拜拜笨蛋

这种荒诞讽刺喜剧在 90 年代至千禧年代一度盛行，现在竟然还能看到有点出乎意料，更意外的是这部影片在去年法国凯撒奖上一举囊括最佳影片在内的六项大奖，简直让人啧啧称奇。凯撒奖堪称法国电影界的奥斯卡奖，影片横扫凯撒奖倒是证明了法国人对喜剧矢志不渝的偏爱，更难得的是导演在这部喜剧里不忘针砭社会现实，更借此大吐中年人的苦水。一个身患绝症的理发师决定去寻找她少女时期怀孕后放弃养育的孩子。她与一个厌倦了自杀的官僚相遇后，官僚与一个失明的档案管理员一起加入了她的探索。影片笑点集中在角色的性格特征和谐音双关语的台词梗（似乎是法国喜剧的传统特色），而忽略逻辑、脑洞大开的疯癫情节有点不合时宜了。不过，情节针砭的社会现实倒是很贴近时代，从未婚生子到职场年龄歧视，再到官僚主义盛行，尖锐得让人难以忽视。

▲导演兼男主角艾尔贝·杜邦泰尔

实则上是围绕中年危机衍生出一系列的戏剧矛盾，男主角因人到中年被辞退后想一死了之；单身女主角患上绝症后，回首当年的疯狂情事，想找回当年弃养的儿子。这显然都是中年人在高速发展的社会里所面临的尴尬遭遇，不论在职业还是情感上都陷入了困境。如果说后半段情节里渐渐流露出浪漫爱情色彩（电梯里的一幕尤为明显）算是导演为照顾观众而做出的让步，那么突兀的结尾似乎才是导演真正的底色。阿尔贝·杜邦泰尔这位演而优则导的创作者早在 90 年代就以夸张疯狂的导演风格而令人侧目，而他扮演过的角色同样莫过于此，比如像《运钞车》里那个丧子的父亲，憋屈不满而怒火中烧，最终转向极端的诉求方式来报复社会。这部影片同样如此，主角并不是走投无路，而是无法苟同种种混乱、充满歧视的秩序和制度，选择凛然赴死。与其说这是男女主角对社会规章制度的蔑视，倒不如说导演故意颠覆了观众对此类型的期待，让人捧腹大笑之余，却不忘把你拉回到黯淡无望的现实世界。创作者为追赶时代潮流而付出的努力令人心酸而无可奈何，尤其是当男主角与导演两者身份合二为一时，这种意味更为突出。

Juxtaposing his endeavor both in front of and behind the camera, French triple-threat Albert Dupontel (actor, screenwriter and director) has steadfastly established himself as a prominent practitioner in the French cinema, his two recent films, SEE YOU UP THERE (2017) and BYE BYE MORONS (2020), his sixth and seventh feature, are both multiple recipients of the César Awards.SEE YOU UP THERE is a phantasmagoric adaptation of Pierre Lemaitre’s Prix Goncourt winning novel “The Great Swindle”, the story mostly takes place during the interwar period. Albert Maillard (Dupontel) and Edouard Péricourt (Pérez Biscayart) both survive WWI on the frontline but at great cost, the former loses his job, his girlfriend and the latter his jaw and his entire identity, while the evil Lieutenant Pradelle (Lafitte, who steals every and each single scene with a delectable vileness and still vibes a soupçon of dangerous charisma that both terrorizes and fascinates us), the scourge of their loss, lines his pocket with the dodgy cemetery business, and manages to marry Edouard’s sister Madeleine (Dequenne).A disfigured Edouard hides himself behind the exquisite masks he fashions (which include pastiches of Picasso and Duchamp and a final stunner of a feathery blue bird, a homage to Judex for shizzle!) and is presumed dead insofar as the rest of the world is concerned. Together with Albert and Louise (Balster), a young girl who acts as a magical translator of his inarticulate utterance, Edouard covertly devises a monumental scam to exact revenge on the unjust world, personified by his father Marcel (Arestrup, magisterially typecast as a dour paterfamilias), a filthy rich banker.SEE YOU UP THERE is, more than anything, a reverberant slap on the face of militarism, warmongering and the patriarchal Establishment. Edouard wastes all his life rebelling against his distant, uncaring father, the fount of all his suffering and misery, all mounts to a reunion that culminates with a tearful Marcel finally embracing his long-lost son, a sentimentally powerful moment, only to be trounced by Edouard’s final leap of rebellion, a beatific farewell and a thoroughgoing rebuff to that belated paternal remorse and elation, Marcel doesn’t deserve salvation and Edouard utilizes himself as a final blow to ascertain that doesn’t happen. Plus, by arranging Albert as the film’s narrator and POV, the film evokes a strong Proustian sensibility in its seriocomic vein.

