卡比利亚之夜

Introduction
 
In this essay the film styles of these two films will be mainly discussed through several aspects that affect film styles significantly: techniques of the medium, the society and culture background, and personal taste of the two directors of each films.
 
As David Bordwell says “Style is, minimally, the texture of the film’s images and sounds, the result of choices made by the filmmaker(s) in particular historical circumstances.” Objective and subjective factors influence film style, and in objective factors, there are two aspects: material fact and spiritual fact. Material fact is the sources that are available for filmmaking, whereas spiritual fact is the psychic needs of the spectator. They are very much essential that filmmakers use limited material to make a film for their spectator’s psychic needs. For example postwar films are limited by material availability, and they meet the particular psychic needs of spectator. It is these objective factors distinct one film style from the other. And the subjective factors of filmmakers’ personal decisions are always restricted by the objective factors. There’s no such a film style that can exist without the influence of the period of time during which it is made.
 
Film techniques in the two films will be compared and contrasted briefly, due to the highlights of these two films are not technique achievement, but the themes and their explored ways. More emphasis will be put on arguing whether or not they are realism or idealism films. This argument will be set on analyze both the objective and subjective factors which affect them in style. And finally their film styles will be concluded comprehensively from different angles of view.

1. An overview of the two films
 
‘Le Notti di Cabiria’ (Nights of Cabiria) and ‘Nuovo Cinema Paradiso’ are both Italian national films, and both of them featured by their regional culture.
 
Fellini’s ‘Le Notti di Cabiria’ was released in 1957, which has been considered as one of the most interesting films of the post-war Italian cinema. It tells a tragic story about the life a little naive prostitute Cabiria, who lives in her little house at the outskirt of Rome. Although she’s been drowned by her lover for money, and treated unfairly by a famous actor, she keeps her simple and candid soul, and never gives up hope of living a happy life. Her optimism makes people laugh with a bitter feeling in the heart. She ends up with the same situation as she was in the beginning of the film, which is very much ironic ending. After robbed by her “fiancé” she walks down the street with street with the tears of despair. But gradually there appears more and more young and happy people singing and dancing around her to cheer her up, and then she smiles and cries at the same time. And at this moment, the audience can feel the same way as she does. Life is a tragedy with self-deception.
 
Giuseppe Tornatore’s ‘Nuovo Cinema Paradiso' is released in 1988, three decades later ‘Le Notti di Cabiria’. Passed its golden age, Italian cinema has been in its recession since 70s’. But no doubt that ‘Nuovo Cinema Paradiso’ brought a warm current to Italian film industry. Following Fellini’s ‘Amarcord’ in 1974,it won Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film of 1989. Italy came back to the front stage of international cinema again. The story reviews the golden age of Italian cinema by telling a director’s childhood memory. The eternal friendship between Toto and Alfredo is the most touching theme of this film.
 
The ending of the film has its similarity to ‘Le Notti di Cabiria’, it is also a recall of where the story begins. A whole roll of kissing scenes edited with the negatives he asked from Alfredo when he was six. Using this gimmick to end a film is more powerful then traditional dramatic causality ending. In ‘Le Notti di Cabiria’ the recall of beginning shows an endless tragic circle that Cabiria walks on. Whereas the ending of ‘Nuovo Cinema Paradiso' presents us with an endless love that Toto received from his friend Alfredo.
 
Different film styles can be seen through how the film ends. The ironic and meaningful within Federico Fellini’s films is cold, and the emotional and seeking of eternal within Giuseppe Tornatore’s films I warm. They are in contrast, but both of the styles has their sparkle of their discussion of humanity. If ‘Le Notti di Cabiria’ is satirize of how weak is the relationship between people in this material world, then ‘Nuovo Cinema Paradiso’ is the opposite.
  
2. Film Technology
 
Colour
Fellini had never thought ‘Le Notti di Cabiria’ is an Italian neo-realism film, though film critics think so. The budget of this film was not very much, and the crew was not very big either, but these can never stop him making a good film. Under the limited budget, the film was shot in black and white，though in 1957 color film has been invented for several decades already. Try to imagine if it was shot in colour, what difference would it be? More visual information would be given to us, but is that necessary? At lease the last shot of Cabiria walking down the street with tears and smile would be less ironic than it is now in black and white. The colour of crowd would disturb our tension on the mood. Sometimes colours create mood, however sometimes they destroy it. Black and white itself is a visual style, it leaves out unnecessary information, and focus your attention on the movement on the screen.
 
