赵婷：改变好莱坞

张慈

2017年，在帕罗阿图的一家小剧院看完电影《骑士》后，我开始注意Chloe Zhao（赵婷）这个名字。这部电影很特别，女性导演拍驯马，而且还是一个华人，改变了我们对华人导演的认知，意识到了好莱坞一种隐约的改变，新生力量加华人元素，一位跨越文化界线的导演诞生了。

2020年9月13日，赵婷斩获威尼斯金狮奖，受邀为她写一篇专稿。赵婷当时正在漫威做新片后期，工作繁忙。我辗转多人，向赵婷新闻负责人的邮箱寄出了采访请求，又反复看了她的两部电影，通过北京的朋友联系上赵婷父亲，给我提供了几篇素材稿，就开写了。

2021年元旦，我居然看到赵婷的《无依之地》（Nomadland）上线了！观影过程中最让我印象深刻的是女主碰见的那些麻烦，没有工作没有稳定收入，车子坏了修不起，一个人住房车里随时惊恐的状态，吃喝拉撒都在一个逼仄的空间完成，看去世的丈夫照片时内心的柔软，祖父送的盘子被打碎心也跟着碎，这种没有安全感、成为边缘人的故事深深打动了我。Frances McDormand的演技，闭着眼睛就能点赞，《法戈》《奥利弗 基特里奇》《三块广告牌》，有她，电影就厉害了。她演得不卑不亢，自然本色，看得我落泪。虽然Fenn是属于被迫上路的人，但是依然让我羡慕。一路的美景，朝霞晚霞，日出日落，是那么的美、那么的自由，给了我一次心灵的洗涤，真是超棒的新年礼物！

全世界的新闻，历史都在捕捉创造“第一次”的人。

继2020年9月在威尼斯电影节获得最佳影片奖后，北京时间2021年3月1日，在第78届金球奖颁奖典礼上，中国女导演赵婷再次凭借《无依之地》获得电影最佳导演奖，该片也将剧情类最佳影片奖揽入怀中。就在本文截稿时，《无依之地》成为本届奥斯卡热门作品，获得6项提名，赵婷的最佳导演提名呼声更高。

人们为赵婷高兴，是发自内心的——她是史上首位获得金球奖最佳导演的中国女导演，也是第二位获得该奖项的女导演。第一位是37年前的芭芭拉·史翠珊。

赵婷是土生土长的北京大妞， 15岁去英国读书，后来在美国蒙特霍利约克学院取得了政治学学士学位。随后又到纽约大学电影学院继续深造，成为了李安的学妹。

与其他在好莱坞闯荡的移民电影人不同，赵婷撬开这扇大门的作品，并不是与自己文化背景息息相关的内容，而是连美国本地人都不太关注的非主流边缘人群。

她的第一部电影《哥哥教我的歌》上映于2014年，讲述的是在南达科他州印第安人保留地里一个女孩与哥哥的故事。电影主要围绕着一片叫做“松树岭”的印第安人保留地（Pine Ridge Indian Reservation）展开，关注了印第安群体生活的窘迫和当地年轻人对现状与未来的迷茫。看惯了美国大片所描述的灯红酒绿的主流社会生活，这一部影片则从很少被人所关注的少数族裔群体的社会生活入手，为我们展现出另一种不一样的美国社会。《哥哥教我的歌》先后入围第31届圣丹斯电影节美国剧情片单元和第68届戛纳电影节导演双周单元。

2017年，她的第二部作品《骑士》出炉，故事再次回到了南达科他州的印第安人保留地。这次的主人公是一位年轻的牛仔，因为头部受重创而被迫要终止牛仔竞技事业。心怀梦想的他不甘就此放弃，可身体的不配合却又不断将他拉回现实，沮丧失落、徘徊让他迷失。故事的结尾，赵婷选择了开放性的结局，给了观众一丝希望与幻想。

这部片子的张力很大，观众看片时的压力是一层层叠加的，到最后骑士放弃赛场，众人顿时松了一口气，比起不顾一切坚持梦想，为了更重要的东西而放弃梦想更需要勇气。

我觉得赵婷很像那位受伤的野马竞技骑手，总是在继续追逐驯马梦想和放弃梦想、与家人过上安稳生活间艰难抉择。这种悲悯的思考带给观众的不是失望，而是对导演的强烈认同感。《骑士》获得第70届戛纳电影节导演双周单元提名，之后又入围平遥国际电影展的“卧虎”单元，并最终获得以意大利著名导演罗伯托·罗西里尼命名的最佳导演奖。

