剧照
详细剧情
长篇影评
1 ) 纪录片中的一些话（更新ing）
伊桑霍克把Seymour称作自己的人生导师，是Seymour在他最迷茫的时候给了他一些人生的指引。这一个对音乐抱有纯粹爱意的老人，对于人生有一种难得的淡然和自如。所以想记录下片中他说的一些话，也希望大家能从中感受更多的力量。
Seymour:
“Motivated by a love of music and possessed of a clear understanding of the reasons for practicing, you can establish so deep an accord between your musical self and your personal self, that eventually music and life will interact in a never-ending cycle of fulfillment.”
"The most important thing that music teachers can do for their pupils is to inspire and encourage an emotional response, not just for music, but more importantly for all aspects of lives."
"The contrast between the unbelievable attainment of art and unpredictability of the social world is so great."
"Your initial response to music occurs without intellectual analysis. Gifted children, for example, often project deep musical feeling without being aware of musical stracture or historical facts. It is this kind of innocence from which adults can learn.Therefore in practicing, avoid excess of analysis and allow the music to reveal its own beauty, a beauty that is ansered by something deep within you. "
“In contemplating my own connection to music, I always return to the same answer:Universal Order. If the heavenly constellations offer us visual proof of this order then music must be its aural manifestation. Through its language, we become one with the stars. Music speaks concordantly to a troubled world, dispelling loneliness and discontent. Its voice discovering in it, those deep recesses of thought and felling where truth implants itself. Music offers no quarter for compromise, no exceuses, no subterfuge, no shoddy workmanship. And we sense in music, an extension of ourselves, a reminder of our won potential for perfection.”
"I never dreamt that with my own two hands, I could touch the sky."
From Shumann to Clara:
"Throughout all music , there sounds the colorful dream of the earth, one quite note, played for a secret eavesdropper. You are the note of my life. You are the secret eavesdropper.”
2 ) 永遠の自己探求
作为Ethan对自己mentor的介绍，涉及的点有很多，比如说monster和genius并没什么必然联系，比如说匠人精神，毕竟是自我及人生追寻探求性质。虽然放bbc任何一家纪录片来拍效果都说不定更好，但这也不是什么关键。
印象很深的一个场景是Seymour徐徐把沙发床折叠整理收拾好，房间又恢复成原本的模样。一切繁华落尽，他选择了isolation和solitude，选择退回了自己的safe place，只有音乐才是他的唯一。”Music is my being, just like everything I do is somehoe related to music.” 似曾相识的热情，但坚持一生才是真爱，他向我们证明世间就是可以存在如此恒久的执着。
舞台早晚会谢幕，但观众永远都会有。感谢他们让人感受到岁月的美好，即使听他们讲过去的故事都会很安心；犹如老酒，历久弥香。
#Music is a language of feeling.
Finally, tranquility.
Ps.人家还是用了face vicissitudes的，年轻时代那段差点被包养的历史也是略喜感，虽然心情完全可以理解。
3 ) A universal language
音乐真是世上最美妙的类比库，也许这也是为什么Seymore认为music是universal language的原因之一吧。
【当Seymoure谈到自己独居57年时】
“I thrive on solitude. I have to be by myself in order to sort out all the thoughts that course through my mind. Our social world is unpredictable. Someone who may be the closes to you can one day say something and and somehow the relationship dissolve. I have to tell you that our art is totally predictable. Music will never change. When Beethoven puts a B flat down, that’s there forever. Because of the predictability of music, when we work at it we have a sense of order, harmony, predictability, and something we can control."
【当Seymour谈到对音乐引起的情感共鸣时】
Your initial response to music occurs without intellectual analysis. Gifted children, for example, often project deep musical feeling without being aware of musical structure or historical facts. It is this kind of innocence from which adults can learn. Therefore in practicing, avoid excess of analysis, and allow the music to revel its own beauty, a beauty that is answered by something deep within you”
【当Seymour谈到母性要素在男性中往往被压抑时】
Do you know ho many men tried to subdue the feminine in them? Well look here’s Beethoven (Seymour plays a piece). Picture this, he’s playing this (Moonlight Sonata) for the first time in the World, to a room filled with his colleagues. He finished playing and they were all crying….Beethoven stopped, said, “Men don’t cry. Why are you crying?" This sensitive guy, you know, he had the feminine in him but he tried to subjugate it
【当Seymoure谈到不协和和弦和决心时】
It has conflicts and pleasures, harmony and dissonance. That’s how life is. Can’t escape it. By the way, the same thing occurs in music. There are dissonances in harmony and resolutions. I believe that you won’t enjoy the resolution unless you have that dissonance. What would it be if we didn’t have the dissonance? We wouldn’t know the meaning of the resolution.
