打开心世界

《打开心世界》。8分。

莫娜·法斯特欧德导演，凯瑟琳·沃特斯顿、凡妮莎·柯比主演作品。

这两位女神确实令卡西·阿弗莱克这样的大神都黯淡无光。

故事背景设置在19世纪美国的东北部，那是个冰冷的世界，所有人都在寻找温暖。

凯瑟琳饰演的艾比盖尔和丈夫经营着小农场，因为女儿的病逝，两人情感日渐疏远生活逐渐麻木；直到有一天凡妮莎饰演的塔利夫妇也来到了农场附近，他们的困扰在于塔利无法怀孕。两个在家庭中形同虚设的女人终于不出意外的走在了一起。

她们的友谊，她们的彼此照应，她们的相互疼痛，她们的纷纷情欲，终于在试探之后，打开了心世界。

我不能说这是一部了不得的佳作，但各方面都已经可以了，值得推荐。毕竟凡妮莎的身体不是那么容易看到的。

小說與電影改編

原著裡，Tallie出場比較平淡。不曉得她什麼時候搬來，但是她的狗在1月8日先在鄰居來往道路吠聲引起注意。1月15日Tallie同樣是為了避開Finney殺豬氛圍，不經意拜訪Abigail。好像這段情事是意外地逐漸發生。

所有電影回眸一望都是重要行為語言

電影把Tallie出場往後延到2月3日，她坐在搬遷的馬車上與Abigail對望，暗示神秘連結已然存在。從季節意義來看，苦寒一月份交待Abigail與Dyer生活方式、喪女悲痛，以及她寫筆記的由來、遺憾沒有喜怒哀樂可以紀錄。等到2月10日Tallie便從雙層樓房走出，從山路往下走到Abigail住處，此時積雪半融與綠色草地交錯，也代表心境開始轉換。

這段山路取景角度非常神奇，難得在電影中可以讓主角看著心愛的人從開闊遠景慢慢走來與逐漸遠離，這樣盼望實在太糾心了。

第一次來訪，積雪半融

兩位主角在書中相會次數不算多，Abigail對於Tallie莫名的心動感覺，全部集中在原著1月15日初訪紀錄。

她只是撩撥頭髮

電影將書中整段由外而內循序分散到其他會面：

• 例如片中2月10日第一次接觸，Abigail提到Tallie散發玫瑰與紫羅蘭的容貌，令她不好意思直盯：In the winter sun though the window, her skin had an under flush of rose and violet that disconcerted me until I look away.
• 片中2月17日一起拔雞毛，觀察Tallie說話方式，對方想要聊得更深入：Her manner is calm and mild and gracious, and yet her spirits seem to quicken at the prospect of further conversation with me.（藝術電影常用人物裸露來形容無所隱瞞，本片此刻不適合褪去衣服，或許用拔掉雞毛來象徵想要獲得真心話吧。）
• 片中2月25日，Abigail獨自擠牛奶，意識到兩人有特別情愫：There seems to be something going on between us that I cannot unravel.

在兩人交往過程，Tallie大部分是主動者，電影表演方式更突顯她的行動。片中2月17日一起拔雞毛之後，Tallie詢問Abigail與Dyer相識過程。Abigail吐露Dyer並不是符合理想伴侶，但只能硬著頭皮繼續相處。說完Tallie輕扣Abigail小指，背景是壁爐火光如愛之烈焰。

壁爐火光常代表熱愛

但在原著，這一段「靈感」出自書中1月22日，Tallie初訪一週後未再現身，像是Abigail內心獨白，在最後寫道And so our hands were joined if our hearts no yet knitted together. 好像是指她和Dyer有手牽手但沒有心連心。然而在電影不談Dyer，轉換成Tallie輕扣Abigail手指，強調兩人才是交心伴侶。

電影在Tallie輕扣小指後，緊接著就是Abigail婉轉拒絕Dyer求歡。

Abigail的生日禮物是Tallie與Dyer一場競爭。Abigail在原著想要的是字典，Dyer並沒有任何批評。Abigail在片中一開始就指明地圖集，還被Dyer消遣一下。Tallie在原著與電影都以地圖集作為禮物。誰能獲得芳心，高下立見。

Abigail生日當天，原著與電影都提到Tallie鞋子浸水，脫鞋後Abigail親手為Tallie取暖。不同的是書中的Tallie居然經過一大段對話還能神色自若接受Abigail服務，並一度閉眼享受按摩。電影劇本比較了解暗戀者的緊張情怯，Tallie很快就把腳收回。

Tallie一度不敢置信Abigail要摸她的腳

生日之後出現一場冰風暴。原著裡人物只能躲在屋中，擔心天氣預報和憂慮存糧。Dyer向Abigail倒述小時候經歷大地震，恐懼久久不散。Abigail憐惜他，兩人同床共枕拾回熱情。

導演在這段另外發揮，予兩對夫妻深深同情。片中Dyer冒著風雪將牲畜趕到穀倉，受阻無法回家。還好Abigail綁著繩子，循線救回Dyer，於是命運共同感促成他們拾回熱情。Tallie則是前往Abigail家半路遇風雪折回，途中逃離可能遭受性騷亂的遮蔽處，冒險回家嚴重凍傷，Finney就算是壞人，也急著救回妻子。

冰風暴三個星期，Abigail以為再也不見Tallie蹤影，沒想到她出現了。書中3月4日描述Abigail內心衝擊：When she arrived my heart was like a leaf borne over a rock by rapidly moving water. 同一天也寫出她在Tallie離去時依依不捨：as if she were in full sail on a flood tide while I bobbed along down backwaters.

電影改用3分半鐘的影像描述兩週時光堆疊上述兩句話的重量。片中Tallie於4月10日再度出現。鏡頭已變成一片青山，Abigail看著Tallie從山坡緩步走近。

盼到人來，悸動之心如落葉被急流沖向岩石

接著Tallie來訪頻率，不再是書中一週又一週，而是每隔兩三天，兩人弄毛線圈、擠牛奶、坐看夕陽、曬衣服、併肩漫步⋯⋯顯出感情不斷升溫。

這可能是大家嚮往的退休生活

最後到了片中4月22日，Abigail看著Tallie背影，道出她的依依不捨。

目送背影，她乘風疾去，我越退越遠

這段3分半鐘影像還有更重要的任務是烘托三天後已到臨界點的告白。原著是Tallie出現後一週即告白，電影醞釀手法相對細膩。

書中3月11日對這場告白處理得有點曲折。前面寫了很多其他事情，最後突然寫到在微小燭光下回憶Tallie來訪，氣勢較弱。此段電影劇本大幅改寫，彰顯Tallie力量，也讓兩位主角大秀演技。

告白之路

片中發生於4月25日，這天鏡頭反過來隨著Tallie下山走近Abigail家中，一路跟著背影進入廚房，再像男主人般坐在椅上。Tallie胸口明顯起伏，好像呼吸急促，等到Abigail回神，她直接破題：Every morning I wake up and I think that I never want to be far from you.

看到Abigail沒有同樣反應，只好開玩笑自己寫了詩”O Sick and Miserable Hearts, Be Still”。

小說沒有這種現代告白：我每天都不想離開你

其實書中Tallie沒有直接破題，但是無緣無故提到這首詩暗為告白楔子。

Abigail把話題轉到自己從未實現成就大事的期望，長大後只是庸庸碌碌。Tallie把話題引回，質疑想要感受成就、滿足、喜悅的期望，能不能此刻在我們身上實踐？在Tallie追問下，Abigail承認兩人親密的感覺達到別無所求的滿足。

下一段吻戲大概在女女電影可以排名前幾大佳作，很難得看到吻戲不只是單純角度和動作，而是欲語還休百轉千折。Vanessa Kirby努力壓抑的下顎搶盡鏡頭。

下顎搶盡鏡頭

電影演出效果較原著青出於藍，比較一下原文描述：

She leaned forward and offered me her lips kiss and then turned her cheek, which I then kissed instead. I asked why she hadn’t done as she was going to do, and she had no reply. So I took her hands and then er shoulders and, with our eyes fully open, brought my mouth to hers.