Black and white films are considered as the feature of old films, there are even some audiences who are used to watching colour films find that black and white films are boring to the eyes and make them asleep. But to be honest, I cannot remember any particular colour in ‘Nuovo Cinema Paradiso', though it was shot in colour. And when I try to imagine if ‘Nuovo Cinema Paradiso' was shot in black and white, I don’t have many concern about enjoy it.
 
Colours do give a difference to the films style, but for these two films, the difference is hardly noticeable, though one of them is black and white, the other has colour. And you can never imagine if films like ‘Transformer’ without colour. So from this point of view, the unnoticeable colour is also a part of their film styles.

Cinematography
 
It is obviously the moving ability of cameras in the two films was quite improved by time and budget. Under the economy condition of 1950s， there wasn’t any crane and hardly any zoom in ‘Le Notti di Cabiria’, relatively there are more long takes and pans. ‘Nuovo Cinema Paradiso' has kept the tradition of using long takes and pans, and included zooms and cranes together. Both of the films use one direction to describe the same subject rather than use multiple camera positions. The camera can get a shallower depth of field in ‘Nuovo Cinema Paradiso' than the camera in ‘Le Notti di Cabiria’, so that it achieves a better effect when has many background crowd in shots. There are deep compositions in both of the film, which are always designed with western aesthetic preference of one thirds rule. There are no extreme angle or handhold style shots in either of the films. They share a similar shooting principle follows the classical western aesthetic， which is pleasant to watch and doesn’t feel as formalistic as the symmetrical composition.
 
Editing
 
Montages and long takes, close-ups and wide shot were all edited together with beat in both of the films. Andre Bazin’s opinion is long takes and wide shots show a more realistic vision than montages and close-ups. But montages run a faster speed and close-ups focus the attention. Long take imitates the way in which human eyes see, it doesn’t stop montage imitates the way how human brain do the job of selective memory. Not every piece of information that we see necessarily can be memorized. Montages and close-ups cut and crop out those unnecessary information is reasonable and pleasant to watch.
 
It will turn out a varied speed, if montages and long-takes edit together. And this editing technique makes the stories develop in a speed that neither too fast nor too slow.
 
There’s a difference on the timelines of the two films. ‘Le Notti di Cabiria’ has only one timeline, whereas ‘Nuovo Cinema Paradiso' has two timelines, the narration is interspersed with flashbacks. As the film is not about mystery and suspense, this editing method applies nostalgic sentiments to the whole film. The narrative styles of these two directors cannot be explained just by editing method. It is more of their personalities than the technologies terms, so it will be discussed later in this essay.
 
Sound and music
 
From 1950s to 1980s, sound recording technology was the biggest developed department of film industry. ‘Le Notti di Cabiria’ used mono sound recording tech, and 15 years after which ‘Nuovo Cinema Paradiso' recorded its sound in Dolby sound system. Dolby sound technology provides audience with a much realer hearing experience when watching images. It brings films to life. But mono sound systems can be more stylistic than 5.1 Dolby stereo sound systems, because they are hardly used.
 
Background music plays a very important role on film style. Nino Rota’s music gives a light comedy taste to ‘Le Notti di Cabiria’ despite the hypnosis scene and the ending, where the music was not exuberant. The background music illustrates an ironic style that Fellini plays the best. It makes you laugh while you want to cry, cry while you want to laugh. On the other hand, the background music in ‘Nuovo Cinema Paradiso' is deep soulful and full of nostalgia. It shapes the atmosphere with its power of tenderness. If the style of ‘Le Notti di Cabiria’ is loose and undisciplined, then ‘Nuovo Cinema Paradiso' is agglomerate and serious.
 
3. Realism or Idealism
Seeing a article says“ …the zero evidently there to remind us of the archivist’s unvanquishable enemy – empty vistas of empty time (see Fellini or Tornatore’s Cinema Paraiso for a nostalgic sentimentalizing of this self-same idealization of a cinema teeming with affective life).”, to my surprise, regarding as a realism filmmaker, Tornatore’s Cinema Paraiso is described as made from empty vistas of empty time, moreover Fellini cannot escape this judgment neither.
 
