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John Kerry, right,
talks to his friend David Thorne at a Vietnam Veterans Against
the War demonstration in Washington, D.C, in April 1971. The
image is from a documentary film by George Butler titled
'Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry.' (AP
Photo).
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George Butler says he hasn't seen the ads that attack U.S. presidential
hopeful John Kerry's record in Vietnam, noting that his documentary "Going
Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry," was well under way before the
commercials were first aired.
"It's about war and peace, it goes beyond being an anti-war film," he
said on September 15 about "Going Upriver," which made its world premiere
this week at the Toronto International Film Festival.
But when asked what he hopes audiences will take from the 90-minute
profile of Kerry's war service patrolling the Mekong Delta on gunboats,
and his subsequent role in the anti-war movement, he betrays more than a
passing interest on getting the message out about his longtime friend.
"That John Kerry, contrary to some reports, served with distinction in
Vietnam and was in ferociously heavy combat. I'd like to underline
'ferociously'," he said.
The film, one of a number with a political theme at this year's
festival.
Relying on archived news footage and interviews with veterans,
politicians and family members, Butler tells the story of Kerry's
transformation from eager young soldier to committed anti-war activist.
With a general release date of Oct. 1, just a month before the Nov. 2
election, the film would seem to be ideally timed to have an impact on the
final days of the campaign.
But the filmmaker, who admits he turned down a Hollywood studio that
wanted to hold the movie until after the election and release it late in
the year to cash in on Oscar buzz, said he doesn't think documentaries are
a tool to influence people.
" Has 'Fahrenheit 9/11' thrown the election against George Bush? I
don't think it has," he said.
"It's very hard to change the course of history and people's minds with
a film."
Butler, who met Kerry as a college student in Massachusetts, had his
first major success in 1977 with "Pumping Iron," the legendary documentary
about then-unknown bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger, now California
governor.
Kerry himself only appears in "Going Upriver" through still
photographs, news clips and old interviews, except for a silent shot at
the very end of the film.
(Agencies) |
喬治·巴特勒說，他沒有看過攻擊美國總統候選人約翰·克里在越南戰爭中服役記錄的廣告。他特別強調他的記錄片《力爭上游：約翰·克里的漫長戰爭》在這個廣告播出以前就已經開始制作了。
9月15日，當談到《力爭上游》時巴特勒說：“這是一部關于戰爭與和平的電影，而不僅僅是一部反戰影片。”本周，這部電影將在多倫多國際電影節上首映。
這部電影講述了克里在湄公河三角洲的炮艇上巡邏的經歷，以及他后來在反戰運動中所扮演的角色。當被問及他希望觀眾從這部90分鐘的電影里領悟到什么時，巴特勒表現出非同一般的興趣，極力宣傳他這位相識多年的好友。
他說：“和一些報道的內容相反，約翰·克里在越南服役時表現出色，參加了殘忍而艱苦的戰斗。我想強調‘殘忍’這兩個字。”
這部電影是今年電影節上反映政治主題的一系列影片之一。
巴特勒采用了拍攝歷史新聞的電影膠片，并采訪了一些老兵、政治家和（克里的）家庭成員。影片講述了克里從一名熱血沸騰的年輕士兵成長為一位有責任感的反戰斗士的經歷。
影片將于10月1日全面上映，離11月2日的大選正好還有一個月時間。這部影片在這個時候上映正是適逢其時，剛好可以在競選的最后一段日子里對大眾產生一定的影響。
該片的制片人承認，他拒絕了一個好萊塢工作室提出的要求，后者希望在大選之后發行該片，把上映時間推遲到年底，以便在奧斯卡熱潮中大賺一筆。他說他認為記錄片并不是影響大眾的工具。
他說：“《華氏９／１１》就能使喬治·布什在競選中失利嗎？我不這樣認為。”
“僅靠一部電影來改變歷史的進程和人們的想法是非常困難的。”
巴特勒認識克里時，克里還是馬薩諸塞州的一名大學生。1977年巴特勒憑借影片《舉重》一舉成名，這部影片記錄了當時默默無聞的健美運動員阿諾德·施瓦辛格的傳奇經歷，現在阿諾已是加州州長。
影片中，克里的形象只是在照片、新聞片段和以前的采訪中出現，只有在電影的結尾處才出現了一個鏡頭，克里也沒有說話。
（中國日報網站譯） |
Updated: 2004-09-20 10:00