Medicine for Melancholy (2008) A black mumblecore by Barry Jenkins

You're one of those people.

Those people?

Yes, those people that think that Black History Month is in February, because it's the shortest month in the year.

It is.

Black History Month is in February, because Carter G. Woodson wanted Negro History Week to coincide with the births of Frederick Douglass and Lincoln, both in the same week in February.



Let's go to MoMA.

I don't want to go to MoMA.

What's wrong with MoMA?

No comment.

Okay, black man. So what do two black folks do on a Sunday afternoon?

Go to church, eat fried chicken.

What do two black folks not do on a Sunday afternoon?

Go to a museum.

That is not funny.

It is funny.

It's not funny.

It's funny 'cause it's not funny.





先來介紹一下 mumblecore 這東西好了，根據維基百科定義，mumblecore 浪潮發起自千禧年後，由 Mark & Jay Duplass 兄弟領軍，甜心是 Greta Gerwig，特色為低限預算、即興劇本、二十歲年輕人間的大量對話。以上描述是否令人想起九零年代 Richard Linklater 和 Kevin Smith (退化前)，甚至獨立製片的先行者約翰卡薩維蒂呢？



而榮獲獨立精神獎最佳處女劇本、最佳攝影的提名 Medicine for Melancholy 正是部導演 Barry Jenkins 戲稱為 black mumblecore 之初試啼聲茵地小品，且我們可以選擇在 高雄電影節 觀賞。





於舊金山這全美非洲裔比例最低的城市，一雙黑人男女翌日從派對笙歌離開朋友住所，他們昨晚有過親密接觸，但那只是酒酣耳熱兩廂情願，彼此叫什麼名字都不知道。男孩積極地約女孩吃早餐，女孩宿醉下持續冷淡回應，兩人共乘計程車分道揚鑣，前往貧窮區域路上的男孩在車上發現住有錢人地段女孩的錢包，他踏破鐵鞋登門拜訪，發現女孩並不叫安琪拉。



女孩之所以能夠坐擁豪宅，係因交個在倫敦工作的美術館館長白人男朋友，水族箱裝置員男孩以吉他美技打動佳人芳心，展開在 James Laxton 近乎黑白優美攝影助興下的甜蜜一日。他們騎腳踏車，他們跳舞，他們逛展覽，他們旋轉木馬，他們談論些有的沒的五四三，或者嚴肅議題如種族認同、城市遷移、香草冰與鮑伊皇后優勝劣敗，



他們小心翼翼地探索愛情可能性，對彼此越來越熟悉的同時，也驚覺並不是因為妳是黑人，我也是黑人，就該把在這非洲裔只佔百分之七的城市談戀愛視為理所當然……









憂鬱的解藥 Medicine for Melancholy

90 min. 2007



Directed by

Writing credits

Barry Jenkins 



Wyatt Cenac  ...  Micah 

Tracey Heggins  ...  Jo'  



Cinematography by

James Laxton 

Music Department

Gates Bradley ....  music consultant 

Greg O'Bryant ....  music supervisor





 





































 













"I figured the walls needed a little artwork, like the lights and darks and the crosshatching and stuff."



"Very artistic."





















































A night they barely remember becomes a day they'll never forget.