微光城市

《微光城市》改編自珍妮·杜普洛（Jeanne DuPrau）于2003年創作的同名小說。小編在找資料的時候被導演的“娃娃臉”嚇了一跳，還以為是電影的男主角呢。后來才知道原來這位年輕的導演大有來頭，曾經執導過2006年的票房大熱《怪獸屋》（Monster House），真是有眼不識泰山啊。這部電影的另一個賣點就是憑《贖罪》（Atonement）聲名鵲起的童星西爾莎·羅南。就連導演也說，幸虧他在羅南出名之前找到她，不然制作費也許要直線上升了。

Plot Summary

For generations， the people of the City of Ember[灰燼] have flourished in an amazing world of glittering lights. But this won’t last forever.

In order to save the citizens after things in Ember start getting bleak[黯淡的]， builders of Ember decide to leave instructions for escape in a special sealed box， which will open automatically in 220 years.

Unfortunately， the box is lost and forgotten when the seventh Mayor unsuccessfully tries to open it.

The action then shifts to the year 241 in Ember. Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow are two children that find themselves on a mission to save their dying city， for the city’s lights are beginning to flicker[閃爍]， and the food supplies are running out. Doon manages to get a job in the Pipeworks[管道工程]， to see if he can fix the generator， from which the city’s electricity comes. Lina’s

job is simple. She is a messenger， but she soon finds herself in over her head[太高深而不能了解] when she discovers

the instructions left by the builders. She and Doon then discover the way out of Ember. But corrupt[腐敗的]

officials and a treacherous[背信棄義的] mayor stand against their wishes of saving the city. With courage and heart they brave[勇敢地面對] the darkness， all to help their

citizens escape the dying city， and lead them to another world.

Director Gil Kenan Interview

It isn’t often the director of a film looks younger than the teenagers he’s guiding through their lines. Gil Kenan is just such a director – a wunderkind[少年得志者]

who showed incredible talent during his college years at UCLA注1. He made such an overwhelming[無法抵抗的]

impression with his student thesis film[畢業電影作品]

that producer Robert Zemekis introduced him to famed director Steven Spielberg. A boy wonder himself， Spielberg took an immediate liking to the youngster and handed

him the director’s chair for the 2006 animated film Monster House. Kenan came home with an Oscar nomination[提名] for his first film， and that put his name on the tongues of every studio in Hollywood.

Rebecca Murray was fortunate to have an interview with him， who provided a little insight into what we can expect from the film adaptation[改編].

Rebecca Murray: Tell me about keeping close to the source material – how difficult was that?

Gil Kenan: Well， it was easy because the source

material was fantastic. The thing I really had to do was to take something that was word-based， you know， a puzzle…puzzle-based novel， and turn it into a sort of cinematic adventure. And to do that， it was kind of…part of what was really fun about making this movie. I had to think about the design of this town， and how to weave[編織] a puzzle into it. And so to make this kind of living puzzle， it was actually a real， you know， it was a real treat[樂事].

Murray: Did you have to lose anything that you

regretted having to lose from the source material?

Kenan: Probably， but they don’t…they don’t come to mind. I mean， my process is that I read the book， you know， was inspired by it. It kicked off this entire journey. But I don’t go back and like flip[翻動書頁] a page and make sure if I missed a line. It’s really…it’s an interpretation[詮釋] of the novel. It’s not a page-to-screen translation.

Murray: Because they never are.

Kenan: No， and I think that that does a disservice[損害]

to both. I think you have to let a movie be a movie. And you know， there’s a really interesting process that every reader goes through when they read a book for the first time. They always say， you know， “I saw…I saw a movie in my head.” I feel like my duty is to sort of put a lid[蓋子] on that first movie that played in my head， and try to， you know， nurture it to the screen.

Murray: That makes sense. Now， how hard was it to find the two leads[主角]， because if they don’t work， the whole movie doesn’t work?

Kenan: No， and that’s a good point. Thanks for the pressure. It was really hard. I waited to make sure that I got it right， and I…and I did. And to do that I had to sort of…I had to be a little bit less than precise[精確的] about the ages of the kids in the novel. But to me it was more important that I got the spirit of the character， their nature， their chemistry. And Saoirse Ronan as Lina and Harry Treadaway as Doon， they really…they pop off the screen. They’re alive.

Murray: You got her注2 before she hit big.

Kenan: That’s right. Yeah.

Murray: She may never want to do another action movie again， I think.

Kenan: Well， she’s…she’s really good. She moves well， so it would be a shame if she didn’t do another one.

情節概要

多少代人以來，微光城的人們在這個只有些許微光的奇妙世界里生生不息。但這般好景不會長存。

為了在微光城的光亮變黯淡以后拯救市民，這座城市的建造者決定將逃生指南保存在一個被封印的特殊盒子里，這個盒子將在220年后自動打開。不幸的是，當第七任市長企圖打開盒子而未能得逞后，盒子丟失了，并被人們逐漸遺忘。

轉眼間到了微光城的第241個年頭。此時，微光城的燈光漸漸閃爍不定，食物也日漸短缺，兩個孩子——莉娜·梅弗利特和杜恩·哈羅擔負起拯救這座岌岌可危的城市的重任。杜恩在管道系統里謀到一份工作，想試試看能否修好整座城市的電力來源——發電器。而莉娜的工作則比較簡單。她只是一名信使。但當她找到微光城建造者留下的逃生指南后，她發現自己一籌莫展。……