【当 Seymour在回应，自己如何看待父亲不认为Seymore是他所想要的那种儿子时】
I felt insulted. I felt that he couldn’t say he has three daughters and a son ‘cause he couldn’t identify with the son that he had. After a while, when I was adult enough…..I create a translucent dome around myself, a protective dome. Outside are flying all the ravens, who symbolise all the people who are detractors in my life, who don’t really want me to succeed for their selfish reasons. Even though I can see them, they can’t touch me anymore. Guess who my father is. He’s one of those ravens. He’s picking at the translucent dome, but he can’t get in.
【Seymour 和一位学者谈到音乐的教育意义时】
Our culture deliberately drives people to focus outside so it can control them. Because if you can make people slaves of consumerism, slaves of success, slaves of status, you can manipulate them completely. So the role of music in our culture is crucial, because music is the art most sacredly capable of helping us get in touch with the deepest passions and compassions and deepest understandings of ourselves.
【当 Seymour谈到年龄允许他更加坦白无惧时】
When you reach my age, you stop playing games. You stop lying to people, and you just say really what’s in your heart. And you find out that it’s the greatest compliment to someone when you really say the truth and don’t just say what they expect you to say.
【当Seymour在试琴时】
Every piano is like a person. They build them the same way. They never come out the same way, because human factor of putting everything together. Then the soundboard, the wood is alive. Every tree is different. So the soundboard vibrates. Each soundboard has different wood. It can never be the same.
【当 Ethan Hawke 和 Seymour谈到自己在创作和事业中的交煎时】
（Hawke）I think a lot of people spend the bulk of their life no trying to play better but by trying to gain more things. For me, personally, I can look around and I can see that doesn’t actually make people happy. I’m looking at myself, and I’m saying, “You have the second half of your life ahead of you. If it’s not for material gain, if I don’t have a specific religious calling, what is it that I’m living it for?” The whole system of life is geared to make you think about success. Often, doing my art the best and equating that with any kind of financial success are just - they’re just wildly at odds with one another. So the most “successful” things I’ve done have been some of the worst things I've done. And sometimes I think that just playing life more beautifully is what I’m after.
欢迎大家也记下你印象深刻的片段。值得反复回味和思索。
4 ) You will never be old as long as you know how to begin.
Seymour Bernstein， 87岁，前程大好却【半途而废】的pianist。独居纽约上西区，睡一张沙发床，潜心教学作曲写作，易动情流泪也常展露孩童般的笑容。
老人几句话，我已振聋发聩，忙不迭掏出小本来记。难怪只一面之缘，Seymour就俨然成了Ethan Hawke的灵魂导师。后者甚至亲手操刀，历时两年，完成了这一部大音希声的纪录片。
他们探讨表演艺术和舞台恐慌，探讨勤奋与天赋，探讨个性与自负，探讨音乐，教育，创造力。讲了那么多，却流水一样和着琴音，一点不聒噪地入耳，走心。
遇到这样的导师，是大幸，难怪半个放映厅里都是世界各地赶来的学生。
Q&A 脑海里这一句记得最清晰
Q: Does music keep you young?
A: You will never be old as long as you know how to begin.