原著與電影都用連三次Astonishment and joy表現Abigail感受，但要配上Katherine Waterston雙手敞開仰臥長桌，才算傳達極致喜悅。

Astonishment and joy

一般觀眾可能不會注意，片中日期突然從4月25日一下子跳到5月30日，最後如何補回這段缺頁歸功於導演創意。

場景突然變成風光明媚日頭高照。等到只留兩人同處，馬上激烈擁吻。Tallie直接結論兩人親密關係能夠利己利人幫助農莊三贏：I believe that intimacy increases goodwill⋯⋯Won't our farms benefit from that? Won't our husbands? 後來畫面切到Abigail獨自裸身在床，暗示兩人已有肌膚之親。

書中沒有這種尺度

書中在告白兩週後，雙方才會面。一見面並沒有激情四射，而是先討論的是彼此的感覺，這是什麼樣感情，該如何應對⋯⋯雙方處於摸索狀態，後來Tallie便提出那個利己利人的歪理緩解焦慮。她們當時沒聽過針對女同志的批判，對於同性戀情並不感到羞恥，也不存在道德負擔。這天在原著中激情尺度只限於「微微愉悅」：We spent the interval thereafter consoling each other and allowed ourselves some gentle excitement.

接下來一次會面，電影有大幅更動，加入原著中未曾出現對話，兩人竟然談論《李爾王》，大概是北歐導演神來一筆。

場景更是綠意盎然，兩人舖席躺臥在大樹下，Tallie下著紅裙，上衣扣子完全敞開，雖然沒什麼動作，畫面傳達濃厚春心盪漾，不像原著都在屋子裡談話。

綠蔭紅裙，春心盪漾

片中當天話題大致源於書中4月1日內容，包含Tallie三行詩、與Finney不和以及殺妻新聞。

最大重點是Tallie認為以前Abigail一直和她保持距離不敢靠近。書中這個話題僅止於Abigail表示現在會熱情接納Tallie。但在片中Tallie繼續追問以前你為什麼不敢接納我？Abigail便提到《李爾王》啟示，樂觀地把牢籠視為保護網，好像暗示Abigail過去用暗戀方式繼續和Tallie見面，現在則可以躲在婚姻掩飾下和Tallie暗通款曲。不過Tallie表明她不喜歡牢籠。可想而知Finney作為她的獄吏，比Dyer之於Abigail，更為凶險。

片中這一段添加兩人突然聽到樹枝被踩斷聲音，她們沒有看到人影，回頭繼續談話。下一幕就是Finney揶揄Tallie在香格里拉午後時光，暗示Finney已經知情，危機逐漸增高。

其實Dyer在生日送禮那天就心理有數

書中一週後，仍不見Tallie人影，a hawk has been using a single cloud above us as its own parasol. 在上空盤旋的老鷹象徵不安，電影還加碼讓Dyer雙手血淋淋處理飛禽。

Abigail終於一反過去被動，不想空等Tallie，趁著夜色迫近Finney農莊，用單筒望遠鏡察看Tallie安危。這是書中最令我感到激昂段落。

這一段天氣運用，電影和原著順序不太一樣。書中是在大雨過後，Abigail趁雨停了才去偷偷察看Tallie。片中是察看Tallie之後，雨水落在Tallie往來的山坡路上，Abigail窗戶流下雨滴。一般而言，下雨的場景通常代表劇中人內心落淚的電影語言。

流淚的山坡路

Tallie再次出現，她和Finney坐在馬車上，邀請Dyer和Abigail前來聚餐。Tallie不能說話，所以Abigail在書中當天只好紀錄地方新聞。片中則是讓我們看到這輛馬車走在Tallie往來的山坡路上。此刻馬車像是負棺的靈車。

赴宴之前，電影做了不少更動，讓Abigail憤怒達到最高點。Abigail看到Dyer忙著筆記突然惱火，她想到母親說她做完所有家務，只有在買衣服時才會出現在父親筆記上成為一筆開銷。她感歎女孩還沒成年就出嫁，提前面對人生無盡難題。這段在書中原是聚餐一週後，看不到Tallie所生感歎，不過片中Abigail不再被動，聚餐一週後就採取行動，這種感歎改到赴宴之前，累積Abigail爆發力。

片中Abigail為了聚餐特別到鎮上購衣（剛好呼應上述買衣才會出現在筆記上的一筆開銷），遇上Manning樓房發生火警，眾人無力滅火，只能眼睜睜看著女孩燒死。Abigail在大火前咬牙切齒，預告Abigail對即將來臨的悲劇同樣無從著力。

憤怒之火

其實這個火災出現在原著Tallie告白同一天，反諷的是書中女孩並沒有立刻被燒死，而是被水潑到受寒，罹患肺炎過世。在那個艱困時代，不論如何救治都難逃一死。

那場四人餐敘，Finney完全展現父權思維和殘忍暴力性格。通常為了長期居留會對鄰居保持和諧形象，如此毫不掩飾，顯示他根本不想再待下去了。席中Dyer和Finney討論到犁鏟，書中只是一句話帶過。片中大段談起鉸鏈式和圓盤式不同，最後Finney詢問你家的比較好用嗎？我不寒而慄，Finney把Tallie視為可以更換的不良工具。

片中聚餐一週後，Abigail始終等不到Tallie出現，決定單槍匹馬騎去找她，主動發現Finney農莊已經人去樓空，而不是如書中等到鄰居轉告消息。片中Abigail自己向警長報告Finney遷居疑點，也不像書中是由Dyer出面。

Abigail因為情緒激動，被Dyer施以鴉片酊鎮定。他算是相對溫和的男性，但是丈夫對妻子下藥，現代人都會感到不可思議。可能是因為連Dyer都會用藥物來控制妻子，電影把它延續到Tallie死因，暗示Finney可能用藥過量毒死妻子。

原著最後轉折是Tallie從新居來信。

導演另外加碼演出Dyer想要一起讀信，被Abigail拒絕。這封信除了描述Tallie悲慘新生活，關鍵點是提供所在位置。Abigail回信之後，接著就啟程前往探視（其實是救援），這不就是那本地圖集賦予女性行動力的意義嗎！可惜原著是在Tallie死後，Abigail才啟程，動機已經被弱化了。

片中Tallie收到Abigail回信，電影故意對比Finney不顧Tallie隱私，拿走信件朗讀。書中Abigail來不及回信，那只是她打算寫下的內容，Tallie到死前一直孤寂無助，沒有得到Abigail安慰。

其實書中Abigail收到Tallie死訊並未馬上動身，她大哭兩天，又被施以鴉片酊，四天後才決定不顧反對探視，Dyer攔阻不成才跟著上路。

原著對三天路程沒有太多著墨，電影影像處理非常豐富，讓Abigail從柔軟女子變身戰士。Dyer無奈地從床上起身，Abigail俐落整理行囊。馬車進入峽谷，兩旁是高聳綠林。Abigail一向藍衣白衣，這次全身穿著紅色代表熱血沸騰。她內心迴盪Tallie信件，像是強力召喚促她登上征途：do you know what memory it is that I most cherish? It's of you turning to me with that smile you gave me once you realized that you were loved.

