A torch-bearer for striking out on her own from a protracted abusive relationship and a legitimate, slam-bang black artiste reaches her crescendo at a mature age when most singers are over the hill, Tina Turner is an inspirational figure against sexism, agism and racism long before the woke era. Together, Brian Gibson’s 1993 biopic, and Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin’s latest documentary make for complementing accompaniments to each other, spelling out Tina’s extraordinary life in details.

WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT stars Bassett as Tina and Fishburne and Ike, her ex-husband and helpmate as the half of Ike & Tina Turner. The film predominantly re-enacts their turbulent, violence-infused marital life and ends with a rousing note on Tina’s comeback success with the titular song. It is a dramatized version of the facts (according to Tina herself), and if the singing segments are excised, the remnant of the movie amounts to a hapless wife’s desperate and eventually successful attempt to get out of the clutches of her husband, who habitually whales at her at the drop of a hat, sometimes even rapes her afterwards.

This may be tainted by presentism, but there is something iffy to demonize Ike as an out-and-out villain and shoehorn Tina as an abject victim of domestic and sexual abuse, since she is much more than that, the psychological reasons behind the fact that she chooses to stay with Ike for 16 years are much more complex than they appear to be, and Gibson’s film has no interest to probe into that fecund soil, Tina’s devotion to Buddhism is tokenized with one repeated mantra alone. Only in TINA, we suss that they can be psyched out in relation of her piteous upbringing (parents fighting constantly and then both leaving, left her behind), feeling unwanted and hankering for love, Tina makes a promise to Ike that she will never abandon him (Ike’s deep-seated insecurity is another untapped territory in the fictional feature) when they transition from mentor-and-protégée to a romantically linked couple. It is a mistake in hindsight, but one must give Ike his credit in molding a wide-eyed country girl Anna Mae Bullock into Tina Turner, the raging dynamo on stage with a heavy, raspy but immensely powerful timbre.

WHAT’S LOVE… knows what appeals its audience most and makes a meal of it, factual fidelity gives way to tweaking here and there, like the bane which haunts the biopic genre, intentional simplification sours one’s appreciation. And if Gibson’s tactless direction isn’t worth much ovation, it is Bassett and Fishburne’s electrifying performances that truly matter, they are both nominated for an Oscar. For Fishburne, his Ike is like a tyrant without charisma, his musical talent is dwarfed by his outward meanness, it is a tricky, categorically objectionable role, yet, in Fishburne’s able hands, Ike isn’t merely a menacing-look monster (although the script makes him one), there is scant spark in his eyes, especially in the fictional confrontation scene where he pulls out his pistol, trying to earn an upper hand over the now liberated Tina, Fishburne has that stunning, almost transfixed look when he realizes that his browbeating pettiness can no longer intimidate Tina, Ike is licked, reduced to a pathetic fool, and that look alone makes him a human again, however remotely.

Bassett, lip-syncing and imitating Tina’s stage flourishes like nobody’s business, has that wondrous flair of a real trouper, barring looking dubious to portray a 16-year-old Tina in the beginning, she is a phenomenon. Her version of Tina is a steelier, more angular ball of fire, and you know she will fight back, look how sinewy Bassett is! When that moment comes, you cheer for her but also pain to see how sadomasochistic their relation turns. If she doesn’t leave, the vicious circle will destroy her. The mere fact that both her and Fishburne are still waiting for that elusive second Oscar nomination can only reveal how Hollywood has failed them.

TINA, the documentary, divided into 5 parts, has a more comprehensive examination of her life and is thoroughly pleasing, even uplifting when she finally rises above all the hurdles like a lotus, confident, resilient and blossoming, leaving her checkered past behind and letting go all the terror, rancor and regret, that is the story everyone should rave about. That said, it sounds a tad insincere for celebrities who claim to write their memoir as a cleansing therapy to bid adieu to those painful experiences, the truth is more likely, if that shit can sell, why not make some lucre out of it?

