亚力克斯·嘉兰的《内战》是一部政治惊悚片，政治题材较少

Civil War, Alex Garland’s ambitious new thriller, hinges on an irresistible premise: What if the United States really did devolve into a second civil war? It’s an intriguing narrative idea, made all the more effective by the current polarized state of American democracy. When it feels like every news broadcast is filled with imagery of protests and insurrections, there’s something resonant — and devastatingly timely — about Garland’s vision of American conflict. The result is a brutal piece of speculative fiction that highlights the ugliness of war — even if it never quite lives up to its provocative premise.
亚历克斯·嘉兰雄心勃勃的惊悚新作《内战》围绕着一个不可抗拒的前提展开:如果美国真的陷入了第二次内战会怎样?这是一个有趣的叙事理念，由于美国民主目前的两极分化状态，它变得更加有效。当感觉每一个新闻广播都充斥着抗议和叛乱的画面时，加兰对美国冲突的看法引起了某种共鸣——而且非常及时。其结果是一部残酷的投机小说，突显了战争的丑陋——尽管它从未完全符合其挑衅性的前提。

Set in a not-too-far future, Civil War finds the country already embroiled in battle. An unnamed president (Nick Offerman) is holed up in the White House, facing secessionist troops referred to as the Western Forces, an unexpected alliance between Texas and California. (Florida has also seceded, and in typical Florida fashion, they’re sort of doing their own thing.) Chronicling the carnage is celebrated war photographer Lee (Kirsten Dunst), who built her career snapping photos of the war front overseas. (Her name, of course, is a nod to legendary war photographer Lee Miller, who covered World War II for Vogue.) Now, she’s come home, using her camera to capture apocalyptic images of American-on-American violence.
在不久的将来，内战发现这个国家已经卷入了战争。一位不知名的总统(尼克·奥弗曼饰)躲在白宫里，面对被称为西部势力的分离主义军队，这是德克萨斯州和加利福尼亚州意想不到的联盟。(佛罗里达州也宣布脱离联邦，按照典型的佛罗里达风格，他们在做自己的事情。)记录这场大屠杀的是著名的战地摄影师李(克尔斯滕·邓斯特饰)，她的职业生涯是在海外前线拍摄照片。(当然，她的名字是向传奇战地摄影师李·米勒致敬，他曾为《Vogue》杂志拍摄过二战。)现在，她回家了，用她的相机捕捉美国之间暴力的末日图像。

After reporting on protests in a ravaged New York City, she and her colleague Joel (Wagner Moura) make plans to head south, journeying to the “front lines” in Charlottesville, Va., before trekking to D.C. to try to score an interview with the president. It’s a dangerous mission, especially when the current administration has a history of executing journalists on the South Lawn. They’re joined by aging old-timer Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson, perfect as always), who works for what’s left of The New York Times, and aspiring 23-year-old photojournalist Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), who hopes to follow in Lee’s footsteps. Together, this odd quartet sets out on an uncomfortable road trip, dodging bullets and weaving through backroads as they document a burning America.
在报道了被蹂躏的纽约市的抗议活动后，她和她的同事乔尔(瓦格纳·莫拉饰)计划向南走，前往弗吉尼亚州夏洛茨维尔的“前线”，然后长途跋涉到华盛顿特区，试图获得对总统的采访。这是一项危险的任务，尤其是当现任政府有在南草坪处决记者的历史时。加入他们的还有老家伙萨米(斯蒂芬·麦金利·亨德森，一如既往的完美)，他为《纽约时报》的残余工作，还有23岁的有抱负的摄影记者杰西(凯莉·斯帕尼)，她希望追随李的脚步。这对奇怪的四人组一起踏上了一段不舒服的公路之旅，他们躲避子弹，穿梭在乡间小路上，记录了一个燃烧的美国。