我最珍貴回憶是你第一次意識到我愛你而轉身對我微笑

此行終點是依舊不假以顏色的Finney。原著Abigail毫無收穫，連Tallie墓地也無從得知。片中Abigail還能看到Tallie香消玉殞最後一面。當她同臥身旁，導演拉出時光機器，一串纏綿悱徹蒙太奇。從告白之後，片中消失六個星期，自4月26日到6月5日，兩人有時天天相見，直到老鷹開始盤旋⋯⋯

我認為這段象徵愛與死並列的纏綿蒙太奇是近期詮釋最好的激情戲。原著是在筆記上紀錄一段無人知曉秘密情事，電影進一步探索隱藏在筆記沒寫出的激情。

Abigail回到老家，在書中第一句就是她割傷手，像傷了心。片中Dyer也曾經姆指受傷，那天就是Tallie送給Abigail的生日禮物打敗Dyer的禮物。

片中有一段Abigail默默發願，如果有機會再接近Finney農莊，要用來福槍把他斃了。書中沒有這一段，因為她在原著性格偏向柔弱。

書中結尾是 I imagine continuing to write in this ledger, as though this was my life. As though my life was not elsewhere. 好像Abigail只是收斂到筆記裡。

電影選擇書中另一段作為結尾，更加催淚。原著提到Abigail與Dyer只能貌合神離繼續共同生活。片中Dyer試圖爭取Abigail，她回答 I can't imagine what more we could do for one another...其實這一句在書中是Abigail曾對Tallie訴說。

片中Dyer和Tallie一起追問Abigail，你沒辦法嗎？

Abigail拒絕Dyer。

Tallie則是安慰她：imaginations can always be cultivated.

最後Abigail與Tallie閉上雙眼，想像不曾離去的春閨夢裡人。

催生電影

The World To Come 短篇小說作者Jim Shepard長於從歷史研究發展故事，本書靈感來自他撿到一本年代久遠的農莊記事本，記錄日常的天氣和作物播種收割等雜事，卻在頁面邊緣出現一行字“my best friend has moved away, I don’t think I will ever see her again.” （我的好友搬走，我再也見不到她了）。

我讀過原著，直覺作者把這段女女戀寫得太溫和含蓄。當時我不太適應這篇文言文風格，而且兩人在書中會面大約七次，其中三次親密接觸其實相當節制，結尾悲劇收場雖悵然，似乎不夠合情合理，不曉得電影公司看中什麼特別之處？

催生電影第一位推手是Ron Hansen。他專長美國拓荒時代歷史，是The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford（刺殺傑西 ）原著作者及電影編劇，此片讓Casey Affleck(凱西·艾佛列克)演技開始受到重視廣獲好評，當年奪得National Society of Film Critics（國家影評人協會獎）最佳男配角。

Hansen與Shepard相識，想要聯手推出另一部拓荒時代電影，找上凱西・艾佛列克獲得支持。時機正好，他得到奧斯卡男主角之後取得Amazon Studios合約，2017年自組製片公司Sea Change Media。

事後來看Hansen最大貢獻是將片中食衣住行細節影像化，尤以凱西·艾佛列克所拿古樸削蘋果器為代表。片中主角永遠忙著各式各樣粗活，傳統夫妻關係在艱困環境中彼此煎熬，沒有空間追求自己夢想。

然而全由異性戀男子發展這個女女戀劇本，在這年頭欠缺女性觀點恐怕引人非議。艾佛列克認真考慮Hansen提議，找來第二位電影推手，自家公司的製作人Whitaker Lader出面整合兩位編劇。團隊努力讓故事更聚焦在兩位女主角，增加相處次數，還原對話和互動。劇本文字非常優美，我發現幾乎都從小說原封不動搬移，當初閱讀原著並無特別感受，但劇本再透過Katherine Waterston（飾Abigail）詩意旁白， 喜怒哀樂在銀幕上鮮活起來，也幫我真正體會原著女性聲音。

Lader關鍵使命是找到導演。她曾經在日舞影展擔任電影創投業務，因為日舞工作機緣賞識挪威女導演Mona Fastvold首部作品The Sleep Walker，邀請她來執導。

Mona Fastvold

這部電影沒有雄厚資金，但Fastvold不願意妥協數位拍攝、綠幕特效、人工佈景等，她堅持16mm攝影機，取景於羅馬尼亞喀爾巴阡山脈，還要求四季變化真實景觀 ，於是拍攝時程變成非常嚴苛的24個工作天。劇組就隨著季節更迭多次來回拍攝。

取景地點是人煙稀少沒有車輛行駛的森林深處，工作人員得徒手搬運設備，還要避免山區野狗攻擊。山路難行導致Vanessa Kirby（飾Tallie）和藝術指導Jean- Vincent Puzos都扭傷腳踝。Vanessa Kirby第一天就受傷，被劇組揹著移動，好幾場戲改成坐在椅上演出。

不曉得這部片是否證明Lader製作功力，後來她跳槽大型製片公司Imagine Entertainment獲得專屬製作合約。

Fastvold很勇於挑戰旁白。它常見於回憶倒述、引用書信、表達內心的古老技巧，被現代電影人嗤之以鼻，貶為偷懶取巧。導演反向操作加重旁白，Abigail不論有沒有和別人對話，常可以聽到她的內心話，甚至壓過對話。這個旁白效果不像有些喜劇用於表達心口不一致，而是突顯Abigail藉由內心世界忍耐現實生活。

導演從一開始便屬意Katherine Waterston飾演Abigail。導演認為她能詮釋隱藏秘密。她很喜歡這部劇本，希望等她生完小孩來接演。Waterston內斂演出完全符合角色性格。有些人會訝異她在最後一段纏綿蒙太奇出現胸部激突，其實只是育兒哺乳的附加效果。

選定Abigail之後，要尋找相反特質的Tallie。導演看中Vanessa Kirby，因為她有種嬉戲精力，能掌握幽默時間點，具有控制權。為了從蕭瑟冬季突顯Tallie，化妝師Gemma Hoff將她髮色染紅，還加上一點雀斑。對Abigail而言，紅髮的Tallie就像春天來臨。

原文發表於 //www.orange-review.com/2021/03/the-world-to-come.html

Katherine Waterston攝於錄音室

Vanessa Kirby攝於錄音室

今天有机会在圣丹斯电影节线上观看了去年在威尼斯影展获得酷儿狮奖的《打开心世界》，导演是指导了《梦游者》的 莫娜·法斯特欧德，摄影师是 André Chemetoff, 16mm胶片拍摄。有趣的一点是，在近些年在各大电影节，较年轻的导演开始青睐胶片拍摄，很多独立电影也开始重回35毫米、16毫米胶片，是让人感到惊喜的地方。

看完《打开心世界》，发现有很多可以延伸探讨的地方。可能最直观的就是摄影了。虽然故事是发生在19世纪的纽约州北部，但是实际拍摄却是在罗马尼亚的布加勒斯特完成，严寒的背景和16毫米胶片浑然天成般完美地契合在一起，使得影幕上的胶片颗粒（Film Grain）、背景中的暴风雪如此美丽、赏心悦目。剧组对于光的把控也恰到好处，以至于屏幕上影像如此美轮美奂。

剧本的角度说，电影《打开心世界》是改编自美国作家 Jim Shepard 的同名短篇小说 《打开心世界》（收录于短篇小说集《打开心世界》），他自己本人也参与了电影的改编编剧。在此基础上，《打开心世界》的文本性很强，全片几乎都是由主角阿比盖尔写的日记的旁白来推动时间和剧情发展，整体下来效果还是不错的，强文本性和故事以及故事背景结合得恰到好处。Jim Shepard 的短篇小说中喜欢承载历史以及历史上发生过的不幸的事 -- 比如本片中多次提及的疾病白喉就曾在19世纪末在欧洲和美国爆发过。

从结构来讲，由主角的日记旁白来串联时间点，整体的立意在我看来并不侧重于女性之间的恋情，而重点刻画在那个时间背景（19世纪末）下，女人受到来自婚姻、家庭、丈夫，以及社会的压迫，还有道德上的压力。其实纵观全片，可以发现很多导演“埋”下的细节和伏笔：比如当阿比盖尔和塔莉第一场亲热戏，突然门口的一个小动静就能让阿比盖尔吓一大跳 -- 因为她害怕是她的丈夫回家了；在树林里时，远处一个响声吓坏了两人。这些埋下的细节无不体现出19世纪末下女人深深受制于丈夫（男权）以及很难选择过自己真正向往的生活。