Interviewees are limited to a few true insiders, although no one can refuse Oprah waxing lyrical about Tina. The footage of Tina belting out her signature songs has that infectiously raw affection and bears out why Tina is a born superstar on stage, she pulls out all her emotion into her songs, energizes them without restraint, and where does her endless energy comes from? It also controverts the conception that she owes Ike for her career, because she can shine whenever and wherever, give that woman a stage, she is the queen, indomitable, irresistible and utterly genuine.

referential entries: Asif Kapadia’s AMY (2015, 8.3/10); Rupert Goold's JUDY (2019, 6.9/10); Bryan Singer, Dexter Fletcher’s BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY (2018, 7.5/10).

Title: What's Love Got to Do with It

Year: 1993

Country: USA

Language: English

Genre: Biography, Drama, Music

Director: Brian Gibson

Screenwriter: Kate Lanier

based on the book “I, TURNER” by Tina Turner and Kurt Loder

Music: Stanley Clarke

Cinematography: Jamie Anderson

Editing: Stuart H. Pappé

Cast:

Angela Bassett

Laurence Fishburne

Vanessa Bell Calloway

Jenifer Lewis

Chi McBride

Phyllis Yvonne Stickney

Khandi Alexander

Penny Johnson Jerald

Pamala Tyson

James Reyne

RaéVen Kelly

Virginia Capers

Cora Lee Day

Barry Shabaka Henley

Rob LeBelle

Rating: 7.3/10

Title: Tina

Year: 2021

Country: USA, UK

Language: English

Genre: Documentary, Biography

Directors: Dan Lindsay, T.J. Martin

Music: Danny Bensi, Saunder Jurriaans

Cinematography: Dimitri Karakatsansis, Megan Stacey

Editing:Taryn Gould Carter Gunn, T.J. Martin

Cast:

