La Nuit américaine

François Truffaut's La Nuit Américaine is one of the most remarkable achievements in the "film within the film" genre. The movie stars Truffaut himself (who else could possibly play the role?) as Ferrand, an experienced director who's working on a new feature, "Je vous prèsente Pamela" (I introduce Pamela), and La Nuit Américaine showcases the difficulties of the production: props not working, actors struggling to memorize their lines, crew members leaving the project and scenes that have to be shot various times before Ferrand nails them (the "bad actor-cat" scene is a must-see). You know the bloopers that are sometimes included on the DVDs? Same thing, only funnier. Truffaut is brilliant in showing how different an actor can be from his on-screen persona (Jean-Pierre Léaud is outstanding as selfish, spoiled Alphonse), the cast and crew's private lives affecting or being affected by the making of the film, and how the slightest detail can change an otherwise foolproof schedule.

The most intriguing aspect of this movie, however, is perhaps the autobiographical elements the director has added: it basically sums up Truffaut's entire career, with references to his previous masterpieces (Léaud's presence being the most obvious one), and he has clearly based the character of Ferrand on himself (the flashback with the then 9-year old film lover stealing pictures of Citizen Kane is pure movie magic). He fascinates us so much we don't immediately realize the film was made under the same circumstances as the fictitious flick the characters are trying to achieve.

A flawless love letter to cinema, La Nuit Américaine should be on everyone's must-see list. Thirty years on, it has lost none of its appeal.

楚浮在片中亲自饰演导演一角，他带着一组工作人员在尼斯拍摄一部古装文艺片，结果幕前幕后都发生了不少事件，让他好不容易才能将全片杀青。在布努艾尔的《资产阶级的审慎魅力》之后拿走奥斯卡奖最佳外语片的就是特吕弗的这部《日以继夜》（La Nuit Américaine, 1973）。这部电影的原名是一个专业术语，指美国人经常在大白天利用滤光镜拍夜景，天空透过滤镜呈深兰色。这种在白天而不在晚上拍夜景的方法就叫作：美国之夜。昼夜颠倒的世界一方面是电影再造的梦幻国度，另一方面却是辛苦尴尬的电影工作本身。影片中表现出一部电影拍摄过程中遇到的种种棘手的难题，演员之间错综复杂的关系，经费带来的压力以及拍摄时间的紧迫。

《日以继夜》是一部“关于电影的电影”，一部被西方影迷奉为“影迷必看的首选电影”。电影采用“戏中戏”的方法叙事，现在看来这种早就不是什么新鲜的值得称道的叙事手法，但剧中人与现实中人命运的交相辉映，还是会让观众感到阵阵内心的悸动。生活本身与电影，说不清谁比谁更加精彩，甚至很多时候他们原本就纠缠在一起。特吕弗，一个在电影滋养下长大的孩子，电影是其一生不离不弃的最好的爱人。在《日以继夜》中，他用这种趣味十足的方式来表达自己对电影的难以言喻的深厚感情。

电影中特吕弗亲自饰演导演本身一角，他对演员说“电影的情景要比生活美好”，对特吕弗稍微了解的人都知道，他是一个对电影极端迷恋的人，《四百下》之中就布满了童年时期那些关于电影的温暖的记忆，而《日以继夜》中，我们又看到了他对那些温情脉脉的念念不忘——梦中的小男孩到电影院门口偷《公民凯恩》的剧照，选女演员时套用了希区柯克的口气，在电影拍摄期间，导演收到了一个邮包，特吕弗特地把镜头对准了那些书：奥逊·威尔斯，大卫·里恩，弗里兹·朗格，罗西里尼，雅克·里维特，戈达尔，希区柯克......

由于两重空间交错叙事，使得影片与特吕弗以往的片子略微不同——没有跌宕起伏的情节，没有层层推进高潮迭起的故事，但影片的细节铺陈十分到位，轻松好看，也许正是如此，才赢得了奥斯卡金像奖，也可能由于同样的原因使特吕弗失去了他的战友伙伴——同为新浪潮电影导演的戈达尔。

4444(创建者)