P.S. Ethan Hawke 处女作着实惊喜，细腻不小气，抒情不滥情
New York Times review -“affectionate and searching” 是真的。
5 ) 《西默简介》拍摄初衷、台词摘录以及降b调猜想
通过认识西默先生以及透过他的音乐之后，导演伊桑.霍克说他得到了某种精神上的答案。为了进一步解决这些疑问，他拍摄了这部纪录片，希望在与西默先生共度的日子中得到那个自己想找寻的状态。
但我想，也许根本没有所谓的答案吧，谁又能说我们内心的种种疑问是可以被彻底解决的呢？不如还是将一切交付于无尽的音乐中。
2.台词摘录
“我得告诉你，我们的艺术是完全可以预知的，音乐永远不会改变，当贝多芬写下一个降b.那就会一直在那。因为音乐的可预见性，当我们演奏时就能感到一种指引，它是和谐的，人人可以控制。”
“音乐出现时，你最初的反应不会经过理智的分析，比如说，有天赋的孩子经常对音乐表现出深刻的感触，但这不是因为意识到音乐的构架或历史的沉重。因此在练习的时候应该避免多余的分析，让音乐呈现它自然的美，那也是回应你内心深处声音的方法。”
“你知道有多少男人想要征服自身内心软弱的一面吗？”
“有冲突也有快乐，和谐与不和谐共存，这就是生活，谁也逃不开。顺带一提，音乐也是这样，和谐里有不和谐，如果我们没有不和谐的因素会怎样呢？我们就不会明白解决的意义。”
“一旦你尝过这种狂喜的滋味，你就再也不会将自己卖给劣质之物，再也不会倾心于所谓的成功，你懂得了这才是生活的精髓所在，你得到了试金石，你可以以它评判任何其他事物。”
“人们总是在寻找某种答案，某种能让他们过上幸福生活的答案。圣经上说，有主的地方就会有帮助，我则称之为精神储蓄，而非上帝。我认为，大多人并不从上帝那里汲取能量，宗教让我感到烦恼的是，答案似乎总是以神的形式出现，脱离于我们，而我们却还是习惯性依赖于神的解救，但我坚定地认为答案就在我们的内心。”
“在哲学家所说过的各种方式中，音乐是最神圣的，音乐像上帝一样不可见，你看不见它，然而它的影响又是那么有渗透力，有超然之美。而音乐与宗教的区别在于：你不能证明上帝是存在的，那只是你的信仰一开始告诉你的事，你可以体验，但不能证明，而就音乐来说，它明明白白就是为你写就的语言。”
“一切皆有秩序。如果天上的星座是这种秩序的视觉证明的话，那音乐一定是它的听觉表现，通过它的语言，我们成为群星之一，是的，音乐可以为混乱的世界谱写秩序，驱散孤独与不快，它的声音就在那真理根植其中的思想与感觉的深渊中探寻着。”
“音乐从不折中，从无借口，没有花招，没有劣质工艺，我们可以从音乐中领会到自我的延伸，使自我潜能觉醒，它让我知道：我用自己的双手，可以触碰到蓝天。”
3.关于降b的有趣猜想
这种猜想来自于西默先生的友人，在聊天期间他说：“我问自己，为什么会有那么多大段都是降b调？我是说，你觉得这些都是巧合吗？在贝多芬的钢琴奏鸣曲，弦乐四重奏还有钢琴三重奏里时长超过50分钟的大段都是降b调，舒伯特也写了类似的奏鸣曲，勃拉姆斯也有重要的曲段是降b调。最近，NASA在官网中声称他们发现了一个在降b调上共振的黑洞，在中音以下57个8度。我想它对音乐这种宇宙语言来说很有吸引力，而且如果宇宙在降b调上有共振反应，而伟大的音乐家如贝多芬们也都选择这个调来创作他们不朽的杰作，那么...(被旁人打断)”如果音乐中真有这个秘密洞口，可以让人们通过聆听它们，以此进入这个超现实的世界。这个冥想中早就存在的精神世界..."