BYE BYE MORONS is an original story concocted by Dupontel and co., in which he imagineers a screwball-y comedy about desperate outsiders of the modern society. Suze Trappet (Efira) is a hairdresser whose days are numbered due to a terminal disease, so her exigent mission is to locate the son she was press-ganged to give up when she was merely a teenager. Jean-Baptiste Cuchas (Dupontel) is a senior technology geek who gets the short stick in the company and becomes world-weary. After his suicidal plan goes awry, he, Suze and Serge Blin (Marié), a blind archivist, embarks on an adventure to fulfill Suze’s wish.Unlike the earthy, muted palette of “les années folles”, superlatively rendered in SEE YOU UP THERE, here Dupontel the director wields his wand and creates an over-saturated microcosm that is perpetually bathed in orange light and a slightly futuristic touch.The film, according to Dupontel, is a tribute to the Monty Python troupe, in particular, to Terry Jones, who passed away in 2020, and his fellow Python member Terry Gilliam also contributes to a funny cameo as a hunter in a commercial. But, the Pythons anarchic humor is lost in translation on the Gallic soil, what Dupontel and his co-scribes contrive to hammer out is a familiar trajectory of dissecting the society’s malaise (although the flak leveling at the corporate impersonality is too mild to pack a punch), but in a most digestible, predictable fashion.All the elements are threadbare (Suze pouring her heart out to encourage her son to be brave and to profess his love for the girl he carries a torch for, a miraculous recollection of an old man smitten by dementia, Blin’s heroic act as a diversion and inexplicably, a helping hand, etc.) and the collective impact is all but underwhelming, which leaves the defiant finale, a Thelma and Louise moment, somehow like a non sequitur, as if the filmmaker is self-conscious of reaching a preordained finishing line, compounded by the close-ups of a random gun during the scrappy climax. Without a strong textual support, the film’s appeal peters out significantly.Therefore, it is quite bizarre that it is BYE BYE MORONS, not the more well-crafted SEE YOU UP THERE, which runs rings around the former almost in every regard, that nabs the top honor in the César Awards, both films win Dupontel Best Director trophies though. It is undeniable that Dupontel proves himself as a rather expert tastemaker in designing and applying striking aesthetics to his works, the long take following a messenger dog in the trench at the beginning of SEE YOU UP THERE alone shows him is really good at his métier. But the over-exposed sheen in BYE BYE MORONS looks awfully artificial in comparison with the majestic period setting and elegant details manufactured in SEE YOU UP THERE.referential entries: Xavier Giannoli’s LOST ILLUSIONS (2021, 7.5/10); Nicolas Bedos’s LA BELLE ÉPOQUE (2019, 6.7/10).