我在Youtube上看到对赵婷的采访，她专注且谦卑，打扮素雅不化妆。《骑士》上映后，不少业内老大们叫喊着“赵婷是谁”，开始找寻此人寻求合作。眼看着好莱坞的大门正式向自己打开，赵婷仍然一脸风轻云淡：“这些成功只是意味着，我的下一步作品将有更为宽裕的启动资金。”她所在乎的从来不是表面的东西，而是通过一个故事传达有意义的价值。

同样因为《骑士》注意到赵婷的，还有好莱坞的获奖女演员，《无依之地》中的女主演弗兰西斯·麦克多蒙德。

《无依之地》这部片子不是导演找演员，是演员找导演。女主演弗兰西斯·麦克多蒙德在读过原著后迅速买下版权，然而寻找适合的导演很久而无果。直到2017年多伦多电影节上，赵婷导演的《骑士》和麦克多蒙德主演的《三块广告牌》同时入围特别展映单元，她看完《骑士》后立刻说：“我找到我们的导演了！”

《无依之地》讲的是弗兰西斯扮演的寡妇弗恩，在经济大萧条后失去了工作，生活了一辈子的小镇也在地图上就此消失。六十几岁一无所有，被迫成为住在厢式货车里边打工边流浪的现代游牧人。她从美国中部一路向西，最后抵达太平洋西北岸的加州。

《无依之地》的拍摄方式依旧延续了赵婷一贯的风格。一行人住在厢式货車里走遍了美国7个州，过了4个月的游民生活。

除了弗兰西斯和大卫·斯特雷泽恩外，其他演员依旧是真正的游民。“大多数出现在电影里的人都是非演员，就像我之前的片子一样。他们很惊讶我竟然对他们的故事感兴趣，因为在他们看来，自己只是个无名小卒，没有故事可讲。但在我看来，他们才是最有意思的人，这些故事的精彩程度是我编不出来的。”赵婷说。

对于电影的拍摄，她是真正的不带任何文化界限，既感受不到东方文化的色彩，也没有为了刻意融入西方世界而加入的西式风格。她始于对不同人群的好奇，终于对人生前行的思考，核心在对普世价值的宣扬。她相信这都与自己作为中国人在海外的背景有着一定的关联。

“每當我拍一部电影，我都会想到远在中国不太讲英文的家人。他们可能对这边的电影不太感兴趣，也不太关注这边的社会问题。要如何让他们也喜欢这些故事，我就得从人出发，发掘一个不受文化限制的故事。不管你来自哪里都能感同身受，产生共鸣，而并不是一个固定群体才能有所感受的事情。”

在金球奖获奖感言中，赵婷引用《无依之地》中一段对于“同情心”的描述，表达的意思大概是“同情心能够掀开所有隔阂，让我们走到一起”，这也是一种价值观。而在全球疫情背景下，有关“同情心”的表述，能够激发观众更多的联想。优秀的电影人，从来都不是只会躲在象牙塔里的人，深度讲述现实发生的一切才是其使命。

《娱乐周刊》则说：赵婷成为了某些没遗忘的美国人的卓越记录者，原始的、不受约束的，处于边缘的人。电影业内人士都惊叹于影片中展现的真实感，对于许多美国人来说，这是一段被遗忘的历史。故事背后的东西非常重要，除了赵婷是一个很“稳”很“靠谱”的人（她的朋友对笔者如此表示），赵婷这个人有一种天生的悲悯心。“在中国和英国的城市长大，我一直被开放的道路深深吸引着。我发现这种想法是典型的美国式的——对地平线以外的东西的无尽探索。我试图在这部电影中捕捉它的一瞥，因为我知道不可能向另一个人真正描述美国的道路。一个人必须自己去发现它。”赵婷这样解读自己的新片。

《无依之地》在中国观众这里得到良好的反馈，充分说明它不是一部仅仅用西方逻辑讲述的美国西部故事。电影刻画出来的人物所面临的外在环境与内心深处的双重压力，会让东西方的观众都感同身受。否则就无法解释，这样一部貌似节奏很慢的电影，为什么会让观众寻找到它内在的紧张感，由衷地被人物所吸引。

赵婷的经历也会告诉更多华人导演，“国际化”不会是中国电影人的“无依之地”，那些糅合了更开阔视角的“有心之作”，会让文艺创作别有洞天。

目前，赵婷执导的漫威新片《永恒族》正处于紧张的后期制作中，此片计划于2022年2月12日上映。我们期待她成为国际导演界的传奇！

（作者系华裔旅美作者）

The name “Chloe Zhao” caught my eye after I watched The Rider， a delicate portrayal of the redemption of an up-and-coming rodeo rider， in a theater in Palo Alto back in 2017. Mostly， it is because of the directors Chinese identity. The movie proves Zhaos evident skills to change the preconceptions about Chinese filmmakers. She is truly a rising star that breaks cultural limits and brings quiet but powerful， new elements to Hollywood.

