Together questions

Together, 2002 dir. Chen Kaige

  1. As the film is about, among other things, the collision and conflict of two sets of values, describe briefly the town where Liu Xiaochun and his father live, and City of Beijing where violin Professor Yu lives. How do the two places differ culturally? 既然电影是关于城乡差别的,请简单地说一下刘小春和刘成所在的小镇和余教授所在的北京。两个地方的文化有哪些不同?
  1. How do Professor Jiang and Professor Yu differ as far as Liu Xiaochun’s future is concerned? What kind of influence does each bring to the 13-year old music prodigy? 对于小春来说,余教授和姜教授有什么不一样,对他的前途会有什么影响?
  1. What is the logic or reasoning behind Xiaochun’s final decision to return home with his father, and not continue his music education in Beijing or pursue his career as a professional violinist? How do you feel about his choice to be with his father rather than to have a successful career? Have you seen Charles Dickens’ The Great Expectations? 小春最后决定同父亲一起回家乡,不在北京跟余教授继续学小提琴,他的逻辑是什么?你对他的决定怎么看?
  1. What does Lili seek and pursue in life? Through her acquaintance with Xiaochun, what does she learn about herself and life in general? At the end she seems to have gone through a rite of passage; what does her emotional maturity entail or consist of? 丽莉所追求的东西是什么?自从她认识小春以来,她对自己的生活有了哪些新的认识?在影片结束时,她似乎比以前成熟了;你觉得她的成熟的具体内容是什么?
  1. What is the secret Liu Cheng (Xiaochun’s father) shares with Professor Yu? How does Professor Yu make use of the secret? 刘成告诉余教授的秘密是什么?之后余教授做了些什么?
  1. How do you interpret the facts that Professor Jiang has no wife or girlfriend, and that he lives with strayed cats? How does he as a character contribute to the overall significance of the story? 你觉得为什么陈凯歌要把姜教授刻画成为一个单身汉,生活潦倒,不修边幅,养一堆走失的野猫?他的存在如何推进整个故事?
  1. Why does the film begin the way it does, with Xiaochun playing violin for a woman in pain giving birth? Interpret. 你怎么分析故事的开端,小春给一位分娩中的孕妇拉小提琴?
  1. To a degree, the story is about being successful in modern China. How do you define and measure success as far as Professor Yu, Xiaochun, Lin Yu, Lili, Liu Cheng, and Professor Jiang are concerned? 从某种程度上讲,故事说的是如何在中国成功。对余教授,姜教授、刘成、丽莉、刘小春来说成功是什么?
  1. In traditional and medieval society people value things for their usefulness whereas in modern bourgeois society, people value things for their exchange value. How do you see this difference in the way music talent is valued in the story? 农业社会与工业社会有不同的价值观;前者欣赏的是事务的实用价值,而后者则珍视事务的交换价值。对音乐天才,大家有什么样的态度?
  1. Who buys the violin Xiaochun has sold to the pawn shop? Why? Where does the violin come from originally? What meaning does it have for Liu Cheng and Xiaochun? 是谁买走了小春家人给他留下的小提琴?这个小提琴对刘成、小春有什么意义?