亞力克斯·嘉蘭的《內戰(zhàn)》是一部政治驚悚片，政治題材較少

Civil War, Alex Garland’s ambitious new thriller, hinges on an irresistible premise: What if the United States really did devolve into a second civil war? It’s an intriguing narrative idea, made all the more effective by the current polarized state of American democracy. When it feels like every news broadcast is filled with imagery of protests and insurrections, there’s something resonant — and devastatingly timely — about Garland’s vision of American conflict. The result is a brutal piece of speculative fiction that highlights the ugliness of war — even if it never quite lives up to its provocative premise.
亞歷克斯·嘉蘭雄心勃勃的驚悚新作《內戰(zhàn)》圍繞著一個不可抗拒的前提展開:如果美國真的陷入了第二次內戰(zhàn)會怎樣?這是一個有趣的敘事理念，由于美國民主目前的兩極分化狀態(tài)，它變得更加有效。當感覺每一個新聞廣播都充斥著抗議和叛亂的畫面時，加蘭對美國沖突的看法引起了某種共鳴——而且非常及時。其結果是一部殘酷的投機小說，突顯了戰(zhàn)爭的丑陋——盡管它從未完全符合其挑釁性的前提。

Set in a not-too-far future, Civil War finds the country already embroiled in battle. An unnamed president (Nick Offerman) is holed up in the White House, facing secessionist troops referred to as the Western Forces, an unexpected alliance between Texas and California. (Florida has also seceded, and in typical Florida fashion, they’re sort of doing their own thing.) Chronicling the carnage is celebrated war photographer Lee (Kirsten Dunst), who built her career snapping photos of the war front overseas. (Her name, of course, is a nod to legendary war photographer Lee Miller, who covered World War II for Vogue.) Now, she’s come home, using her camera to capture apocalyptic images of American-on-American violence.
在不久的將來，內戰(zhàn)發(fā)現(xiàn)這個國家已經卷入了戰(zhàn)爭。一位不知名的總統(tǒng)(尼克·奧弗曼飾)躲在白宮里，面對被稱為西部勢力的分離主義軍隊，這是德克薩斯州和加利福尼亞州意想不到的聯(lián)盟。(佛羅里達州也宣布脫離聯(lián)邦，按照典型的佛羅里達風格，他們在做自己的事情。)記錄這場大屠殺的是著名的戰(zhàn)地攝影師李(克爾斯滕·鄧斯特飾)，她的職業(yè)生涯是在海外前線拍攝照片。(當然，她的名字是向傳奇戰(zhàn)地攝影師李·米勒致敬，他曾為《Vogue》雜志拍攝過二戰(zhàn)。)現(xiàn)在，她回家了，用她的相機捕捉美國之間暴力的末日圖像。

After reporting on protests in a ravaged New York City, she and her colleague Joel (Wagner Moura) make plans to head south, journeying to the “front lines” in Charlottesville, Va., before trekking to D.C. to try to score an interview with the president. It’s a dangerous mission, especially when the current administration has a history of executing journalists on the South Lawn. They’re joined by aging old-timer Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson, perfect as always), who works for what’s left of The New York Times, and aspiring 23-year-old photojournalist Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), who hopes to follow in Lee’s footsteps. Together, this odd quartet sets out on an uncomfortable road trip, dodging bullets and weaving through backroads as they document a burning America.
在報道了被蹂躪的紐約市的抗議活動后，她和她的同事喬爾(瓦格納·莫拉飾)計劃向南走，前往弗吉尼亞州夏洛茨維爾的“前線”，然后長途跋涉到華盛頓特區(qū)，試圖獲得對總統(tǒng)的采訪。這是一項危險的任務，尤其是當現(xiàn)任政府有在南草坪處決記者的歷史時。加入他們的還有老家伙薩米(斯蒂芬·麥金利·亨德森，一如既往的完美)，他為《紐約時報》的殘余工作，還有23歲的有抱負的攝影記者杰西(凱莉·斯帕尼)，她希望追隨李的腳步。這對奇怪的四人組一起踏上了一段不舒服的公路之旅，他們躲避子彈，穿梭在鄉(xiāng)間小路上，記錄了一個燃燒的美國。