As a war movie, Civil War is well made, dropping audiences into the shock and terror of American slaughter. Garland sprinkles every battlefield with jarring touches — whether it’s a crashed helicopter in a JC Penney parking lot or a refugee camp set up in a high school football stadium. Lit by rockets’ red glare, the battle scenes are unsettling, violent, and loud, punctuated by brief moments of silence as we hear the click of Lee and Jessie’s cameras. It’s also an effective journalism movie, exploring what exactly drives these writers and photographers to risk life and limb. At first, Jessie is horrified by the violence she witnesses, and early on, when she encounters a man brutalizing two captives at a rural gas station, she freezes. But as the journey continues, she’s slowly desensitized to the trauma, chasing every new skirmish like a combat adrenaline junkie.
作为一部战争片，《内战》制作精良，将观众带入美国屠杀的震惊和恐怖之中。无论是JC Penney停车场坠毁的直升机，还是建立在高中足球场的难民营，加兰都会在每个战场上洒上不和谐的色彩。在火箭的红光照耀下，战争场面令人不安、暴力、嘈杂，当我们听到李和杰西的相机咔嗒声时，短暂的沉默被打断了。这也是一部有效的新闻电影，探索到底是什么驱使这些作家和摄影师冒着生命危险。起初，杰西被她所目睹的暴力吓坏了，早些时候，当她在一个农村加油站遇到一个男人残忍地对待两个俘虏时，她惊呆了。但随着旅程的继续，她慢慢地对创伤失去了敏感性，像一个战斗肾上腺素瘾君子一样追逐着每一次新的冲突。

But as a political movie, Civil War is less effective: Garland is careful never to explain why the war has broken out but instead is more interested in capturing the anarchy. We learn that Lee made her name covering something called the “Antifa Massacre” but the film never confirms who was massacred — or who did the massacring. Similarly, little is known about Offerman’s POTUS and his potential political leanings, only that he’s now in his third term and has already disbanded the FBI. All that political ambiguity is an intentional choice, but it feels like a cheap one: Civil War feels kind of like a political pundit who likes to “just ask questions,” but never actually engage with them on a deeper level.
但作为一部政治电影，《内战》就没那么有效了:嘉兰小心翼翼地从不解释战争爆发的原因，而是对捕捉无政府状态更感兴趣。我们了解到，李因报道所谓的“反法大屠杀”而成名，但这部电影从未证实谁被屠杀，或者是谁进行了大屠杀。同样，关于奥弗曼扮演的美国总统及其潜在的政治倾向，人们所知甚少，只知道他现在是第三任总统，而且已经解散了联邦调查局。所有这些政治上的模棱两可都是有意的选择，但感觉像是一种廉价的选择:《内战》感觉有点像一个喜欢“只是问问题”，但从未真正深入探讨问题的政治专家。

Even as Garland’s vision remains frustratingly opaque, it’s elevated by some stellar performances. Dunst is unsurprisingly excellent as Lee, who chronicles the carnage with the world-weary resolve of someone who’s seen a thousand firefights and a thousand bloodstains. Still, Dunst finds flickers of kindness and humanity under Lee’s battle-hardened exterior, especially when interacting with her fellow Sofia Coppola muse Spaeny. The 25-year-old Priscilla actress perfectly balances Jessie’s wide-eyed naivety and tenaciousness, as the young journalist is horrified by the violence but unable to look away. Together, they make an unlikely mentor-mentee relationship: Lee can’t help but resentfully pass on her knowledge, even as she’s internally begging Jessie to run to safety. Plus, the eternally underrated Henderson shines as Sammy, bringing a warmth and veteran stability to the trip.  
尽管嘉兰的视野仍然令人沮丧地模糊，但一些出色的表演提升了他的视野。邓斯特饰演的李毫不奇怪地出色，他以一个见过一千次交火和一千次血迹的人的厌世决心记录了这场大屠杀。尽管如此，邓斯特还是在李安身历沧桑的外表下发现了善良和人性的闪光，尤其是在与索菲亚·科波拉的缪斯斯帕尼互动时。这位25岁的女演员在《普莉希拉》中完美地平衡了杰西天真的天真和顽强，饰演年轻的记者被暴力吓坏了，但无法转移视线。在一起，他们形成了一种不太可能的师徒关系:李忍不住怨恨地传递她的知识，即使她内心恳求杰西逃到安全的地方。此外，永远被低估的亨德森扮演的萨米也很出色，给这次旅行带来了温暖和老练的稳定。