其实近些年出现许多优秀的女同题材影片，很多也在三大电影节大放异彩：《卡罗尔》《燃烧女子的肖像》《菊石》等等。《打开心世界》打动我的，并不在于它如何描绘两人在严寒荒凉的平原摩擦出爱情的火花，而是创作者如何让19世纪背景下的角色“亲口”发出女权般的提问，两人如何在如此稀薄的缝隙下相互扶持以忍受不幸福但却无法改变的婚姻。

《打开心世界》剧照。

当然，《打开心世界》不是一部完美的影片。如果说后半段节奏过于缓慢并不是缺点的话，那么主角阿比盖尔和塔莉之间的感情线还可以再进一步描绘和渲染，除了婚姻的压迫，其实将感情线略微着重突出也是不错的选择。两位女主角 凯瑟琳·沃特斯顿 和 凡妮莎·柯比 的表演都很出色，尤其是凯瑟琳·沃特斯顿 （因为承接了更重的戏份），凡妮莎·柯比 在去年的威尼斯影展凭借另一部电影《女人的碎片》荣获影后。导演莫娜·法斯特欧德今年只有35岁，未来可期。

如果你期待观看一部用胶片拍摄的女性电影，那么《打开心世界》是一个不错的选择！

02/02/21

写于芝加哥

如果喜欢我写的影评，可以关注我的公众号：Andysspace, 谢谢！

两位女主非常好，化学作用气贯长虹，抵御暴风雪。 我不反对画外音，从头到尾画外音直接搬字过纸是偷懒，想想编剧之一是短篇小说的原作者先生，肯定是舍不得改。导演摄影两位主演都尽力了，原料如此，巧妇难为。令人扼腕的是，说一千道一万的绝世之恋，还是落到那只“我无能为力”的杯具中，想象代替不了一切，只留下酸涩的反高潮。其实她只需要一本9毛钱的地图册，一匹马。一支来福枪。

片中拍出了近年最好的初吻之一，农场荒原暴风雪，摄影剪辑一流......但我总觉欠缺点什么。单纯再现伤痕沉湎痛苦，难免陷入sentimentalism的坑。我无所谓HE或BE，但是电影需要一个觉醒时刻/cathartic relief，以对抗这压迫和无力，不然，再美的叙事，也终结于虚空。

友邻分享了网友的一段话，我十分赞同。在我看来TWTC的败笔就是剧本的走向，也反映了直男的思维定式和局限。无论文字多么好，美则美矣，灵魂缺氧，或曰，灵魂仍是隐约的警告和训诫。 即便他写出情感之绚丽，感叹女人的不幸，仍是那种苦难抒情的调子，单向的抚今追昔，只是赞叹追抚，囿于既定叙事中。牺牲不可避免，等一等，牺牲的不可避免？真的没另外的选择了吗？在漫长的不被看见的历史里，有没有不认命的人，做出不认命的事，被尘埃湮没在男性主导的主流叙事外？想想华老师的《房客》和其它女性们？ 南市买辔头，北市买长鞭，朝辞戴尔去，暮宿丛林边。

若士必怒，伏尸二人，流血五步，今日是也……

再次说，导演三人组非常棒。但是我愿意跳出剧本“铺陈美丽与哀伤”的逻辑，在“伤”的情绪之外，想一想别的。

网友“Tallie是具有叛逆性格的，她用很‘放’来形容自己，她告诉Abigail小时常不听父亲的话。我们不要忘记，编剧和原著是直男。在创作女同角色时会有成见。他们可以写她逃，跑路；Tallie可以崩了Finney，在那鸟不拉屎的地方没人会发现。但编剧写她放弃，听天由命，殒亡。这是他们的选择。”

开始也有写叛逆的性格，写着写着觉得不对，惯性上来，就把她写成美丽与哀愁了。这是他们的选择。

Abigail平素沉默寡言，但静水流深，谁能预料当人的至爱一个又一个被剥夺时，能产生的爆发力？他们写她陷入巨大痛苦，在想象中复仇和自洽，这是他们的选择。

父权的压迫和暴力，偏远边陲的生活艰辛，对女性生存的挤压；困境下有情人终究不成眷属，确实非常动人。这样的书写带来的感动是审美上的满足。这种抒情仍然是循守陈规的。感时花溅泪，恨别鸟惊心，确实是好句，也是诗人的情绪，不是花鸟的，究竟诗人不是花也不是鸟，花鸟只是情绪的寄托。正如在主要是男性书写的历史中，女性是弱者，被欣赏被惋惜者，默认了一怒为红颜的是男人，没想过红颜一怒为红颜。说到这我又要说华老师，她的好处是拥有另一种想象力，从缝隙中开花发芽，从边缘写出了颠覆，transgression from the margin。

电影瑕瑜互见。编剧三星。Mona Fastvold作为导演发挥的余地不多，虽然加入了一些很好的细节，但对剧本没有大改，把大部分创作空间用在调度和视觉语言上了，四星半。配乐略过火，三星半。毫无疑问，Katherine Waterston和Vanessa Kirby五星， 如蜜如电。

PS：我很喜欢这部电影，也有issue。我的issue不在电影，在原著和编剧，在从女性角度看世界和想象力。

从源头上说，原著作者虚构了一位生活于1850年代新英格兰的边远农场女性的家庭，感情和生活。她和丈夫的关系，她的爱人与丈夫的关系，在故事中不可移除，她们夫妻关系的negotiations，是情节转折的动力。作者无法或不愿想象男性的缺席。

在视觉化之后，就会有人谈好男人、坏男人、OK男人，也会重复那个固有误解：女人因为没有遇到好男人或婚姻不幸，才去同性那里抱团取暖。

避开热门对比，就说短篇，也是历史小说，虚构的，日记体的，英国作家萨拉·华特斯的《灵契》，没男人什么事，是BE，是完全的女性角度，想象力很大胆。大小姐是受了哪个男朋友/丈夫的冷遇转而做姬吗？不存在。说到历史想象力，维多利亚三部曲的另两部长篇更是想象力丰富。成王败寇，历史大部分是强者记录，但它有A面和B面，我们何不多去想象没有人写下来的B面。

说一个久远一点的电影，1985年的Desert Hearts，美国，小地方，乡下，银幕之内不见男主。电影不讨论好男人坏男人。电影的对焦点，把观众的注意力集中在两位女主如何看待世界，如何对待感情和未来。

这也许才是被期许的world to come。

Tuesday, January 1st, 1856.

Fair and very cold.

This morning,

ice in our bedroom for the first time all winter.

The water froze on the potatoes

as soon as they were washed.

With little pride, and less hope,

we begin the new year.

On the porch after sunup,

I could hear the low chirping of sparrows

in the hedgerows that are now buried in the snow.

Dyer has maintained that with good health,

and a level head,

there is always an excellent chance

for a farmer willing to work.

He feels he can never fully rid himself of his burdens.

And I'm certain that because his mind is in such a bad state,

it affects his whole system.

He told me this morning

that contentment was like a friend he never gets to see.

You're late with the milking.

She wasn't suffering.

And you?

Since our acquisition of this farm,

my husband had kept a ledger to help him see the year whole.

This way he knows what each crop

and field pays from year to year.

And Dyer has asked me to keep a diary of matters

that might otherwise go overlooked...

From tools lent out to bills outstanding.

That I have done.

But there would be no record in these dull and simple pages

of the most passionate circumstances

of our seasons past.

No record of our emotions or fears.

Our greatest joys.

Our most piercing sorrows.

With our child,

it was as if I'd found my bearings.

But I too rarely told her that she was our treasure.

Would you like to try?

Like this, papa?

That's it.

She often seemed separate from us,

as if she was working at just fitting in where she could.