 
On the other hand, a strict realism film critic like Andre Bazin himself wrote in his “Cahiers du cinema” with full of regards. Although the last shot of ‘Le Notti di Cabiria’ is as artificial and symbolic as it can be, Bazin loved it. Though the idea of a fairy-tale prostitute is hardly realistic, but he put her in the real world, where the people surround her are very much taken shapes from reality. It is a fiction but shot in real location with naturalistic style of lighting(so as ‘Nuovo Cinema Paradiso'), conforming to the principle of simplicity. The film in my point of view is an ironic drama made in the Italian Neo-realism way. And differing from other drama films with their dramatic causality, the incidences in this film build up analogy and echo on its spectators. It is more about the theme he wants to discuss rather than the cause and affect.

 
I will never agree on the saying of “empty vistas of empty time”, because every thing in human mind reflect the life he lives in, fiction is always based on reality, otherwise we wouldn’t create alliances all with eyes, nose and mouth referring to the creatures we knows. And filmmakers would never escape from time neither. There’s always something affects him during the period of time that he is alive. A realism filmmaker, is the person who try to set his story in reality, no matter how good he does it. It is the direction that matters.

 
Conclusion
The film styles of ‘Le Notti di Cabiria’ and ‘Nuovo Cinema Paradiso' are complex. They are fictions but made in a realistic way. They try to explore the real world with their tales. The former is ironic and the later is glorifiable. Both of them put emphasis on the themes rather than dramatic causality. They are similar in technique styles, but in contrast of their themes. They are also both affected heavily by period and their national culture.
 
written by Feini Dong

费里尼的老婆茱莉叶·玛西娜实在不够漂亮，矮小，大头，饼脸，塌鼻，阔嘴，姿态举止无论如何也称不上优雅。但就是这样一个人，在银幕上却奇迹般放出光来，那一双饱含泪水的圆眼睛，能让观众的心为她激荡，为她破碎，为她死心塌地。

在电影《卡比利亚之夜》中，茱莉叶·玛西娜饰演妓女卡比利亚。这个天真愚蠢的家伙不知道天高地厚，常常夸夸其谈；而因为不谙事故，每每对爱情激情投入，可又常常受骗。不过卡比利亚最大的优点就是乐观，她身上仿佛有一股子永不知疲倦的活力，大事小情大亏小亏过去了，便全不在话下。她那“明天会更好”的劲头，比《乱世佳人》中的郝思嘉还要单纯强烈。卡比利亚是一株真正的野草，野火烧不尽，春风吹又生。

这家伙一出场，就被小白脸的骗子男友推下河谋财，差点淹死。但这点儿小挫折对草根的卡比利亚来说不算什么，很快，她就又兴致高昂的每晚出门拉客了。她不如别人美艳，被嘲笑的时候唯一值得骄傲的就是自己一个子儿一个子儿积攒下的房子，虽然简陋，但这就是她独立的全部，甚至在与偶像大明星邂逅，被带回豪宅，也不带半点卑微的夸耀着自己仅有的财产。这个把所有心情都写在脸上的家伙在上了名车之后那份洋洋得意小人得志的劲儿，让人看了真忍不住笑——这就是卡比利亚：卑微、市井、聒噪、快乐。

但哪怕再没心机，卡比利亚也有细腻柔情易伤的一面。她打扮得花枝乱颤招摇过市，迎面两位修长优雅明艳的高级妓女鄙夷的斜眼瞟她，继而昂头而去。卡比利亚拼命的挺胸抬头，回头瞅美女的背影，满脸关不住的沮丧。被情人欺骗，镜前对着离人的照片，长吁短叹暗自神伤，转而愤懑，甚至暴怒。卖了房子后在旧屋徘徊，眼前的陋室草台激起无限回忆，哀伤与憧憬百感交集，终于噙着眼泪，奔赴未知的生活——这个常常撅着嘴，满脸委屈，眼神中偶尔闪现一抹迷茫的小女孩，就是卡比利亚。

但卡比利亚还有另外一个名字，一个叫作玛丽亚的姑娘。玛丽亚长发垂肩，随母亲去教堂做礼拜；遇见了心仪的好男人，她腼腆，纯洁，端庄，蹲下去采花献给心上人。玛丽亚遇到了救助穷苦人的教士，无以为报，郑重的告诉他自己的真名。玛丽亚与恋人约会，小心翼翼不露出半点儿卡比利亚的影子，为了爱情，甘愿卖掉自己唯一的房子去追逐爱人。她在夕阳下的树林中欢喜的摘花插在皮包上，她在拥挤的教堂里面对圣母玛利亚流下最为虔诚的泪水，她纯真的像个孩子，她是卡比利亚的心。