Tina Turner

Katori Hall

Oprah Winfrey

Angela Bassett

Rating: 7.6/10

【涉及影片剧情，谨慎阅读】 虽然不是很懂摇滚，但非常喜欢这张来自Ike & Tina Turner《Dynamite! 》的专辑封面。

《与爱何干》讲述的就是这对乐队夫妇的故事，准确地说，是蒂娜·特纳的觉醒史。 如果你不认识蒂娜·特纳，那我借用一段话来粗略地评价一下她的地位：“如果你以为流行音乐的巅峰就是玛丽亚·凯利或惠特尼·休斯顿，那便会终生遗恨错过了一个真正站在顶端的名字—蒂娜特纳。对全球众多摇滚爱好者来说，她才是全盛时期的歌后，她才是统治舞台的“咆哮母狮”！只要站在台上，她就从不疲惫、从不衰老，有的只是最High、最好的音乐！不论是站在事业的峰巅，还是陷入人生的低谷；不论是伤痕斑斑，还是负债累累，她永远都准备着十万火力：Take you higher！”如果给蒂娜列一张成绩单，那实在不知道要写多久。8次获格莱美音乐奖、肯尼迪艺术中心为她颁布代表美国艺术家最高成就的终身成就奖、进入格莱美名人堂...... 然而这些对于金灿灿的成就对于蒂娜来说只是标签而已，因为她想要追求的更多是那个更强大更通透的自己。而在一步步变得强大与通透的路上，苦难总是如影随形。苦难仿佛是每一个伟大艺术家最宝贵的东西。从太宰治到海子，从徐渭到梵高，从柯本到查斯特...似乎天赋异禀的艺术家们都经历过精神上的困局。而对于蒂娜来说，她的苦难阴云在她的人生初期就已经开始笼罩。 因为过早地被父母抛弃给年迈的外婆，孤独是她童年的主题。影片最开头，她在教堂里和大家一起排练合唱，因为自由地发挥音域特色和发声技巧，被指挥训斥，哪怕最后被揪着辫子赶出教堂的一段小路上还在自由地歌唱着。那个时候我就知道，这个小姑娘的未来注定是特别的，她自由的性格和坚定的意志注定了她的未来哪怕坎坷也能靠着不屈的灵魂挺过去。当她走到家门口，发现妈妈带着姐姐离开了，只剩下外婆在家里等着她时，她第一次感到了生命的不公。 16岁时她去都市投奔母亲和姐姐，一次俱乐部的娱乐活动让她遇见了那个影响她一生的男人——艾克·特纳，他在舞台上唱歌，用他那富有男人磁性的声音。她被这个男人的才华打动。这是幸运也是厄运。她主动接过传过来的麦克风，走上舞台，第一次在大家面前真正自由地展现自己的歌喉。而艾克也震惊了，他惊讶于这个小女孩身体里蕴含的强大的力量，她用声的特别和舞台上的气场，她用麦克风控制了一切，氛围、乐队和每位观众的情绪。 既会写歌有精通乐器的艾克在认识蒂娜之前就已跻身摇滚名人堂这一次偶然认识之后，曾是“留守儿童”命运的蒂娜感受到了自己身体内的灵魂鲜活了起来。她意识到唱歌的快乐。作为黑人和印第安人的混血儿，蒂娜的声音生来就比同种族的人还要有张力。声音的张力对于一个歌手来说再重要不过了，有张力声音才能下到幽暗混沌的低处、上到辽阔深远的高处。而一个大乘歌手除了声音要有张力，音色也同样重要，因为音色是否有故事感、有想象空间是嗓音能否传情的决定性因素。蒂娜的声音是极有传情力的。她极具天赋的嗓音说服了艾克让她加入自己的乐队，艾克开始投入捧红这个未来之星的事业当中，两年后，蒂娜与这个改变她命运的“灵魂伴侣”结婚，新婚的二人趁势组成了自己的乐队——“艾克与蒂娜”乐队，似乎未来只剩下甜蜜的希望。随着蒂娜在音乐道路上的愈发顺畅，《proud mary》、《a fool in love》等经典歌曲让蒂娜正在被世界所知，蒂娜也很懂得借力而为，用动感有力的舞蹈让自己的表演更富共情力和艺术感。蒂娜强烈的个人风格和强劲实力正在让蒂娜一步步迈向神位。然而，此后的16年的真实生活里，现实呈现的却和歌曲所传达的截然相反。蒂娜在生活中看到的是无尽的黑暗。音乐创造力愈发倒退的艾克眼看着自己正不一步步落后于这个被眼前自己一手培养的女人。他遥控着她，用感情去压制她，他强迫蒂娜超负荷工作；他开始向兴奋剂寻求慰藉，也开始通过欺凌蒂娜来获取满足感。他无情地把自己的拳头砸向一个脆弱的女人，这个女人曾经是如此信任和依赖他，以至于她无法想象自己离开这个爱恨交织的男人该如何生活。在采访时的假装出来的笑容背后，隐藏着生活中无数次的独自饮痛；在舞台上光鲜服装和精致妆容之下，又隐藏了多少块屈服于淫威的淤青。 遍体鳞伤的她无数次逃离这个已经不能称之为家的地方，但无数次被艾克强行掳回身边。她不是人，她是工具，是生财的工具、是泄欲的工具、是教养孩子的工具。无奈苦闷之下，她拜访了曾经一位要好的朋友，在好友的感染下，她开始笃信佛教，以此寻找内心的安宁。 大概也是信仰的力量，蒂娜最终还是决然地割舍了这16年的时光，在离婚法庭上，蒂娜留给了艾克一切，钱财、版权和不动产，而她只需要保留她的名字。这是她唯一的诉求。她成功了，她离开了他，再也不用受这段有名无实的婚姻的束缚。尽管她一无所有、满是伤痕，但明天终于真正属于自己。 与艾克离婚后，蒂娜开始从之前的R&B风向自己真正喜欢的摇滚风转型，这时的她已经44岁了。罗杰·戴维斯很好奇她的转型，她说：“我相信一切皆有可能，我花了很长时间逃离艾克，最后成功了，所以这次我也准备好了。”确实如她所言，她做到了，她实现了完美的蜕变，不光是音乐风格，还有她自己的人格的充盈，她真正实现了孩提时在教堂里渴望的那种自由的快感。自由地歌唱，自由地选择自己的偏好。不光控制氛围、乐队和每一个观众的情绪，而真正地控制自己，一切都由自己主宰。 1987年到1988年，蒂娜在25个国家进行了共230场的环球巡演，吸引了近400万观众，这也让她成为全球演唱会最卖座的独唱女星。1993年，这部电影的主题曲《I Don’t Wanna Fight》使蒂娜再次赢得了格莱美。

“我希望在场的女孩们跟我一起唱这句： what’s love got to do with it！ 我希望你们能唱出态度， 我要告诉你们， 什么才是我们的态度！”