They saw his brothers and sisters

and they were the mouse's family...

There is something so affecting

about mute and motionless grief and illness

in a child so young.

She put her arms around me and said nothing else.

But it felt like we were speaking.

I have become my grief.

I have become my grief.

"Welcome sweet day of rest",

says the hymn.

And Sunday is most welcome for its few hours of quiet ease.

As for me.

I no longer attend.

After the calamity of Nellie's loss,

what calm I enjoy

does not derive from the notion of a better world to come.

I want to purchase an atlas.

- It could be a bother. - No, no. No bother.

Who is that?

His name is Finney.

- His wife Tallie. - Hyah!

I met them at the feed store.

They seem to keep to themselves.

They're renting the Zebrun farm.

Monday, February 4th.

Why is ink like fire?

Because it is a good servant,

and a hard master.

Did you say something?

I want to purchase an atlas.

I suppose there are more frivolous purchases

one could make.

I've saved 90 cents of my own.

I can't imagine a better way to spend it.

Could buy your husband a gift.

What better gift could I give him

than a wife who is no longer a dullard?

My self-education

seems the only way to keep my unhappiness

from overwhelming me.

Good afternoon.

I've been using a broom on my porch.

The snow is so dry.

I'm Tallie.

Abigail.

I hope I'm not intruding.

No.

I just, I needed to get away for the day.

The farm is a slaughterhouse right now.

My husband is killing his hogs.

Would you like to come in?

Yes, I'd love that.

Or we could just stay out on the porch, shivering.

I know it's the dullest of all things

to have an ignorant neighbor come by

and spoil a Sunday afternoon.

Oh, no, you're the most welcome here.

But I know the feeling.

Sometimes, I imagine during the Widow Weldon's visits

that I've been plunged up to my eyes in a vat of the prosaic.

Oh, Widow Weldon!

She got going on the county levy once...

She saw I had noticed her hair,

and admitted she had been vain about it as a girl.

She said that back then, she'd worn it longer

and plaited in a bun at the back of her head.

In the winter sun through the window,

her skin had an underflush of rose and violet

which so disconcerted me that I had to look away.

As always,

when it came to speaking

and attempting to engage another's affections,

circumstances doomed me to striving and anxiety.

From my earliest youth, I was like a pot-bound root,

all curled in upon itself.

I hope I'm not keeping you from something.

No.

I'm glad you've come.

Finney saw your husband at the cooperage.

He mentioned his new method for farrowing his piglets.

With some asperity?

My husband mentions everything with some asperity.

I told him that once,

and...

he observed in response that it seemed to be quite a favor

to get a kind word from me.

And I told him that if he was married to himself,

he'd soon find out what a favor it was.

My mother always said that having children

would resolve that dilemma.

My mother made the same claim.

And yet...

Here we are...

Both childless.

My daughter, Nellie, would have been five today.

Oh.

How did she pass?

Diphtheria.

Last September.

I'm so sorry.

- Hello. - Oh.

Good afternoon.

I'm Dyer.

Tallie.

Oh, it's late, isn't it? I should be getting on.

Don't go on my account.

Oh, no.

That's a nice wrap you have.

Thank you.

I never receive compliments for my clothes.

I'm so glad you've come.

Meeting you has made my day.

It has?

Well...

How pleasant and uncommon it is to make someone's day.

Thursday, February 14th.

Dyer's third night with the fever.

Drink this.

I plan on getting sick more often.

My wife smiles at me.

Promise me you're not gonna die.

That would be the opposite of my intention.

I've restored him somewhat

with an enema of molasses,

warm water and lard.

Also a drop of turpentine next to his nose.

I spent the day reconsidering my conversation with Tallie.

We compared childhood beds...

Mine in which the straw

was always breaking up and thinning out.

And hers, which was as hard, she claimed,

as the Pharaoh's heart.

I should be taking care of you.

I agree.

Her manner is sweet and calm and gracious.

And yet her spirits seem to quicken

at the prospect of further conversation with me.

I find that everything I wish to tell her

loses its eloquence in her presence.

So how did you come to meet Dyer?

He was the oldest son of a neighbor.

He helped out on my father's farm.

And was he instantly smitten by you?

He was, wasn't he?

He was instantly smitten by you.

He admired what he viewed as my practical good sense.

You don't countenance words like "smitten", do you?

I suspect I use all the same words you do.

I suspect you don't.

In speech, yes, because you're shy.

But I bet you're more accomplished in your writing.

Thank you.

Your good sense, that's all your husband was smitten with?

And my efficient habits.

That's all?

My handy ways.

Dyer likes mechanical things.

I have no doubt he would've been happier

had he been allowed to pursue

the natural scientific bent of his mind.

Circumstances forced him into farming.

And despite all of that, his heart compelled him to you?

Well...

You would have to ask him about that.

And what would you say if I asked you?

I suppose that as a suitor, he was...

not generous, but he was just.

And that he was affectionate, if not constant.

I wasn't sure of his suitability.

But my family felt that more improving

might be in the offing.

After all, it is a long lane that has no turning.

You both have much to be thankful for.

We do.

It's still too soon.

Sorry.

Tuesday, February 19th.

My reluctance seems to have become his shame.

His nighttime pleasures, which were never numerous,

have curtailed even more.

And I have so far refused to engage his persistence

on the subject of another child.

Evening.

This is my husband Finney.

And you already know Dyer.

Our paths have crossed.

And this is the Abigail that I've been mentioning.

My wife talks about you as if you're all about the house,

and everything reminds her of you.

Oh, well, it's all I can do but sit cross-legged and morose

whenever she's away.

- Come in. - Thank you.

The rain so heavy that it broke down our mill.

Did you miss me?

Yes.

You look different.

No...

Finney seems agreeable.

Yes, he is, when he chooses to be.

I guess I'm supposed to offer a toast.

But when it comes to the social graces,

I'm about as smooth as coming down a rocky hill in the dark.

What my husband means is he's so happy

to finally get together,

and to see Dyer again.

Cheers.

Part of what I value about my wife

is how she taught me to associate with my fellow beings.

Finney, that's a handsome neck tie you've chosen.

Thank you.

But with my neck,

my head sticks out like a chicken in a poultry wagon.

Your tart was wonderfully savory.

Oh, did you like it? I'm so glad.

I was worried I wouldn't have enough eggs

- because we had an accident. - Oh.

My hired hand pulled down a box of eggs and broke two dozen.

I announced that he was unlucky to eggs

and no longer allowed to approach them.

"Unlucky to eggs." I like that.

I told him that his shirt had so many holes,

he can make a necklace of it.

Well, we often wish we could afford a hired hand.

We've suffered a great deal from the carelessness of hired hands.

Mr. Holt's hired hand is said to have swum his horse

over the canal despite the cold.

Really?

Yes.

Winter's been so hard,

sometimes Mrs. Weldon's son

has had to deliver the mail on skis.

Now our letters can get lost at breakneck speed.

Did you write letters to Tallie when you were courting?

I did.

And did Tallie keep them?

Only Tallie knows for sure.

Monday, February 25th.

Finney and Tallie's bond confounds me.

At times, when their eyes meet,

they seem yoked in opposition to one another,

while at other times, there seems a shared regard.

There is something going on between us

that I cannot unravel.

Hold this here.

Okay.

Thank you.

Hello, Dyer.

Well, hello.

You're off?

Yes, to town.

Have a good day.

She'll be pleased to see you.

Happy birthday!

Brought you some things.

Hand-knitted?

I hoped you'd like them.

I do.

An Atlas!

The United States of America.

Oh and a little pot of apple sauce with an egg on top.

My feet are freezing.

Oh, let me warm them.

How's Finney?

He's Finney.

Ah, it tickles.

My husband records trespassers in his journals.

And this morning, when I asked him

what he intends to do about them,

his response was so unpleasant that I...

resolved to visit you...

so that there would be something in my day

other than his meanness.

