大家好，吉萨斯的电影世界今天开始第一篇正文内容啦。在第一篇中，我将会为大家介绍Tom Ford在2016年拍的一部悬疑剧情片《夜行动物》，并由此浅述美国独立电影的概念。国庆假期就要到了，如果不想去院线排队买票的话，在家里观看这一部《夜行动物》也是很好的选择哦。
Hi everybody ! Here comes the first essay of Quizas’ film recommendation. Today I will introduce Nocturnal Animals, directed by Tom Ford in 2016, and then explain the concept of ‘independent film’ to all of you. The National Holiday is coming very soon, if you don’t want to be bothered with long waiting lines in ticket office in cinema, then Nocturnal Animals is a good choice to watch at home.
关于《夜行动物》这部电影，我会分两篇来给大家介绍。今天这篇主要讲解独立电影的概念以及《夜行动物》作为独立电影的营销策略。下一篇，我将会侧重于电影的叙事结构和视觉效果，更进一步地分析影片本身。如果大家喜欢吉萨斯的第一篇文章的话，记得及时follow哦~
I’d like to write two essays about this film. Today, the first one will introduce the concept of independent film and how this film markets itself. In the essay following, I’ll talk about the narrative structure and aesthetic aspect of the film. If you like my first essay, please follow me or leave your comment :-P
所谓“独立电影”，指的是独立于好莱坞制片厂（尤其是“六大电影制片厂”--- 华纳兄弟公司、派拉蒙影业公司、哥伦比亚影业公司、环球影片公司、20世纪福克斯电影公司、迪士尼电影公司）之外，脱离了好莱坞惯常的“制片人中心制”，由导演自筹资金，自编剧本，由非明星演员出演的小成本电影作品。从1990年代这一概念出现开始，美国独立电影经历了The Independent Years, Indie Years 和 Indiewood 三个阶段。
The so-called ‘Independent Cinema” actually refers to those films which are made outside of Hollywood studios (especially the six big names: Warner Bros. , Paramount, Columbia, Universal, 20th Century Fox and Disney). Those films jump out of the control of big name producers, funded and written by the director himself and cast by unfamous actors/actresses. The concept of independent cinema came into being in 1990s, until now, it has gone through three phases which are known as The Independent Years, Indie Years and Indiewood.
处于第一阶段的独立电影作品，往往是小成本制作，不仅没有明星参演，在电影技巧、服化道与制作水准方面也都无法达到精良的程度。这些电影并不期望在普通观众中获得大量票房，而是把市场瞄准偏爱文艺片的，有着一定电影素养的成年观众身上。然而，到了Indiewood这一阶段，独立电影与好莱坞作品直接已经不再存在明显的界限。许多好莱坞明星纷纷参演独立电影，许多独立电影不仅得以在院线上映，并且能够取得不俗的票房。两个独立电影公司，焦点电影公司与福克斯探照灯，更是让独立电影有了更好水准的宣发与营销策略。今天我们推荐的这部电影《夜行动物》，正是焦点电影公司在2016年的得意之作。
In the first phase of independent cinema, films were always considered as low-budget, low-key quality production which targeted specifically on adult and educated audiences and had less chance to make a success in box office. However, when it moves on to the phase of Indiewood, the distinction between independent film and Hollywood production has largely blurred. At that time, independent films can not only be on in cinema, but also achieve great reputation and box office. Hollywood stars cast in independent cinema as well. And the two leading companies, Focus Features and Fox Searchlight, help independent films to better market themselves. The film we recommend today, Nocturnal Animals, is actually one of the best independent films released by Focus Features in 2016.