这样子的卡比利亚，让人怜悯，同情，可她那些坏毛病臭德性和大嚷大叫的彪悍模样儿却怎么也难说可爱，更何谈认同。但就是这么一个人，一次一次为了那么一丁点儿的爱与尊重奋不顾身的跳进去，跳进去，那个矮小平庸的身影，逆着风，迎着雨，在千万的人潮中，在电闪雷鸣中，头破血流也还要去爱，去追，毫无保留，绝不退缩。卡比利亚的执着让人想起《千年女优》中的千代子，但她的赌注大得多，而现实也比舞台上一次次的梦境残酷得多。她没有奇迹在前方等待，她面对着一次次的践踏与嘲讽只有自己能够依靠，她碾不死，压不碎，她就是卡比利亚。

然后，在夜幕降临的分界点，在帷幕降落的瞬间，最后的狂欢终于上演，我已经分不清那个望着镜头泪光闪烁的人是卡比利亚，是玛利亚，还是玛西娜自己。她的眼线被泪水糊得晕开，那一滴缓缓流下的东西在她脸上划出一道黑线，暮色中微光如萤如豆，又似彗星掠过天宇。银幕上她转过头微微的笑了，而黑暗中我在哭泣。

我这才发现，原来卡比利亚就是你，是我，是每一个永不停息的逐爱的灵魂。

 非原创声明：
该文由法国影评人巴赞发表于《电影手册》76期，1957年11月，可以作为理解本片与意大利新现实主义的一个参考。
中文版收录于中国电影出版社出版的《电影是什么？》一书中，译者为崔君衍，1987年版P155-P165，以供查阅，本文电子数据来源于网络，仅供参考。据称《卡比利亚之夜》曾在我国放映，片名为《她在黑暗中》。



      当我提笔写这篇文章的时候，还不知道费里尼（Federico Fellini）最近这部影片将会受到怎样的欢迎。我由衷地预祝他成功。但是，我并不讳言，会有两类观众对影片有所保留。首先是一部分普通的观众，影片的怪诞风格和通俗剧一般的幼稚内容混在一起，仅此一点就会使这些观众感到茫然莫解，对他们来说，心地坦荡的妓女似乎只有配上黑色系列片的内容才值得一看。另一类人属於勉强支持费里尼的一些「精英观众」。这些人不得不对《大路》（La Strada）和《骗子》（Il Bidone）表示赞赏，就因为它们格调冷峻受到大众的冷落，可以预料，这些精英观众会指责《卡比莉亚之夜》（Nuits de Cabiria）拍得过於精细，几乎一切都是经过精心设计的，是一部狡黠和巧饰的影片。前一种反对态度可以暂且不论，它只会影响票房收入。後一种反对意见需要认真加以批驳。
　　费里尼编排出如此精巧的故事这还是第一次，情节丝丝入扣无懈可击，但在观看《卡比莉亚之夜》时，确实并不感到意外。恐怕他在剪接时不会再像对《大路》和《骗子》那样进行可悲的删减和改动了。当然，《白色酋长》（Le Sheik blanc），甚至《流浪汉》（Les Vitelloni）的结构都不粗拙，但是，它们主要还是经由比较传统的剧作结构来表现费里尼式的独特主题。费里尼在《大路》中甩掉了最後这双拐棍，影片故事仅仅服从主题和人物，这类故事与通常所说的情节全然无关，我甚至怀疑是否还算得上「动作」！《骗子》亦如是。

　　费里尼并没有打算重新采用他最初几部影片中的那种戏剧性做依托。完全相反，《卡比莉亚之夜》甚至比《骗子》走得更远，但是，在这部影片中，我称之为作者的「垂直性」主题与「水平性」叙事要求之间的矛盾得到了圆满的解决。这是在费里尼的体系内，也仅仅是在这个体系内找到的解决方法。但是，仍会有人产生误解，把这一惊人的完美视为取巧，甚至会视为背叛。我也认为，费里尼至少在一点上有些悖离自己的风格：他不是特意利用佛杭索瓦．贝利埃（Fran ois Pe　rier）扮演的人物制造出人意外的效果吗（况且，我认为，由他扮演这个角色并不合适）？显然，一切「悬念」效果，甚至仅仅是「戏剧性」效果，本质上都是与费里尼的风格体系格格不入的。因为在他的体系中，不可能把时间顺序做为抽象的动力支承，当做叙事结构的先验的框架。在《大路》和《骗子》中，时间只是做为偶然事件的非定很遗憾，事实与我的估计相反：在巴黎放映的原版影片比在坎城放映时至少删去了一大段，这就是我在下文提到的「圣文生．德．保罗的探访者」（visiteur de Saint Vincent de Paul），「圣文生．德．保罗的探访者」原指1833年创办於法国的「圣文，生．德．保罗会」的成员。他们的宗旨是关心病残、老弱、穷人和所谓的「沦入风尘的女人」。这里指影片中原有描写贫民区的一场戏译注）。不过，我们看到，如果由费里尼负责删剪，他也会心甘情愿地认为那些往往很出色的段落确实「无用」。