4.我个人关于降b调的延伸猜想
我个人认为这种带着神秘主义色彩的猜想十分有趣，因为我自己很早之前就觉得世间万物在拥有现在人所赋予他们的名字之前就有了一个根本的名字。这种名字也许是一个符号，一个音调，（因为在人类以前并没有文字的存在。）如果我们知道了，并通过一定的方法呼唤这个名字，发出与之共振的声音，使得两者同时存在于同一频率之中，对应的某种生命就会真正苏醒，并且我们可以进行沟通，甚至可以依靠它们帮助自己达成某些目的...说着说着，又有点占卜术的意思了。
5.这部纪录片里还有一个经常被提及的名字：格伦.古尔德。同样是非常独特的音乐家。
6.整理之后偶然出现的一个想法
音乐比语言更高级，出现的更早，是自然造物，而非人造之物。语言之下的所有词语都带有欺骗性，而音乐永远不会撒谎，它永远贞洁，坦诚，美好。
Ethan*_*
探讨一个钢琴家，音乐和其神性，世界的本质、秩序和面具，金句太多不能一一列举，用词也相当高级——还是要有文化啊还是要睿智，做那样的人真是太好了。
NYFF52 #1 WRT You will never be old as long as you know how to begin.
寧靜致遠。伊森霍克這是在反省自己嗎(主持人的作用)? 原來鋼琴樂曲也有「開放性結尾」。" I don't hear Bach，I only hear Gould .我聽到的不是巴哈，只有顧爾德 "。鋼琴教育家對藝術和生活的態度，在於能和矛盾衝突和諧相處 。這位西摩是沒講鬼的司馬中原Orz...
“The struggle is what makes the art form.”
Ethan Hawke执导，讲述名钢琴家主动放弃走穴生涯当起人民教师，燃烧自己照亮别人的先进事迹。p.s. 说好的“简介”呢？！
西莫说他自己只是业余音乐家，不为商业利益，不为公众演奏。全片都动容的地方。
开头教授音色没有处理好，是因为钢琴古老吗?非常非常棒的科教纪录片，五星满分，一点都不乏味，超值的大师课。多亏伊桑霍克这份心啦！回头我对练琴的认识又更进一部。应该要多看几遍，无论是音乐还是理念都超值得的。
老头好可爱
好单纯的人。
观众席活抓一只马克鲁法洛。老先生讲起战争和那本日记突然失声痛哭实在难以让人不动容，Ethan你是好样滴
关于音乐家伯恩斯坦的访谈。影片中的伯氏表现得非常可爱，对于人生，对于艺术，认识得非常深刻，且影片中伯氏之语，字字珠矶，颇富哲理。只是伊桑·霍克的导演手法，让人觉得总是欠一口气，少些趣味。另外，片名翻译得有些怪，或许用序曲更好一些？
可以看到Ethan Hawke放了很多心在里面，有捏出Seymour灵魂的厚度。映后Q&A时Seymour对Ethan说，You understand me，Ethan有一瞬哽住，是今天最动人的画面。可是你不该用这标题，我替塞林格先生感到生气。
在美妙的钢琴曲伴奏下的大师人生讲堂，真是泰然和真诚。而且通过Ethan和老爷子简短的几句对谈，可以看到Ethan自己对艺术的态度和挣扎困惑。
因为是在PAD上看的，而且是在女儿睡着的时候用很小的音量看的，音乐大概只感受到5%。就纪录片而言，平淡无奇，当然，伊桑•霍克也很谦虚地将片名定为“西默简介”。
钢琴家、作曲家、导师西莫·伯恩斯坦传奇的人生，他自幼成名，全球巡演，之后还去了朝鲜战场给士兵们演奏（那段太感动了），却在50岁后急流勇退，潜行作曲、教学。伊桑霍克的第一部纪录片，看得出他对西莫的了解和发掘的重点是他对教育和人生的看法，并没有花太多笔墨重诉传奇，片子很私人
是当闲云野鹤的老绅士还是做功成名就的讨厌鬼？不是选择题。相由心生，看西默年轻时阳光的笑容都可以推断他是哪种人吧。指导小帅哥控制情绪肢体语言不要太激烈方为优雅，这是对朗朗的高级黑吗？伊森霍克居然也能拍沉静如水的片儿，但他本人上镜就挡不住好莱坞浮华腔调，倒正好点了题。
当生命与音乐融为一体，所有的孤独、痛苦、恐惧都随之消融。然而这个世界上，又有几个人拥有纯粹的匠心呢？
老爷爷每一句话都是鸡汤，我要上火了
艺术是有高低的~ 这高和低几乎是绝对的 也许与死亡一样绝对~ 靠近这种绝对需要感受和理解~ which is the hardest part~