Dyer thinks he has many estimable qualities.

He does.

And he also uses a ledger to keep accounting of whom I visit

and how long I stay.

Why?

I have no idea.

As he's gotten more like this,

I've given up trying to figure out

all the peculiarities of his...

odd little world.

I suppose he's especially unhappy with me since...

I'm yet to give him a child.

What does it feel like?

Like nothing at first.

But then when she began to stir...

it's like butterflies flapping their wings.

Later, like a rabbit...

when she kicked her legs at night.

It frightens me.

The thought of having none of that.

And of giving birth.

Most of us feel that way.

But...

when the time comes, I will be there...

to guide you through it.

Dyer must want another child.

I understand.

Birthday gifts.

A box of raisins.

That needle case you've been needing.

And a tin of sardines.

You spoil me.

Oh, you got gifts from your new friend.

She left hours ago.

I just saw her leave.

The great storm began

with a faint groaning in the northeast.

It was like a noise of a locomotive.

Help!

Come closer, girl.

It's warmer over here.

I'm sorry, I'll be going.

You should wait it out.

Come on, mare.

Dyer!

Dyer!

Dyer!

How long would it be before I receive word of Tallie?

How long could I wait?

How long will the feed in the barn last?

Each cow eats 26 pounds of forage every day.

You should know that.

They start to skinny down after three days.

Heard the newspaper predicts the storm'll let up by then.

But that's probably based on

an expert's consultation of a goose bone.

"In a real crisis of nature, we're all at another's mercy."

Yes.

My mother liked to say,

"We tumble from one mortification to another."

When I was seven, an earthquake knocked down our house and barn.

Did I tell you?

Never.

- An earthquake? - Yes.

I remember something woke me before dawn.

I don't know what.

My father was calling out.

But I couldn't tear myself away from the window.

I saw birds fluttering in the air, afraid to set down.

The river was roiling, and I couldn't move.

And then...

Finally, I jumped down to our collapsed stairwell,

as all my brothers had done before me.

And we all huddled together in the dark on the porch.

Later, my mother said

that the dread never fully went away after that.

She said, "What was safe if the solid earth could do that?"

Mother.

Tallie! You're frozen!

Tallie! Stay awake! Stay awake!

Open your eyes! Open your eyes!

Keep your eyes open!

Keep your eyes open!

Look at me.

I would die without you.

Then you're safe.

Because I am here.

Monday, March 17th.

Half the chickens are lost.

I dug ice and snow from their dead open mouths

in an attempt to revive them.

Hobnails...

For better traction.

The Widow Weldon's son, on his rounds,

reported that Tallie had gotten home safely,

with, he thought, only a bit of frostbite.

We haven't seen your friend down the lane for a while.

Finney took her to Oneonta.

So everything is tedious and lonesome?

Thursday, April 10th.

Biscuits and dried mackerel for breakfast.

Dyer has augmented the padding in the cattle pens

with his hoardings of maple leaves and old straw.

It always seems that Tallie will never appear.

But I remind myself that time and the needle wear

through the longest morning.

And I have noted that when she does arrive,

my heart is like a leaf borne over a rock

by rapidly moving water.

Hello. Oh!

Oh! Careful.

Stay. Sit, sit.

Saturday, April 12th.

- I spent the last two days... - Very damp, cloudy and cool.

Smoky.

Perhaps the forest is somewhere on fire.

Your nose is being gracious.

Monday, April 14th.

A terribly bad spring so far,

but the clover has come up through it,

and is all right.

And how's Finney?

The soul of patience.

He's mentioning again the idea of migrating west.

You're planning on moving west?

Perhaps.

I had an uncle who moved to Ohio and came to a desperate end.

Which is what one might expect from Ohio.

- Tomorrow? - Hm.

Thursday, April 17th.

Rain in torrents nearly all night.

The lane is flooded and the ditches brim full.

This morning, only a slight shower.

Tallie came later than her usual time today.

She offered no explanation.

I'm sorry that your childhood was anything less than joyous.

Joyous it was not.

But I made my own happinesses.

My husband says, "God puts heavy stones in your path,

it's up to us to step over them."

Stones are what the fortunate receive.

My mother's mother was born in 1780

right here in Schoharie County.

I often wonder at the courage

and the resourcefulness of those women.

Imagine faring forth into a wilderness,

hoping to build the foundations of a home.

Maybe they had a certain high hopefulness that we don't have.

When can you come?

Tuesday.

- Hello, Tallie! - Good day.

Was your afternoon gladsome?

Yes, it was, very.

- Goodbye. - Goodbye.

I felt,

looking at her expression,

as if she were in full sail on a flood tide,

while I bobbed along down backwards.

And yet,

I never say on her countenance the indifference

of fortunate towards the less fortunate.

Good day.

Good day.

Are you sick, too?

Not at all.

I was hoping to compare colds.

I'll make you tea and honey?

What?

Every morning I wake up

and I think that I never want to be far from you.

And under your influence, since you're so good with words,

I've composed a poem.

It's entitled...

"Oh, Sick and Miserable Heart, Be Still."

When I was a little girl,

I thought I could cultivate my intellect

and do something for the world.

But my life has surprised me by being far more ordinary.

You're talking about that moment

that I have dreamed about, when we're carried in triumph

for having done something wonderful or received at home

with tears and shouts of joy.

Do you know what I wonder?

Is it possible...

that such a moment hasn't yet come for either of us?

I think it has.

Or that it could.

You do.

So what do you think?

What do you think about us?

I don't know how to put it into words.

Well, try.

- I have tried. - Well, try again.

What do you imagine?

I imagine that I love

how our encircling feelings leave nothing out...

for us to want or seek.

I've presumed too much.

It's been my experience that it's not always those

who show the least who actually feel the least.

Just my dog's toenails on the wood.

Why didn't you do what you attempted to do?

I worry you'll catch my cold.

You smell like a biscuit.

I have to go home.

Astonishment and joy.

Astonishment and joy.

Astonishment and joy.

You haven't accomplished any of your responsibilities.

- Do you need assistance? - No, I don't think so.

So it's a cold plate for supper tonight?

I'll milk the cows.

Friday, May 30th.

The sunshine streaming through the branches

makes a tremendous farrago of light and shade.

We hold our friendship between us and study it,

as if it were the incomplete map of our escape.

When the day is done,

my mind turns to her,

and I think, with a special heat,

"Why are we to be separated?"

Your smile stopped. Is it meant for someone else?

Sorry, my mind was elsewhere.

We need calico and buttons and shoe thread.

Am I troubling you, sitting here with you like this?

Not at all.

I may be late coming to it,

but I've learned consideration of others.

I've learned the need for human sympathy

and the unfulfilled want of it.

I feel I've provided you with sympathy.

I suppose that's so.

The smile returns.

Good day.

Oh.

I believe that intimacy increases goodwill.

And if that's the case,

then every minute we spend together

will make us more cheerful workers.

Won't our farms benefit from that?

Won't our husbands?

All our burdens will be lightened.

When she left, I was like a skiff at sea

with neither hand nor helm to guide it.

They're cleaning out the drain under the street along the fork.

And several people are down with fever.

Holt came by to hang the bacon.

He still hasn't recovered from being beaten by two strangers.

He had to be hauled to his home in his cart.

He said the men who did it were gonna kill him,

and then realized they were mistaken as to who he was.

Lately, it seems like all you talk about

are highwaymen and house breakers.

On the contrary,

I often defer to your sensitivities.

And I haven't even told you about

all the reports in the county of men

who've poisoned and killed their wives

because I haven't found it a fitting subject for supper.

"Killed their wives," he used those words?

Mm-hm. those words.

Have you had any disagreements?

Yes, about my wifely duties.

I told him that I was opposed to it, that I was not willing.

And he accepted that?

Well, he hasn't touched me since, so...

But I made myself feel better...

by composing a poem.

