來的是甚麼樣的壽司？電影裡到底發生甚麼事了？
讓我從一個故事最基本的素材 ——主題—— 講起，看看能不能拆開導演歷盡十年精心設計的局。
電影裡一再提到的主題，由「催醒曲」 Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien ，到不斷重複的 "leap of faith", "become an old man, filled with regret, waiting to die alone"等，顯然就是「悔咎」。悔咎錯過的時光，悔咎昔日放棄了的路，悔咎恨錯難返... 電影用了兩段關係——Cobb和他逝去的妻子Mal、及Fischer和他失望的老爹——深入探討了這個主題。Fischer的父親讓我想起《大國民》Kane 在垂死的病榻上憶述往事（事實上，電影裡的 "totem"/「圖騰」讓人聯想到那著名的 "rose bud"，兩者皆是某人與過去一段生活或人性的物質聯繫）。Cobb和他妻子的關係則有點似《無痛失戀》—— 男主角無法維繫一段感情唯有忍痛放手，卻漸漸被內咎與悔恨折騰至近跡瘋狂。
記得在電影院看戲時，我曾抽離的想：這些關係是撲朔迷離，不過有後面咁多層意識槍戰追住，好難投入啫。所以後來我看了New York Times這篇不甚客氣的影評，發覺影評人也有同感。這個權威的影評人總結說：「"Inception"雖然目不暇給，並無真正的視野。Mr. Nolan對大腦運作的想法太表面、太有邏輯、太規矩了，容不了全面的瘋狂—— 真正混亂、癲狂、模糊無以名狀的危機——這才是題目所要求的。」
不過，上網看多幾篇結局解構以後，我便從對上面的看法有同感變作完全不同意了。（所謂的 inception?）
甚麼令我改變主意呢？這就要講講電影的兩個解讀法：正面的解讀和反面的解讀。
- 下含結局！ -
正面的解讀就是電影明講的那個故事：Cobb，潛意識竊密大賊（嘩好土的名目！），接到柯打要進入一個工業巨人第二代的潛意識裡植入一個想法，報酬是可以解掉通輯令，回國返到兒女的身邊。可是在辦案的過程中，Cobb不斷被自己的潛意識裡，對死去妻子的咎歉所打亂。
正面的解讀在一般荷里活的間諜電影裡並不罕見。反面的解讀可是完完全全扭轉了故事。
反面的解讀是電影暗啞底無講的故事：假設Cobb的妻子Mal，從高樓跳了下去，才是兩人中在「現實生活」中醒來的那一個。她醒來後很可能會潛入仍然昏迷的Cobb的無盡夢境裡，試圖勸服他放棄他多層的夢境，"take a leap of faith"真正醒過來。
因為電影一直從Cobb的角度述事，反面的解讀在看的電影時候並不明顯。Cobb對妻子的死深感自責，所以在他的潛意識裡她是來壞事的（"Mal"在西班牙文有「邪惡」之意），她自以為自殺的選擇是對的，不理Cobb想在他認定的現實中回家照顧孩子，反而不斷說服Cobb隨她自殺以真正醒過來。
這個就是Inception第二個、較暗晦但更為重要的主題：我們生命裡有意識無識選擇的任何一個簡單念頭，經過一段時間都可以成為我們心目中的「現實」。當這些念頭把我們導向不同的支路，偏離了我們和生命裡重要的人一起編寫的「共同現實」或「共同夢境」，我們便不得不落入要選擇其中一個「現實」的兩難。換句話說，電影裡的「夢境」其實在比喻我們用腦袋在腦裡建構的種種「現實」。電影的構造本身就似對白常常提到的「悖論」：向前睇又得、調轉頭睇又得；壽司輸送帶可以流向你也可以從你面前溜走；就像下面那幅幻覺圖：你話佢 (或Mal) 係善良美少女又得、邪惡老巫婆又得；儘管你知道在邏輯上，兩者並不可能並存。
推薦一個網站：My Causeway Bay (http://www.mycausewaybay.com/)
網站的作者拿起相機，以部錄形式記述他/她眼中銅鑼灣的「兩極」、「平衡」和「善變」（見About Me）。每篇的資料都很詳盡，文筆清順，角度也很新鮮，更難得嘅係一幅幅實地拍的相片；好玩的是以地鐵站出口來分類文章。香港變得好快，用這種方記錄可以從側面看到它的發展。唔，如果全港十八區區區都有一個這樣的部錄就好了。
By Sinead O'Connor
OK, I want to talk about Ireland
Specifically I want to talk about the famine
About the fact that there never really was one
There was no famine
See Irish people were only allowed to eat potatoes
All of the other food
Meat fish vegetables
Were shipped out of the country under armed guard
To England while the Irish people starved
And then on the middle of all this
They gave us money not to teach our children Irish
And so we lost our history
And this is what I think is still hurting me
See we're like a child that's been battered
Has to drive itself out of it's head because it's frightened
Still feels all the painful feelings
But they lose contact with the memory
And this leads to massive self - destruction
Alcoholism, drug adiction
All desperate attempts at running
And in it's worst form
Becomes actual killing
And if there ever is gonna be healing
There has to be remembering
And then grieving
So that there then can be forgiving
There has to be knowledge and understanding
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from
An American army regulation Says you mustn't kill more than 10% of a nation
'Cos to do so causes permanent psychological damage
It's not permanent but they didn't know that
Anyway during the supposed famine
We lost a lot more than 10% of our nation
Through deaths on land or on ships of emigration
But what finally broke us was not starvation
But it's use in the controlling of our education
Schools go on about Black 47
On and on about The terrible famine
But what they don't say is in truth
There really never was one
(Excuse me)
All the lonely people
(I'm sorry, excuse me)
Where do they all come from
(that I can tell you in one word)
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong
So let's take a look shall we
The highest statistics of child abuse in the EEC
And we say we're a Christian country
But we've lost contact with our history
See we used to worship God as a mother
We're sufferin from post traumatic stress disorder
Look at all our old men in the pubs
Look at all our young people on drugs
We used to worship God as a mother
Now look at what we're doing to each other
We've even made killers of ourselves
The most child - like trusting people in the Universe
And this is what's wrong with us
Our history books the parent figures lied to us
I see the Irish
As a race like a child
That got itself basned in the face
And if there ever is gonna be healing
There has to be remembering
And then grieving
So that there then can be forgiving
There has to be knowledge and understanding
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from
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