　　这些偶然事件不断改变着主角的命运，表面上没有什麽必然性。事件不是「发生」在费里尼的世界中，而是「突降」在他的世界中，或者说是遽然出现的。至於片中人物，他们仅仅随纯粹的内心时间过程而存在，而变化。我并不认为这种内心时间过程符合柏格森（Henri Bergson）的概念，因为柏格森的《试论意识的直接材料》（Donne　es imme　diates de la conscience）中的内在时间过程理论毕竟浸透着心理主义（psychologism）。让我们避开精神至上论者的词汇中那些含义模糊的术语吧。我们不认为主角的变化是在灵魂层次上实现的，不过，它至少应该发生在意识很少触及到的内心深处，这决不意味人物的变化产生於无意识或潜意识的深处，而是说这种变化发生在沙特称之为「基本筹划」（projet fondamental）起作用的地方，即本体论的层次上。所以说，费里尼影片中的人物不是在逐渐演变：他是成熟起来的，或者极而言之，他是不断变形的（因此而有天使双翼的隐喻，我下面还要谈到这个问题）。

　　貌似通俗剧

　　我们暂时仅仅论及剧作结构。因此，我在这里避而不谈《卡比莉亚之夜》中经由最後揭穿骗子奥斯卡（Oscar）真面目的做法造成的戏剧性效果。况且，费里尼也一定意识到了这点，因为他准备让奥斯卡成为「坏蛋」时，索性让演员佛杭索瓦．贝利埃戴上了墨镜，尽管这麽做是一种根本性的错误。不过，这算什麽！这只是一种小小的妥协，存在主义认为，由於人有无数细微的意识和动作，人就成了一个「每时在筹划、每时又在抹掉的存在计划」。这种以变动不居的可能性为依据的个人的「存在计划」使人生充满了偶然性。并且，我是完全谅解导演的，因为他关心的是这次千万要避免《骗子》所采用的那种复杂和过於散漫的分镜方式造成的极端弊害。

　　况且，影片中也只有这一处妥协，除了这一处之外，费里尼成功地赋予影片以悲剧的张力与严谨，摒弃了与他的世界不相容的手法。卡比莉亚是个心地单纯、充满憧憬的年轻妓女，她不是通俗剧中的那种人物，因为她希望「摆脱现况」的动机与布尔乔亚的道德或社会学理想无关，至少与流行的一套理想无关。她一点也不蔑视自己的职业。假设真有一些靠妓女为生、却心地纯洁又能理解她的男人，那麽，即使从他们那里得到的只是生活的信心，而不是爱情，她也就不会认为自己内心的期望与夜间的皮肉生涯互不相容。有一次，她与一位着名影星邂逅相遇，当这位明星由於醉後朦胧和情场失意，要把她带回自己豪华的寓所时，她不是因此感到过莫大的欢乐吗（随後是更痛苦的失望）？这次艳遇使所有的女伴嫉妒得要命！但是，它的结局注定是悲剧；正因为以卖身为职业只会给她带来失望，所以，她才有心或无心地盼望遇见正直的、无求於她的小伙子，寄望於那不可能实现的爱情，以摆脱妓女生活的现状。因此，固然表面上这还是布尔乔亚通俗剧的结局，它毕竟是循着完全不同的线索发展的。

