作者論與臺灣新電影

Auteurism and Taiwan New Cinema

一九八七年〈臺灣新電影宣言〉中，新電影導演們自稱是「有創作意圖的電影作者」，把自己與港片及好萊塢影片作區隔，自覺到與法國新浪潮電影理論的聯繫。台灣新電影導演在國際電影界頻頻獲得大獎，是各種因素匯聚的結果：本地電影雜誌對作者論系統性的引介；本地影評家努力連結國際影評家，尤其是「電影作者論」的機關刊物《電影筆記》的影評家；政府輔導金的補助，等等。然而此新電影宣言也等於預告了新電影的結束，原因是國內觀眾不久即厭倦了新電影的菁英走向。本文爬梳《電影筆記》，指出作者論強調導演的「個人印記」，可能淪為導演自我崇拜的陷阱，導致無盡的自我複製。台灣新電影導演對作者論拳拳服膺，然而對《電影筆記》的影評家而言，第三世界導演對作者論的忠誠，代表法國電影工業與好萊塢競爭的優勢。

The 1987 mission statement of Taiwan New Cinema declared that it supported “auteurs with creative intention,” who were distinguished from commercial movie directors, especially those from Hong Kong and Hollywood. This indicates TNC directors’ intention of allying with the French Nouvelle Vague. The success story of TNC directors constantly winning prizes in international film festivals was the result of an orchestration of various forces working simultaneously: the spread of the auteur theory in local film journals; local critics’ efforts in connecting with international critics, especially those of Cahiers du cinéma, the hotbed for auteurism; government sponsorship, and so on. But the mission statement also prefigured the end of TNC, since domestic audiences soon lost interest in its elitist approach. This paper, examining the French journal Cahiers du cinéma, points out that the pitfall of auteurism is “an aesthetic cult of personality” and the myth of personal signature that leads to endless self-repetition. Taiwan New Cinema directors are all faithful practitioners of auteurism. For theorists of Cahiers du cinéma, on the other hand, the prevalence of auteurism in third world countries marks the superiority of the French film industry in the competetion with Hollywood.