English Title: See You Up ThereOriginal Title: Au revoir là-hautYear: 2017Genre: Drama, Comedy, WarCountry: France, CanadaLanguage: French, GermanDirector/Screenwriter: Albert Dupontelbased on the book by Pierre LemaitreMusic: Christophe JulienCinematography: Vincent MathiasEditor: Christophe PinelCast:Albert DupontelNahuel Pérez BiscayartLaurent LafitteNiels ArestrupHéloïse BalsterÉmile DequenneMélanie ThierryPhilippe UchanAndré MarconKyan KhojandiMichel VuillermozRating: 7.7/10English Title: Bye Bye MoronsOriginal Title: Adieu les consYear: 2020Genre: Comedy, DramaCountry: FranceLanguage: French, EnglishDirector: Albert DupontelScreenwriters: Albert Dupontel, Marcia Romano, Xavier NemoMusic: Christophe JulienCinematography: Alexis KavyrchineEditor: Christophe PinelCast:Virginie EfiraAlbert DupontelNicolas MariéJackie BerroyerPhilippe UchanBastien UghettoMarilou AussillouxMichel VuillermozLaurent StockerCatherine DavenierBouli LannersJoséphine HélinTerry GilliamRating: 6.6/10

2019年，当前正在欢喜首映独播的12项凯撒奖提名佳作《天上再见》首次在中国内地上映。这次上映不仅使电影口碑爆棚，更让许多观众认识了法国导演阿尔贝·杜邦泰尔。多次提名“法国奥斯卡”凯撒电影奖的阿尔贝·杜邦泰尔，是“演而优则导”的成功范例。在《天上再见》取得巨大成功后，时隔四年，杜邦泰尔携最新力作《寻子奇情录》（又名：拜拜笨蛋）强势回归，于欢喜首映内地线上首次独播。

也许是巧合，《寻子奇情录》同样夺下12项凯撒奖提名，最终获得第46届法国凯撒电影奖包含最佳影片、最佳导演在内的七项大奖。《寻子奇情录》一改《天上再见》奢靡的暗黑华丽，讲述了三个中年人一趟穿越时空的温情寻子奇旅。电影告诉我们，年龄只是数字，拥有一颗不向世界屈服的心才是最重要的。

三个废柴聚一堂谁说中年不能“狂”俗语有言：“三个臭皮匠，顶个诸葛亮”。三个平平无奇的中年人从未想到，某天，他们竟然因为一个婴儿而相遇。

美发师苏西，常年接触化学药剂患上免疫系统疾病，在人生的最后时光，她唯一的心愿就是找到被自己匿名遗弃的孩子。然而几次登门寻求政府帮助，苏西只等来接待员的搪塞和嘲笑。

盲人布林，年轻时被法国警察误伤射瞎双眼。失去视觉的他发挥余热，成为一名盲人档案管理员，但也因为这件事，布林一听“警察来了”就害怕。

技术宅男库查斯，政府部门的技术大拿，他开发的档案系统无人能及，操控上上下下的电梯也是小菜一碟。本以为能坐稳主管位置的他，在某一天被领导找来谈话，希望他能给年轻人让出位置。

库查斯心生怨念，准备自我了断，然而在拉动步枪扳机的一刹那，枪支走火。就这样，库查斯阴错阳差地成了警方的通缉犯，刚好就在政府办公楼的苏西目睹了事件全程。以替库查斯作证为条件，苏西要求库查斯帮她找到遗弃孩子的档案。

库查斯借主管身份进入政府档案室，和盲人档案员布林一同帮助苏西找档案。警察从天而降，库查斯被逮捕，布林与苏西临时“跑路”，从此这三人的命运深度绑定，开始边逃亡边找“娃”的荒唐旅行……

山穷水尽疑无路，柳暗花明又一村，用这句话描述“废柴三剑客”的故事再合适不过。当他们找到档案，结果地址是假的。当他们找到当年接生的医生，医生得了阿兹海默症……但每当找孩子的线索断了时，这三位失意的中年人却总能想出奇招，决不让线索就此中止。

库查斯是智力担当，苏西是“团宠”，布林是搞笑第一人。找不到线索，库查斯就动用一切技术“黑”进系统，哪怕街道几经拆迁，你的智能导航布林，总能用大脑还原当时街道的景象。