Zhao took home the top award at the 2020 Venice Film Festival with her film， Nomadland， on September 12. Nomadland also won Audience Choice Award for Best English-Language Feature at the 56th Chicago International Film Festival （CIFF） and the Best Director—Motion Picture award at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards on March 1， 2021 （Beijing time）. The Beijing native who moved to the United States when she was 15 is the first Chinese female director to win the festivals top prize， and the second woman to win the prize in the history of the award. Babara Streisand took home the first one 37 years ago.

Long fascinated by the US West， the 38-year-old obviously has Hollywood in the palm of her hand with a string of Oscar nods and a Marvel superhero film on the way.

Born and raised in Beijing， Zhao attended grade school in London and Los Angeles， and studied political science at Mount Holyoke College and film production at New York University.

An intimate road movie about semi-retired people living off the grid in dilapidated vans，  Nomadland presents Frances McDormand （Fern） setting off on the road to explore a life as a modern-day nomad after the economic collapse of a town in rural Nevada. The third feature film from Zhao， Nomadland features real nomads as Ferns mentors and comrades in her exploration through the vast landscape of the American West.

Set on the spectacular open road of unfamiliar and sparsely populated states like South Dakota and Nebraska， Nomadland is just Zhaos latest love letter to her adopted US homelands wide and wild spaces. Unlike many other immigrant filmmakers pursuing a dream in Hollywood， Zhao proved herself not through topics drawn from her own cultural backgrounds， but by focusing on people living an alternative lifestyle and the ignored sides of the American society.

Zhaos feature film debut， Songs My Brothers Taught Me， about a teen dreaming of a life beyond the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation， was released in 2014 and premiered at Sundance Film Festival and earned a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. It also won recognition from the 68th Cannes Film Festival for its refreshing perspectives. The movie expresses the directors concern about poverty and the confused minds of young people. The production saw her spend months immersed in the remote indigenous South Dakota region.

Existing in a similar milieu to Songs My Brothers Taught Me， Zhaos second film The Rider tells the story of a young， ambitious rider coming to terms with life-changing injuries caused by participating in his beloved competition. The film shows Zhaos skills at creating tension. The storys open ending allows the viewer room to make their own judgment and even wishful hope. The focal point of the film is not the courage to pursue success but the detachment—the self-persuasion and the true redemption achieved in the process. The Rider won a nomination at the 70th Cannes Film Festival and the Roberto Rossellini Award from the Pingyao International Film Festival of that year.

The success of The Rider not only the brought in more cash support for Zhao but the attention from the insiders of the global filmmaking circle. Chicago-born actress Frances McDormand had been looking for what she called “the right director” to work with since she bought the copyright of the original story right after reading Jessica Bruders 2017 non-fiction book， Nomadland： Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century. She met Zhao in Cannes in 2017， and knew instantly that she was talking to the right person.

In Nomadland Zhao worked with an acting superstar for the first time， but still encouraged the double-Oscar winner and producer to draw on her own life to play “Fern”. In the film， Frances McDormand touches the heart of the viewers with her moods and emotions. Fern， in her sixties， loses everything and tries her best to rebuild her life as a modern American nomad breaking new grounds and reaching the finish line.

Another common theme of Zhaos movies is casting non-actors to play semi-fictionalized versions of themselves. Most of the people in the movie are non-actors who never thought they had stories to tell. “They couldnt believe we were interested in their life. In my eye， they are all stories that I cannot even imagine to make up，” said Zhao.

As a filmmaker， Zhaos style is “non-cultural”， free of Oriental stereotype or flattering to cater to the tastes of the West. Her cinematic thoughts are based on her curiosity and aim at lofty issues about moving forward with ones life.

“Every time I made my plan to make a movie， I thought a lot about my family in China. They are not English speakers， and may not have much interest in knowing about the movies I make or the society I live in now. To make them understand what I do， I have to tell a story that breaks cultural obstacles， so that it can be shared by people from all backgrounds.” She has obviously achieved the goal in Nomadland. For her， the recognition， and the awareness that is brought by the movie to the nomadic community， is a great thing.

In the current pandemic-plagued world， the message of Nomadland has immense meanings， and makes Zhao a recorder of some “forgotten Americans”. The movie is free of prejudice， and thusly appeals to both East and West.

“The only way to know what the American roads are really like is to actually walk on it and find out for oneself，” said Zhao. Zhaos long journey in Hollywood is also a wonderful illustration of Chinese filmmakers winning the hearts of a global audience by putting heart and soul， and independent thinking in their films.

Zhaos next movie is Eternals， a gigantic ensemble superhero film which is part of the record-grossing Marvel series. With the films post production now in full swing， it is scheduled to be released on February 12， 2022. How Zhao handles future works remains to be seen， but for now it is at least fair to say she is definitely a rising star.