Can I read you the opening stanza?

You can read me the entire poem.

No, I'll start with the opening stanza.

"I love flowering gardens.

I love creeping plants.

I love walking in the air,

but I fear swarming ants."

I don't think I can support the rhyme.

You see why I didn't read the whole thing?

I'm sorry.

I've always been contrary and maladroit.

Earlier, I... I felt that...

whenever I would draw close to you, you would retreat,

and that, if I kept still, you would return

but you'd stay at a distance, like those sparrows

that stay in the farmyard and won't come into the house.

- That's not how I feel. - How do you feel, then?

When I was in school,

the teacher had me read "Cordelia"

to an older boy's "King Lear."

Near the end of the play,

the king and his daughter are imprisoned,

but he views it in a positive way.

"Come, let's away to prison," he says.

"We two alone shall sing like birds in a cage."

Imprisoned...

In a positive way?

Well, maybe that one has to read the entire play.

It may be only in plays where people

are imprisoned in a positive way.

You don't think there's a cage that could work to our benefit?

I just...

I only know that...

I've never liked cages.

I hope you had a good afternoon in Shangri-La or Timbuktu,

wherever it is you've been.

I had a busy afternoon, yes.

I would think.

Five hours you've been gone.

I went to the drapers.

I couldn't find anything I liked.

Then I stopped by the tinker for a sack of coffee,

but he's now asking 60 cents, and I only had 50.

Then I thought I would buy you a treat of some kind,

but Mr. Arnolds reminded me

that I still owed for my last transactions so...

I was forced to close up my purse.

Tell me everything about your day.

Don't hold anything back.

You're not interested in how your wife spends her time.

I don't feel I have a wife.

I feel I have a selfish whore who...

who'd rather wander off to another man's house

than contribute any labor.

Well, Dyer was off in the fields,

and her house is on the way back home, so...

So it's just Abigail and you

tittering and gossiping away the hours?

Enjoying each other's company.

I have certain expectations, and you have certain duties.

We've talked all night and day about your expectations.

I will not stay with a woman

if it continually requires contention.

Well, then you shouldn't stay with me, should you?

Don't ask for more than you can handle.

Sunday, June 8th.

All afternoon, a hawk has been using a single cloud above us

as its own parasol.

To ward off others of its kind.

Our whole house now seems both angry and repentant.

God help us.

When three days went by without a word from her,

I stole over to her house to look on her

from what I imagined to be

a vantage point of perfect safety.

By turning the lens piece, I could draw her face nearer,

and hold it there until she turned away.

Her image provoked a sensation in me

like the violence that sends a floating branch

far out over a waterfall's precipice

before it plummets.

"For the wife does not have the authority over her own body,

but the husband does.

Do not deprive one another,

so that Satan may not tempt you

because of your lack of self-control."

Ephesians 5:33. "Submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord..."

Monday, June 9th.

Merciful father...

Turn the channel of events.

Wednesday, June 11th.

Dyer has been silent all day,

and I was happy to be left in my solitude.

Hello!

Tallie...

We haven't seen you for days.

Have you been ill?

- Nothing serious, I hope. - Ho!

She's been under the weather.

- Good afternoon. - Good afternoon.

We want to invite you to dinner again this Saturday next.

But it's our turn. We should be feasting you.

In the meantime, please be our guests.

We'd love to.

Six?

- Six it is. - Hup!

My mother once told me in a fury

when I was a little girl

that my father asked nothing of her

except that she work in the garden,

harvest the produce, preserve the fruit,

tend the poultry, milk the cows,

manage the household duties,

and help out in the fields when needed.

She said she appeared in his ledger

only when she purchased a dress.

Am I anywhere in there?

I'm recording spring expenses.

And how have things changed?

Daughters are married off so young

that everywhere you look a slender and unwilling girl

is being forced to stem a sea of tribulations

before she is even full-grown in height.

That's its purpose!

Come on. Come on.

Morning.

Morning, Jim.

Morning, ma'am.

I've got a new book for you.

Do you know, I'd actually like to see

that blue dress you have there.

All right, lady.

Over here!

It's two and a half.

I'll take it.

My change?

Thank you.

The Mannings' oldest daughter tipped over an oil lamp

and it set the house ablaze.

- Fire! - Ho! Ho!

- Fire! - Before she was driven

from the house by the flames,

she heard calls from her sister,

who was trapped in the upper loft.

Get her out of there.

Cassie!

Get her out!

Get her out!

Your wife is to be commended on her hospitality and cooking.

I can recall the day...

No, thank you.

...when every family was fed, clothed, shot, sheltered,

and warmed from the products a good wife

gathered within her own fence line.

I heard down by the loggers that Mrs. Mannings' oldest

got fiercely burned in the house fire.

- Cassie. - And died.

Yes, she did.

Well, as my father used to say,

"The supreme disposer of all events

does sometimes disappoint our earthly hopes."

What a marvelous hanging lamp.

Finney purchased it so that everyone could read

with equal ease around the room.

I wasn't brought up to read over much,

but I do believe a father should give his children

every chance to improve.

Children being a sore point in this household.

And yours, I'd expect.

You'll have to forgive my husband.

Even so,

whatever misfortunes arrive at my doorstep,

I seek to improve my lot with my own industry.

I...

I study my options closely,

and just attend to everything with more vehemence.

Well, then you should be commended for that.

I'll give you an example.

When I first began farming,

I was so vexed at my own inability

to stop my dogs barking

that one January, during a storm,

I held the dog around the corner of the barn in a gale

until it froze to death.

I nearly froze to death myself, at least froze my hands,

even with my heavy work gloves.

That is reprehensible.

Did I see outside that you use an old shovel plow?

Well, since you're interested in my machinery,

I have a hinged harrow that's been giving me trouble.

The spikes catch the rocks and roots, and they break off.

Well, our harrow has upright discs.

Work better?

Yeah, it seems to.

Bring the desserts.

I think we're stuffed.

My husband insists on his pastries

and preserved fruits and creams.

Well, good.

What is happening?

Are you in danger?

What happened to your neck?

No, I just took a fall over a fence.

I hadn't heard.

There are many things about which you haven't heard.

Back at the table,

Tallie kept strict custody of her eyes.

Her husband's mood seemed to have darkened.

He served the pastries and creams himself,

leaving only her plate empty.

Saturday, June 21st.

My heart a maelstrom.

My head a bedlam.

A whole week and no visit from Tallie.

No word.

My anxieties often force me to stop my work

and pace the house like an inmate.

I have to see her.

Ho, ho!

Tallie! Tallie!

What has happened?

They're gone.

And no goodbye?

We need to call the sheriff.

And report what exactly? That our neighbors moved?

It's the Zebrun farm. They were renting.

I'll go then.

For what reason?

There's blood!

And you never had an accident?

So we'll just do nothing?

I'll make the rounds of the neighbors.

And if we are not satisfied,

we can take your fears to the sheriff.

Thank you.

Monday, June 23rd.

Dyer said Mrs. Nottoway recalled spotting their caravan

on the country road in the late evening, heading northwest.

Mrs. Nottoway?

She believed she spied Tallie's figure

alongside her husband's but was unsure.

A hired hand, she thought, was driving the second wagon.

Sunday, June 29th

I spotted the sheriff on his way to church.

I conveyed my accusations, to no response.

Dyer said that no one would investigate a crime

without evidence that a crime had been committed.

Calm myself?

I refused to calm myself,

so he tied me to a chair and administered laudanum.

Monday, June 30th.

Bleary and short of breath from the laudanum...

I wake weeping,

retire weeping,

stand before my duties weeping.

Sunday, July 6th.

I am a library without books,

a sea of fear, agitation and want.

Dyer speaks of how much we have for which to be grateful.

I sit violently conscious of the ticking clock

while he weeps at what he imagines

to be his own poor, forgotten self.

Wednesday, July 9th.