　　《卡比莉亚之夜》如同《大路》、《骗子》一样（实际上也如同《流浪汉》一样），是苦行禁欲、是克己、是拯救（不论你从哪个含义上去理解这个词）的故事。这部影片结构的严谨和完美在於各段插曲的精当布局。如前所述，每段插曲都是自在和自为的，保持着事件的独特性和生动性。但是，在这里，每一段插曲又是安排成序的，这种秩序总是在事後才能显示出自己的绝对必然性。卡比莉亚有过希望和憧憬，後来尝尽了被遗弃、蒙辱和贫困的痛苦，在她的生活道路上，每段历程都是为她的下一段历程做准备。经由认真的分析我们会发现，直到遇见向流浪者施舍的那位恩人之前（他的突然出现初看上去似乎只是典型费里尼式的精采一笔），一切都是为了表现卡比莉亚最後因轻信而上当受骗做准备，没有一处不是为全剧所需的：因为，如果确有这种男人，那麽，任何奇迹都有可能发生，而当贝利埃出现的时候，我们也会像卡比莉亚一样不怀芥蒂。

　　我无意重复过去对费里尼创作特点所做的分析。况且，从《流浪汉》起，他的创作特点显然始终如一，这种重复自然并不意味创造力的枯竭。相反，花样翻新只是普通「导演」的打算，而保持创作灵感的统一是真正「作者」的标志。不过，我也许可以经由这部新问世的杰作进一步阐明费里尼风格的本质究竟是什麽。

　　表象的真实

　　首先应该指出，把费里尼开除出新写实主义的企图是荒唐可笑的。实际上，这种判决的依据恐怕只是纯粹意识型态标准，的确，虽说费里尼的写实主义的出发点是社会性的，它的目的不是社会性的。他的写实主义始终是个人化的，就像契诃夫或杜思妥也夫斯基的作品一样。我再重复一句，写实主义的特性不是由目的而是由表现的手法确定的，而新写实主义的特性则是由这些表现手法与创作目的的特定关系来确定。狄．西嘉与罗塞里尼或费里尼的共同之处显然不在於他们影片中的深刻含义（即使他们作品中的含义常常有多少一致的地方），而在於他们的作品特别注重现实的再现，而不是戏剧性的结构。说得更确切些，就是义大利电影用一种新的写实主义替代了内容上是小说的自然主义、结构上是戏剧化的那种「写实主义」。简言之，这是一种不按心理或戏剧性的要求修改现实的「现象学」写实主义。含义与表象的关系在某种程度上被颠倒了：表象始终做为一种独特的发现，做为一种几乎是记录下来的新事物展示在我们眼前，保持着自己生动的和细节的力量。这样，导演的艺术就在於既能巧妙地显示出这一事件的含义（至少是导演赋予它的含义），又能保持事件的含糊性。因此，按上述界说，新写实主义绝不是哪一家意识型态、甚至也不是某一种理想的私产。它不会排斥任何其他理想，因为，实际上，现实本身就是不排斥任何事物的。

　　我甚至倾向於把费里尼视为迄今为止在新写实主义美学中走得最远的一位导演，他甚至超越了新写实主义美学，步入另一境界。

　　首先，让我们看看费里尼的导演风格怎样完全摆脱了心理因素的影响。他的人物特徵从来不是由他们的「性格」所确定的，而完全由表象来确定。我故意不用「行为」这个含义变得过於狭窄的术语，因为人的行为方式只是我们认识人的一个因素。我们还要依据许多其他特徵去把握一个人，当然不仅仅根据外貌、步态和那些表现人体的各种外形特徵，还可能经由更加外在的表徵，经由位於人与世界搭界之处的事物去把握一个人，譬如头发、胡须、服饰、眼镜（眼镜是费里尼唯一惯用的道具，以至於往往成了一种噱头）。此外，景物也起到一定作用，当然，这不是为了达到表现主义效果，而是为了表现人与环境之间的和谐或失谐。我尤其想到卡比莉亚的身分和纳扎利（Nazzari）带她进入的那个不寻常的环境之间的鲜明对比：从酒吧到一座阔绰豪华的寓所……

　　步入新境界

　　但是，到了这一步，我们便走到了写实主义的边缘，再跨出一步，费里尼便带我们走出了写实主义的边界。既然如此注重表象，结果我们实际上已经不是在物的中间看人，而是通过透明体，透过物来看人。就是说，在不知不觉中，世界从表意变为类比，然後又从类比变为超自然的等同。请原谅，我用了「超自然」（surnaturel）这样一个意义朦胧的字眼，不过读者尽可以用诗意、或超现实、或魔幻这类字眼代替，也可以用其他任何词语，只要它可以表达有形物与无形的对应物（有形物只是它的某种外部轮廓）之间的内在契合。

