经济学人51:德里之死 Death in Delhi

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　　文艺；印度电影;德里之死;

　　Indian film-makers are tackling difficult subjects with a light touch

　　印度电影制作者们正以一种轻快的风格处理棘手的主题。

　　Jessica Lall, a model, was shot dead at a posh party in Delhi in 1999. Working as a bartender, she had refused to serve an obnoxious¹ reveller² at the end of the evening. Feeling snubbed, he pulled out a pistol, pointed³ it at her temple and pulled the trigger. Several partygoers saw the murder and dozens more watched as the killer⁴ fled. Once he was arrested, getting a conviction should have been easy, even in India's bent⁵ and overwhelmed courts. However, the accused, a son of a powerful politician of nearby Haryana state, was let off.

　　杰西卡·莱尔是一名模特儿，1999年，她在德里的一场豪华宴会上遭枪击身亡。当天深夜时分，在吧台工作的杰西卡拒绝为一位令人厌恶的狂欢者提供服务，对方感到受人怠慢，于是拔出手枪，对准杰西卡的太阳穴扣动了扳机。多位来宾目睹了这起谋杀，更有几十号人看到了凶手逃离一幕。一旦凶手被捕，即便是在印度腐化且力不从心的法庭上，被判有罪本也不应是难事。然而，被告身为邻近哈里亚纳邦一位强力政治人物的儿子，被宣判无罪。

　　An energetic new film, “No One Killed Jessica”, relates this true story. It follows Ms Lall's stubborn younger sister, Sabrina, as she tried to get justice done. Alone, she didn't have a chance. Acolytes⁶ of the accused's powerful family bribed⁷ and threatened witnesses. The police were paid off and evidence lost. The film's most compelling scene—and one most damning of India's semi-rotten legal institutions—shows witnesses in turn retracting⁸ their original testimony⁹, saying that they could no longer remember the events, and letting a guilty man go free.

　　一部充满活力的新片——《无人杀害杰西卡》便讲述了这段真实的故事。影片追随莱尔锲而不舍、试图伸张正义的妹妹萨布丽娜。孤身一人的萨布丽娜毫无胜算。被告所在强大家族的助手们对证人威逼利诱，警察也被买通，证据不翼而飞。本片最扣人心弦的场景展示了证人们相继翻供，表示已经忘记了这些事件，并使得罪犯逍遥法外，而这一幕也是对印度部分腐朽的法律制度最严厉的抨击。

　　So far, so discouraging. But where Sabrina failed, India's fourth estate won out. The film's title is from a sarcastic¹⁰ newspaper headline at the time of the trial, commenting on the witnesses' suspicious amnesia¹¹. After the acquittal, journalists got those who had been on the stand to admit, in effect, to their perjury¹². They also helped to organise¹³ a candlelight protest at India Gate, the heart of New Delhi, where local citizens, Dilli-wallahs, demanded “justice for Jessica” and reform of India's legal system. Shamed by the attention, the courts at last in 2006 convicted Manu Sharma, the accused, and sentenced him to life in prison.

　　情节发展至此，令人心灰意冷。不过在萨布丽娜失败之处，印度的第四等级（新闻界）却赢得了胜利。本片片名源于审判时一份讽刺报纸的大标题，以此评论证人们可疑的失忆。在无罪宣判之后，记者令那些曾在法庭上作证之人在事实上承认了自己作伪证一事，他们也帮助人们在新德里的核心地带——印度门组织了一场烛光抗议活动，当地公民（即德里人，Dilli-wallahs）要求“为杰西卡伸张正义”，并改革印度的法律体系。众目睽睽之下感到羞耻的法庭，最终在2006年判决被告摩奴·沙玛(Manu Sharma)有罪，并判处其终身监禁。

　　This is not a heartwarming tale. It took seven years and the combined heft of reporters, broadcasters, street protesters and the victims' relatives to get what should have been a simple conviction. Nor is India's legal system fixed¹⁴. Witnesses remain exposed, corruption¹⁵ is rife¹⁶, the powerless routinely trodden on. Jessica was exceptional—sexy, young, Christian¹⁷, educated, from a middle-class family—an investigative reporter's (or a film director's) dream victim. Delhi's newspapers are filled daily with stories of violent attacks on other, anonymous¹⁸, women, many of whom struggle to see any sort of justice done. Beyond India's cities, women are more vulnerable still.

　　这并非一个令人振奋的故事。记者、播音员、街头抗议者以及受害者亲属合力而为，耗费七年时间，方才获得了本应简简单单的有罪判决。而印度的法律体系也未被修复。证人依旧不受保护，腐败仍在盛行，而无权无势者常常遭人践踏。杰西卡只是个特例，性感、年轻、信奉基督教、受过教育，出身于中产阶级家庭的她正是调查记者（或者电影导演）梦寐以求的受害者。而德里的报纸上每一天都充斥着针对其他无名女性的暴力袭击故事，其中许多受害者为了讨回一点公道，都要竭尽全力。而在印度的城市之外，女性的处境还要更加脆弱。

　　Yet “No One Killed Jessica”, released in India earlier this month and due to be shown in Europe, America and elsewhere, avoids hectoring. In its best moments it evokes¹⁹ an electric Delhi—an edgy²⁰ city bursting with ambitious people and new money—helped along by a thumping²¹ soundtrack. The young director, Raj Kumar Gupta, studies the dark side of booming, urbanising, India and, although he veers²² towards caricatures at times, he has a mostly light touch. Indian film-makers are making a habit of that: last year's “Peepli Live”, an unlikely but successful satire²³ on the grim theme of farmers' suicides, is India's submission²⁴ for next month's Academy Awards.

　　不过，本月早些时候在印度上映，并计划在欧美以及其他地区上映的《无人杀害杰西卡》一片，却没有盛气凌人的叙事。在最精彩的部分，本片借助一段铿锵的音乐，营造出了一个热力四射的德里——一座遍布有志之士和新生财富的前卫城市。年轻导演拉杰·库马尔·古普塔研究着日渐繁荣、正在城市化的印度的阴暗面，尽管他会不时转而进行讽刺，但其主要风格还是轻松明快的。印度电影制作者正在养成这种习惯：去年的《自杀直播现场》便是一部令人意想不到但却获得成功的讽刺影片，该片围绕农民自杀这一残酷主题，它将作为印度的参赛作品，角逐下月的奥斯卡奖。

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