在他的第一部个人剧情长片《单身男子》取得成功之后，Tom Ford这位曾为古驰和圣罗兰工作过，现在自立门户的极负盛名的设计师改编了Austin Wright 1993年的小说《托尼与苏珊》，用三条线的叙事手法讲述了美术馆馆长苏珊（艾米·亚当斯饰）在20年后收到了前夫托尼（杰克·吉伦哈尔饰）的小说手稿后，回忆起他们曾经的爱恨纠葛的故事。
Seven years since his foray A Single Man, Tom Ford, the famous designer who worked for Gucci and YSL, directed and wrote his second feature film, a noir melodrama, Nocturnal Animals, which is adapted from an American novelist Austin Wright’s 1993 novel Tony and Susan. Ford also changed the film’s name into Nocturnal Animals -- the novel within the novel. Narrating in three lines, the film tells a story about an art gallery owner Susan (Amy Adams) receiving a manuscript from her ex-husband (Jack Gyllenhall) after 20 years since they last spoke and being forced to reflect on their love history and how she treated her ex.
独立电影不管是在叙事上还是在美学上，都和好莱坞套路截然不同。好莱坞电影更多的是承载娱乐观众的功能，而独立电影，却用它独特的叙事结构、视觉效果，一次又一次地挑战观众的认知、激发观众的思考。观众们可能会被剧情、布景，或演员和导演的名声吸引，而营销者的工作，就在于如何寻找潜在观众，如何传递有效信息。作为一部并不容易理解的电影，《夜行动物》寻找的，是有一定年龄、有一定生活经验、有一定审美水准的观众。
Indie films have always been considered as films that different from Hollywood cliches. Rather than entertaining, indie films always seek out to challenge their audiences by relatively difficult subjects or techniques and audiences are also seeking for something different from what is offered in Hollywood. Audiences might be drawn by stories, settings, or the involvement of certain actors or directors, and the job of marketer is to find out how to communicate its essence to the potential audience. In Nocturnal Animals, they pursue mature audience with some life experience because the emotion that contained in the film is not easy to be comprehended.
这部电影的第一个卖点，当然就是导演Tom Ford本人啦。作为一个享誉世界的设计师，他的品牌本身就具有相当忠实和稳定的粉丝，而那些对他的服装、化妆品感兴趣的粉丝，自然而然也会想看这位美学大师的电影作品到底是什么样的。除此之外，艾米·亚当斯和杰克·吉伦哈尔也都是演技与人气俱佳的演员。
The first film in the big names: Tom Ford, as one of the most well-known designer in the world, has already had loyal fans who favor his design and thus developing the same kind of interest in his movie. Besides, Adams and Gyllenhall are also celebrated actors in Hollywood who have audience base.
除了拥有强大的明星阵容之外，这部电影上映的时间非常巧妙，为其赢得了相当稳定的假期票房。《夜行动物》在美国的点映开始于11月18日，公映开始于11月24日，也就是感恩节假期刚刚开始的时候。在抓住了假期观众之后，又在12月9日开始世界范围内的公映。独立电影（并且也不是欢快的题材）自然无法和后面的圣诞档、跨年档进行竞争，但《夜行动物》巧妙的上映时间还是为其赢得了不俗的票房。
Secondly, the releasing time of the film provides it with large holiday market. It first released in selected theaters in November 18th and then continued to expand the circulation after November 24th, the beginning of the long Thanksgiving holiday, and finally widely released around the country on December 9th.
另外不得不提的是，这部电影的预告片提供了充足的悬念，吊足了观众的胃口。预告片以苏珊的独白开始，她冷静克制又富有磁性的嗓音十分具有好莱坞经典黑色电影的悬疑感。加之预告片打破了三条叙事线之间的分界，将三个故事剪辑在一起，最大程度地模糊了当下与过去，在时空的交错中，激发观众观影的欲望。
Lastly, the teaser trailer of the film amplifies the darkness and the thriller factors in the film, using cross-cut between three story lines to largely blur the reality world and fictional world. It begins with Susan’s line “Do you ever feel like your life is turning into something you never intended”, which gives audience a sense of dark mystery and vast imaginary space. What is clever about the nebulous and unnerving trailer is that it does not give away any information plot, but yet giving viewers enough to expect.
好了，这就是吉萨斯今天对《夜行动物》的分析。下一篇，我将继续瞄准这部电影，谈谈它再叙事和美学上的独到之处。如果你有兴趣，别忘记follow我哦~
Alright, that’s all for today. Next essay, I’ll still talk about the same film in narrative and aesthetic aspects. If you’re interested, don’t forget to follow me -- Quizas.