　　这种「超自然化」的实例很多，我仅举天使形象的隐喻作用为例来论述这个「超自然化」的过程。从最初几部影片起，费里尼就热衷於用天使形象表现他的人物。彷佛在费里尼的世界中，天使的状态是最高的参照物，是存在的一种尺度。我们至少可以从《流浪汉》开始，看到这种倾向的明显发展：在狂欢节时，索尔迪（Sordi）扮成守护天使；不久，被法布里兹（Fabrizzi）偷走的一尊木雕又正巧是天使像。但是，这两处暗示是直接和具体的。在《骗子》中，有个镜头更加巧妙，而且可能不是特意设置的，所以更有意义，就是修士捆好砍下的小树枝，背在背上从树上下来的镜头。这个动作只不过是个精巧的写实性细节，甚至费里尼本人也没有想到用它做隐喻；直到结尾，我们看到奥古斯托Augusto在路旁挣扎的情景：他在晨光熹微中目睹一孩子和农妇背着木柴捆走过：走过去的就是天使！在这部影片中，还有一处应该提及，就是毕加索（Picasso）撑开雨衣沿着大街飞跑过来的样子彷佛天使张开双翼。还是这位理查．巴斯哈特Richard Basehart）宛若轻盈的造物，踩着钢丝出现在杰尔索米娜（Gelsomina）的面前，聚光灯照得他通体发亮。

　　费里尼的象徵体系是无止境的，他的全部作品完全可以单从这一个角度去研究。重要的是应该按新写实主义的逻辑去理解它们，因为我们清楚地看到，在费里尼的世界中，人与物的这类联想所具有的意义和感染力仅仅来自真实性，或者更确切地说，仅仅来自於笔触的客观性。让修士背上柴捆，绝不是故意让他像天使，但是，只要把树枝看做双翼，就改变了老修士的形态。因此，可以说，费里尼并没有悖离写实主义，也没有悖离新写实主义，而更确切的说法是，他完善了新写实主义，超越了新写实主义，因为他富有诗意地重新安排了世界。

　　叙述的革新

　　费里尼这种创新也表现在叙述方面。就此而言，新写实主义确实也是从形式革新开始，发展为内容上的革新的。譬如，对事件而不是对情节的注重，曾经促使狄．西嘉和萨凡堤尼用「微观动作」（micro-action）取代了曲折情节，这种做法的基础是经由极细微的观察，注意到最普通的事件所具有的复杂性。这样一来就打破了从心理和戏剧性角度，或是从思想内容上对被表现事件的主次的一切区分。这并不意味导演对所表现的内容自然不应选择，而是因为这种选择不再以预定的戏剧性结构为取舍尺度。以这种新观点看问题，那些重要段落，按传统剧作标准来说，也许是一个冗长的「多馀」场景。

　　但是，甚至在《退休生活》中（它也许是这种新剧作结构极端性试验的代表作），影片的推展仍然有一条隐蔽的线索可循。在我看来，是费里尼圆满完成了新写实主义的革命，创造了没有任何戏剧连贯性，唯独以对人物的现象学描述为基础的剧作类型。在费里尼的作品中，确立逻辑关系的场景、「重大」的突变和戏剧性的大段落仅仅起衔接作用，而表面上对「动作」的推进毫无影响的描述性长段落却是真正重要的揭示性场景。譬如，在《流浪汉》中，夜晚的游荡，海滩上无聊的闲逛；在《大路》中，对修道院的造访；在《骗子》中，夜总会之夜，或除夕之夜。费里尼影片中的人物在没有目的性动作时经由自己无目的性的举动向观众最充分地展示出自己的本色。

　　但是，如果说费里尼的影片也包含着绝不亚於正剧和悲剧的张力与高潮，那是因为各个事件在没有传统的戏剧性因果关系情况下，这就是应该被删掉的段落。展了相互类比和前後呼应的效果。费里尼影片中的主角不是经由环环相扣的戏剧性的逐渐推进达到最终危机（使他毁灭或使他得救），而是经由在主角的生活历程中对他产生一定影响的各种事件的积聚（犹如振汤的能量积聚在共鸣体中）达到最终危机。我们看不到人物的演变过程，看到的只是变化结果，主角最终彷佛翻了一个个儿，就像冰川的运动一样，而冰川浮力中心的变化也是看不到的。