Despite some hours without the laudanum,

I was so befogged and wild with grief

that Dyer left me for the afternoon,

unsettled and wary of my state.

Tuesday, July 22nd.

- Weldon? - Good day.

The renters at Zebrun's farm are gone.

Did they leave a forwarding address?

No. You've got a letter.

Hyah.

Is it from her?

It is.

- Oh. - Origin?

Onondaga County. Do you know it?

It's north of Syracuse.

Are you gonna read it?

To myself.

Abigail, Abigail, Abigail.

I'm sorry that all I have to send you is this letter,

and I'm sorry for all that a letter cannot be.

Even the best letter is just a little bit of someone.

I'm sorry I never got to say goodbye,

and I'm sorry that we seem to have traded

one sort of misery for another.

It turns out that houses deep in the backwoods

always seem to be awful and unnatural in their loneliness.

If there were only a ruined abbey

around here with bats in it, the view would be perfect.

Our roof is ramshackle and sheds water nicely in dry weather

but we have to spread milk pans around the floor when it rains.

Still, outside the kitchen,

there are already anemones and heart's-ease,

and even prettier flowers which my stupidity

keeps me from naming for you.

I believe I've enjoyed myself less these last few weeks

than any other female who ever lived.

During what little time I have to myself,

Finney reads aloud instructions for wives

from the Old Testament.

But when it comes to the Bible,

I have to say that there are a lot of passages

he may know word for word,

but which haven't touched his heart.

I can't account for his state of mind except to say

that my company must be intensely disagreeable to him.

And if that's the case,

I'm sorry for it.

Ho...

Good afternoon!

Afternoon.

Whoa.

Hey.

I've got something for you.

There you go.

Thank you.

Good day.

Hyah. Come on.

- Is it for me? - From Schoharie County.

- Your Abigail. - Give that to me.

Give it. Finney, give...

Finney!

"What's to become of the thousands of our sex

scattered out in the wilderness

and obliged to tax our strengths?

I feel as if, at that selfsame hour

when our prospects were brightest,

that in the dim distance a black shadow approached.

And yet still,

imagine the happiest of unions for us of the sort

in which two families previously at daggers drawn

are miraculously brought together on love's account.

It is your face I bear through the night.

It is to you I devote a dreaming space

before I turn myself to sleep, but there is no sleep.

It's as if within me everything clamors for air,

and I think if it's like this now,

what will it be like later?

I send you what love and support I can.

I send you all my heart's hopes. Abigail."

Please know that force alone

couldn't have gotten me here to a place like this.

I was told I had to act in support of interest,

happiness and the reputation of someone I once loved.

As far as I can figure,

we're now still only about 85 miles apart.

But of course,

people like us don't go on long visits.

Dyer refused first to permit my departure,

and then to accompany me,

and only caught up to the cart

at the end of our property and climbed aboard.

We were the very picture of anguish,

rattling along side by side.

The night was fair and warm with the appearance of a coming rain.

A shower.

It's so hard to write about

how much I want to thank you,

but I have to start somewhere.

Abigail...

I want to tell you that being with you, even alone,

has been like being a part of the biggest

and most spacious community I could ever imagine.

I feel closer to you than I would a sister since

everything amazing that I feel,

I chose to feel.

And do you know what memory it is that I most cherish?

It's of you turning to me with that smile you gave me

once you realized that you were loved.

I have no way of knowing what is to come,

but I do know that all of the trust

and care and courage we shared,

that will all shine on us

and protect us.

You are my city of joy.

You are my city of joy.

Whoa.

Might I ask your business?

We've come to see Tallie. Where is she?

I heard you on the road.

You made such a racket. I took you for the tin knocker.

We've ridden for three days.

We are not leaving without seeing her.

I'm not concerned with what you will or will not leave without.

Keep a civil tongue, friend.

Where is she?

I treated her with tea of soot

and pine-tree root to good effect,

but sickness always tests our willingness

to bow before the greatest authority.

My guess is that it was diphtheria.

No!

There is some alienation from marital...

What time is it?

I don't care.

- I have to go. - You're gonna make a mark.

Come on.

Come on.

Come on.

Sunday, August 31st.

Weather very hot and sunny.

I cleaned out the shed

which was full of rusty and dusty rubbish,

washed the windows,

and preserved apples for the winter.

Fourteen dollars from the sale of our milk and butter.

I have cut my hand with a paring knife.

I console myself with the conviction

that someday in the future when Dyer

is forced to travel to Syracuse for feed or supplies,

I will join him,

and take his rifle and go to Skaneateles

and kill Finney where he sits.

Dyer has been at work on the barn.

Each day, we enact our separation.

Sometimes after it gets dark,

we walk over the hills across our upper fields

for the wide, wide view.

And Dyer tries to imagine us as we were,

while I try to imagine Tallie

and that cordial and accepting home

that existed solely in our dreams.

I imagine Tallie and Nellie somewhere together,

and Nellie running her brush through Tallie's hair.

I imagine banishing forever those sentiments of my own

that she chastened and refined.

I imagine resolving to do what I can for Dyer.

And I imagine continuing to write in this ledger,

here,

as though this was my life.

As though my life was not elsewhere.

I've always feared that I would bring misfortune

to those I loved.

Are you really saying nothing to that?

I don't know where to start.

I can't imagine what more we could do for one another...

with our constraints.

You can't?

I can't.

You can't?

Well, then...

It's a good thing we remember that our imaginations

can always be cultivated.

“The New World Is Yet To Come ” 这大概是最能表达我对本片感受的一句话吧。 《打开心世界》看完了， 思绪万千五味陈杂。 影片以盖布瑞拉第一视角和大量旁白， 讲述一位19世纪初美国偏远地区穷苦农妇的生活，和内心渴望被爱、被改变的期待。 盖布瑞拉善于文字表达，早早嫁作人妻，每天按部就班做着“妻子应该做的事情”。 塔莉和丈夫搬到盖布瑞拉附近，是位不愿承担丈夫所说“妻子应做之事”的美丽农妇。 塔莉问她为什么嫁给丈夫的时候，盖布瑞拉回答：他人虽不长情，但人很深情。 这就埋下了她丈夫可以陪着妻子坐3天3夜马车去见她妻子担心的女人之伏笔。 虽然夫妻两人每天没什么话可讲，可她丈夫还是不会离开盖布瑞拉。 塔莉的丈夫则是一位小肚鸡肠疑心重的男人， 这也预示着这是一出悲剧。 塔莉丈夫用日记无比详尽地记录自己妻子出去时长和谁见面，还会告诉塔莉“隔壁村庄有人用毒药毒死妻子”的信息我就猜到塔莉估计会BE。 当看到塔莉和丈夫不辞而别搬走， 盖布瑞拉给塔莉写信最终被塔莉小心眼丈夫发现还大声朗读那份爱的倾诉信后， 我气得骂了句脏话！ 塔莉和盖布瑞拉的感情被塔莉丈夫发现， 塔莉被丈夫毒死.... 盖布瑞拉找上门发现塔莉死的哭泣， 还有最后盖布瑞拉像失了魂的每日流泪都让我难过不已。 我也在这些台词中得到了之前不理解盖布瑞拉和塔莉彼此产生爱意的原因。 塔莉的旁白解答了一切： 和一个在一起可以让自己快乐、舒服、产生共鸣的人在一起才是爱。 我太喜欢她们对于羞涩内敛喜爱的用词描述。 虽然没有《烧女图》和《菊石》的爱那么热烈，但都非常真实把“本过着平凡普通生活，突然有个人闯入自己世界”的惊喜、爱恋、仰慕、共情描写出来。 其实，有些对话太过于晦涩难懂， 当时男权主义背景下农妇们的爱只能躲躲藏藏。 不过，我挺喜欢塔莉低沉声音和橘色金发的。 可惜，塔莉已死，盖布瑞拉会永远活在悲伤之中。 The New World Is Yet To Come.