(續2月5日期)這個父親所說的故事加入了很多奇幻元素,令我們可以思考以下問題:
1.為何要不停地說故事?(Why does he have to keep talking about all these stories?)
2.為何要有誇張的地方,使故事又真又假,難以區分?(Why are there exaggerations which make his stories hard to tell whether they are true or not?)
3.把人生變成真假難辨的故事,算不算說謊呢?(When you tell your stories in a way that is hard to distinguish whether they are true or not, could we say you are lying?)
4.該怎麼分辨生命情境中的真實與謊言?(How could we distinguish truths from lies?)
作為一個電影觀眾,我們當然可以隔荈Z離觀看並提問這些問題,但身為一直不停聽故事,從小聽到大的兒子威爾,他會覺得困惑(he would feel confused),甚至覺得爸爸是不是在說謊(and even wonder if his dad had been lying),因此整套電影就是要探究威爾怎樣撥開雲霧,看見父親的真實面貌,從而知道父親真正是誰。
為了知道父親是誰,威爾希望能好好跟父親談話,他問父親:「你到底是誰?我完全不了解你,但我想知道你的真實面貌。如果我的孩子長大後竟然完全不了解我,這會殺了我的。(Who are you actually? I don't understand you completely but I want to know your true self. If my kid grows up not understanding me, it will kill me)」
父親卻反問:「你希望我是怎樣的人?(Who do you want me to be?)」然後回答:「我出生以來一直在做我自己,你如果沒有看到這一點,這是你的失敗。(I have been trying to be myself ever since I was born. If you don't see this point, it is your failure.)」
父親跟他說完這句話以後,他便去幫忙清理父親最愛的游泳池。(未完待續)
●馬漪楠 (曾獲行政長官卓越教學獎(英國語文教育學習領域),與丈夫岑皓軒合著暢銷書《Slang:屎爛英語1,2&3》,《全家變泰》及《放養孩子 ─ 育出自學力》。)
星期五見報