As a war movie, Civil War is well made, dropping audiences into the shock and terror of American slaughter. Garland sprinkles every battlefield with jarring touches — whether it’s a crashed helicopter in a JC Penney parking lot or a refugee camp set up in a high school football stadium. Lit by rockets’ red glare, the battle scenes are unsettling, violent, and loud, punctuated by brief moments of silence as we hear the click of Lee and Jessie’s cameras. It’s also an effective journalism movie, exploring what exactly drives these writers and photographers to risk life and limb. At first, Jessie is horrified by the violence she witnesses, and early on, when she encounters a man brutalizing two captives at a rural gas station, she freezes. But as the journey continues, she’s slowly desensitized to the trauma, chasing every new skirmish like a combat adrenaline junkie.
作為一部戰(zhàn)爭片，《內戰(zhàn)》制作精良，將觀眾帶入美國屠殺的震驚和恐怖之中。無論是JC Penney停車場墜毀的直升機，還是建立在高中足球場的難民營，加蘭都會在每個戰(zhàn)場上灑上不和諧的色彩。在火箭的紅光照耀下，戰(zhàn)爭場面令人不安、暴力、嘈雜，當我們聽到李和杰西的相機咔嗒聲時，短暫的沉默被打斷了。這也是一部有效的新聞電影，探索到底是什么驅使這些作家和攝影師冒著生命危險。起初，杰西被她所目睹的暴力嚇壞了，早些時候，當她在一個農村加油站遇到一個男人殘忍地對待兩個俘虜時，她驚呆了。但隨著旅程的繼續(xù)，她慢慢地對創(chuàng)傷失去了敏感性，像一個戰(zhàn)斗腎上腺素癮君子一樣追逐著每一次新的沖突。

But as a political movie, Civil War is less effective: Garland is careful never to explain why the war has broken out but instead is more interested in capturing the anarchy. We learn that Lee made her name covering something called the “Antifa Massacre” but the film never confirms who was massacred — or who did the massacring. Similarly, little is known about Offerman’s POTUS and his potential political leanings, only that he’s now in his third term and has already disbanded the FBI. All that political ambiguity is an intentional choice, but it feels like a cheap one: Civil War feels kind of like a political pundit who likes to “just ask questions,” but never actually engage with them on a deeper level.
但作為一部政治電影，《內戰(zhàn)》就沒那么有效了:嘉蘭小心翼翼地從不解釋戰(zhàn)爭爆發(fā)的原因，而是對捕捉無政府狀態(tài)更感興趣。我們了解到，李因報道所謂的“反法大屠殺”而成名，但這部電影從未證實誰被屠殺，或者是誰進行了大屠殺。同樣，關于奧弗曼扮演的美國總統(tǒng)及其潛在的政治傾向，人們所知甚少，只知道他現(xiàn)在是第三任總統(tǒng)，而且已經解散了聯(lián)邦調查局。所有這些政治上的模棱兩可都是有意的選擇，但感覺像是一種廉價的選擇:《內戰(zhàn)》感覺有點像一個喜歡“只是問問題”，但從未真正深入探討問題的政治專家。

Even as Garland’s vision remains frustratingly opaque, it’s elevated by some stellar performances. Dunst is unsurprisingly excellent as Lee, who chronicles the carnage with the world-weary resolve of someone who’s seen a thousand firefights and a thousand bloodstains. Still, Dunst finds flickers of kindness and humanity under Lee’s battle-hardened exterior, especially when interacting with her fellow Sofia Coppola muse Spaeny. The 25-year-old Priscilla actress perfectly balances Jessie’s wide-eyed naivety and tenaciousness, as the young journalist is horrified by the violence but unable to look away. Together, they make an unlikely mentor-mentee relationship: Lee can’t help but resentfully pass on her knowledge, even as she’s internally begging Jessie to run to safety. Plus, the eternally underrated Henderson shines as Sammy, bringing a warmth and veteran stability to the trip.  
盡管嘉蘭的視野仍然令人沮喪地模糊，但一些出色的表演提升了他的視野。鄧斯特飾演的李毫不奇怪地出色，他以一個見過一千次交火和一千次血跡的人的厭世決心記錄了這場大屠殺。盡管如此，鄧斯特還是在李安身歷滄桑的外表下發(fā)現(xiàn)了善良和人性的閃光，尤其是在與索菲亞·科波拉的繆斯斯帕尼互動時。這位25歲的女演員在《普莉希拉》中完美地平衡了杰西天真的天真和頑強，飾演年輕的記者被暴力嚇壞了，但無法轉移視線。在一起，他們形成了一種不太可能的師徒關系:李忍不住怨恨地傳遞她的知識，即使她內心懇求杰西逃到安全的地方。此外，永遠被低估的亨德森扮演的薩米也很出色，給這次旅行帶來了溫暖和老練的穩(wěn)定。