影片中一段“真瞎假瞎”的剧情绝对爆笑，为躲避警察，布林尝试开车，结果正好撞上警察押送库查斯的警车，巧妙地用车祸帮好兄弟脱身。这个桥段既能博观众哈哈一笑，又不着痕迹地推动剧情进入下一阶段。

家庭、职场、贷款……中年人的生活里有数不清的条条框框，就好像王小波《黄金时代》中说的那句：“生活就是个缓慢受锤的过程，人一天天老下去，奢望也一天天消失，最后变得像挨了锤的牛一样”。

可阿尔贝·杜邦泰尔却为这些生活里的透明人摇旗呐喊：是这个世界太疯狂，不是你的错。在这个荒唐的世界里保持清醒，保持理智，继续热爱这个世界，才是生活的真谛。

喜剧外壳批判核“反骨”导演不一般上映后，《寻子奇情录》在法国取得了口碑与票房的双丰收，就连高中生，也把心中的凯撒奖投给了这部电影。因《西比勒》《圣母》名声大噪的比利时女演员维尔日妮·埃菲拉因本片又一次提名凯撒奖最佳女主角。

《寻子奇情录》荒诞的笑点，灵感来自于杜邦泰尔年轻时迷恋的表演团体“巨蟒”，在《寻子奇情录》片头，影片还特别提及从巨蟒组合中走出的英国著名笑星特瑞·琼斯。电影中苏西意外怀孕的镜头，疑似致敬了卓别林时代的低帧喜剧。

《寻子奇情录》从多角度反映了法国社会存在已久的痼疾，例如未婚生子、职场歧视、中年危机等，当然被“黑”的最深的，还是无能的法国警察和官僚派十足、满嘴漂亮话的政府官员。

法国警察暴力执法，让民众没有安全感。人们迷恋科技，可那不过是资本主义希望人们多多消费的玩具。这两点或许是《寻子奇情录》布林和库查斯两角色的灵感之源，而苏西，则是法国匿名弃婴制度下的一点思考。

法国在1941年启用了匿名弃婴制度，母亲可以选择在医院生产后匿名抛弃孩子，母亲的隐私将得到保障，也不必面临刑事指控。这项制度是对是错，影片没有给出答案，而这或许是导演留给观众的“一点作业”。

有趣的是，尽管电影在凯撒奖中取得了巨大成功，但杜邦泰尔本人既没去领奖，也没看电视转播。从影片极具反叛意味的结尾，观众完全可以窥见杜邦泰尔的心声：作为一名艺术家，你永远都有说“不”的资格。

《寻子奇情录》欢喜首映 全网独播

《拜拜笨蛋》以一场荒诞的寻子公路旅行为切口，精准剖开了现代人的精神困境。阿尔贝·杜邦泰尔身兼导演、编剧与主演，将法式黑色幽默发挥到极致。影片并非单纯贩卖笑料，而是用官僚迷宫、绝症倒计时与“厌世”设定，包裹起对生命意义的沉重叩问。前半段节奏稍显松散，但随着三人组在体制内横冲直撞、逐渐破冰，荒诞感开始让位于真挚的情感流动。维尔日妮·埃菲拉贡献了极具层次感的表演，她将绝症患者的坚韧与脆弱拿捏得恰到好处，与杜邦泰尔饰演的愤世官僚及盲眼档案管理员形成奇妙的“残缺者联盟”。他们看似在寻找血缘纽带，实则是彼此救赎。影片结局那场长达三分钟的地铁长镜头堪称神来之笔，没有煽情配乐，仅用环境音与人物微表情，便将“遗憾”转化为“和解”。该片横扫凯撒奖六项大奖实属实至名归。它证明了法国电影在类型框架下依然保有作者表达的火候：不回避绝望，却拒绝沉沦；用粗粝的对话解构孤独，最终落点于笨拙却真挚的人性联结。在情绪快餐泛滥的今天，《拜拜笨蛋》提醒我们：生命的价值不在于完美无瑕，而在于敢于在废墟中拥抱彼此。