死神假期
Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me; the carriage held but just ourselves and immortality” – Emily Dickinson  If Death took a holiday, the guns would go silent in Iraq, the slaughter on our nation’s highways would cease, and the news media would be compelled to cover positive events in the humanities, arts, and sciences. Unfortunately, Death has not had a vacation in recorded history, but Mitchell Leisen’s 1934 fantasy, Death Takes a Holiday, allows us to consider the possibility. Co-written by Maxwell Anderson and Gladys Lehman and based on the play La Morte in Vacanza by Alberto Casella, Death Takes a Holiday stars Frederic March as the Grim Reaper who takes on human form in an attempt to discover why men fear him so much. Why he has waited 5,000 years to satisfy this curiosity is not explained.  [Spoiler] After a brief tryout as a shadowy figure who scares the daylights out of those that cross his path, Death shows up at, of all places, an upscale party at an Italian villa, posing as the mysterious Prince Sirki. Only one person knows who he really is, the host Duke Lambert (Guy Standing), and he is sworn to secrecy. Sirki proceeds to fascinate the guests. Given to bursts of wit and poetry, he can just as quickly turn sullen and threatening, and some soon find out that it is better not to look too deeply into his eyes. During the three days in which the Prince is at the villa, however, people all over the world miraculously escape death and potential suicides are doomed to frustration.  To see what’s behind all the conversation about love, the suave but naïve Prince Sirki falls for the irresistible Grazia (Evelyn Venable), the daughter of one of Duke’s friends. Grazia knows who Death is but does not fear him, much to the chagrin of her fiancé, Corrado (Kent Taylor) who has developed a strong disdain for Prince Charming.  More sinister than Brad Pitt in the 1998 remake Meet Joe Black, March turns in a very convincing performance as the creepy yet strangely appealing guest. Although the ending is melodramatic, the emotions are very real and the suggestion that Death may in reality be a friend disguised as a foe is quite touching.  (Howard Schumann, talkingpix.co.uk)  In this wearisome and predictable plot line, Death falls in love and bores us to death talking about it.  (Dennis Schwartz, homepages.sover.net)  I've heard DRACULA was advertised with the tag line The Weirdest Love Story ever told! (this is probably a paraphrase), but at heart, I've never felt that you could honestly call that movie a love story. The tag line would be much more appropriate for this one, since it ultimately boils down to what amounts to a love story. This movie is very good indeed, particularly if you consider that it is built around a concept that could have easily been handled in a cute or facile manner. Instead, it is handled as seriously as possible, with some real thought put into how death would try to come to terms with a life and an outlook that was to that point totally unfamiliar to him; much of the credit does go to Fredric March in the title role. It's quite scary when it needs to be, particularly during the first twenty minutes. From then on, it deals with its themes with subtlety, a quiet wit, an enduring sadness, and an everpresent tension on how Death might react if crossed. It's not perfect; some of the dialogue is self-conscious and artificial, as if the writers knew they were dealing with weighty issues and were trying to be profound. But I am certainly glad they didn't try to turn it into a musical comedy of sorts.  (Dave Sindelar, scifilm.org)  See also the remake Death Takes A Holiday (1971)
高墙内
修女波莉要在女囚监狱实施一项为期九个月、旨在为残疾人训练助残犬的计划。征得监狱方面同意后,波莉在有着816名女囚,其中五分之一是杀人犯的监狱里,通过面试选出了三名女囚伊莉莎、莱达和劳莉分别训练她从代领场领来的三只弃犬“奥尼克斯”、“茜拉”和“吉普森”。   劳莉是一名同性恋。在劳莉利用“吉普森”来勾引别的女囚被犯人琼报告后,波莉将劳莉开除出训犬计划,决定让琼来顶替劳莉的位置。还是在少女时,琼就有过一个私生子,后来又做过妓女、卖过毒品。尽管外表看上去冷酷而漠然、情绪也时有暴躁,但从琼的眼神中不难看出她对“吉普森”的喜爱。在有着相同人生遭遇的波莉的鼓励下,琼不仅主动参加到训犬计划中来,而且还在“吉普森”身上找到了某种精神上的自由。   九个月的训犬计划很快就要结束了。虽然经历了“吉普森”的咬人风波,但“奥尼克斯”、“茜拉”和“吉普森”的惊人表现最终博得了审查团的一致掌声。在“吉普森”、“茜拉”和“奥尼克斯”即将被送给需要它们的残疾人时,琼、伊莉莎和莱达发现自己已经是泪流满面、泣不成声。   “吉普森”、“茜拉”和“奥尼克斯”被领走后,琼重新陷入到愧疚过去的精神迷茫之中。就在琼、伊莉莎和莱达开始放弃刚刚扬起的希望之帆时,波莉新一轮训犬计划的开始让琼、伊莉莎和莱达满怀欣喜的同时,整个女囚监狱也为之雀跃欢呼起来。
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