14 No More Children"s Tickets
父子观影记
I have loved movies since I was a child. Every Sunday, I went to the Monroe Theater to enjoy a movie there. Then in 1970 I turned ten, and my tastes turned from Disney movies to more mature ones. Still, I was precluded from seeing R-rated movies .
从孩提时代起，我就喜欢看电影。每个星期天，我都会去门罗剧院看电影。1970年，我十岁，我的兴趣从迪士尼电影转向了更为成熟的电影。可是，我仍然不能看R级片。
All at one,commercials appeared on TV for The French Connection . They looked exciting, streetwise , and very powerful. This was going to be a man"s movie. And I was going to miss out, because I wasn"t old enough. I can remember when my dad and older brother went to see it, stepping into the freezing night calling, "We"ll be back later," Peter running ahead of my father in anticipation .
突然，电视上开始播放电影《法国贩毒网》的广告。广告看起来令人兴奋，体现了城市生存智慧，充满了力量。这将是一部男子汉的电影。但我却将错过它，因为我还太小了。我还记得当爸爸带着哥哥去看它时，他们一起走进寒冷的冬夜里，爸爸喊道：“我们晚些回来。”而彼得则抢先跑在了爸爸的前面。
The French Connection broke new ground . The car chase was daring,edgy and thrilling, like nothing ever seen before. And this made me long to see it. Gene Hackman"s portrayal of Popeye Doyle was far from the kind of cop that audiences were used to seeing. I was a movie fanatic , and I felt I was missing out on something historical, daring and new. Peter was thrilled to be seeing it. I, however, was relegated to another dreary night at home with my mom and my younger brother, Steven.
《法国贩毒网》开辟了一片新天地。飙车场面又大胆又紧张又令人激动，和以前看过的电影都不一样。这使得我非常想看这部电影。吉恩·哈克曼饰演的波佩耶·多伊尔完全不是观众看惯的那种警察形象。我是一名狂热的影迷，我觉得自己错过了某个历史性的、大胆而新鲜的事件。彼得兴冲冲地去看它了。我却只落得陪妈妈和弟弟史蒂文待在家中，度过又一个沉闷的夜晚。
When Peter and my dad got home, they expressed what I already knew. The movie was great. They talked about the car chase. "Unbelievable!" Hackman was "fantastic!" Oh, how I wished I were older and could ...
当彼得和爸爸回来的时候，他们对电影的描述和我已知的一模一样。电影棒极了。他们谈论着飙车。“简直令人难以置信！”哈克曼“酷毙了”！噢，我多么希望自己那时再大点儿，就能……
You want to go see it, Leonard?
“你想去看吗，伦纳德？”
Was that my father who just said that? Did I hear right? Confirmation came in a second , from my mother.
刚才说那句话的是我爸爸吗？是我听错了吗？妈妈立刻就为我证实了这一点。
Ed, do you really think he should see it? Oh Mom, don"t kill my chances. Don"t plant the seed of doubt. Be quiet for just a little longer until I can extract a promise. Then the sweet words came.
“埃德，你真的认为他能去看吗？”噢，妈妈，不要扼杀我的机会。不要对此提出质疑。只要安静一小会儿，我就能得到爸爸的许诺。接着就传来了那些动人的话语。
I don"t see why not. I think he"s old enough to handle it. We can go tomorrow night.
“我看不出有什么不妥。我觉得他年龄够大，可以正确对待它了。我们可以明晚去。”
But you just went with Peter tonight. You"re going to go again tomorrow?
“可是你今晚刚带彼得去看过。你明天还要再去吗？”
My dad looked over at me. He must have seen my eyes, filled with excitement and anticipation.
爸爸低头看着我。他肯定看见了我眼里闪烁着的兴奋与期盼。
Sure, why not? he said.
“当然，为什么不？”他说。
Yeah! I cried and leapt into the air.
“好耶！”我大叫着跳了起来。
The next night I could hardly eat my dinner. I couldn"t wait to get out of the house and see something that I had thought only my elder brother would be allowed to see.
第二天晚上，我几乎吃不下晚饭。我迫不及待地想离开家，去看那部我原以为只有哥哥才会被允许去看的电影。
Leonard, if you don"t eat something, you"re going to be hungry at the movies, he said, smiling.
“伦纳德，不吃东西，你看电影的时候可会饿的呀。”爸爸微笑着说。
There it was again-confirmation of the event. Yes, we were actually going to see this R-rated movie together. It would be my first one. At last, dinner was over. We got our winter coats and stepped to the front door. My dad grinned , tossed his head back and called out, "We"ll be back later."
又一次，这件事得到了证实。是的，我们真的要一起去看这部R级电影了。它将会成为我看的第一部R级影片。晚餐终于结束了。我们穿上冬衣，向前门走去。爸爸咧嘴笑着，回过头喊道：“我们晚一点回来。”
Okay, said my mom, "have fun." I was so thrilled. Now it was Peter"s turn to stay home with Mom and Steven.
“好的，”妈妈说，“祝你们玩得开心。”我真是太兴奋了。现在， 轮到彼得待在家里陪妈妈和史蒂文了。
We got into the car. It was freezing. My dad"s cologne gently enveloped me, and the car warmed as the heater kicked in . I could feel his love for me. Even though he had just seen the movie the night before, he was going to take me tonight. He didn"t even wait for a few weeks. I was impressed and felt special.
我们上了汽车。天冷极了。爸爸身上的古龙香水味轻轻地将我包围，车上的暖气开了，车里暖和了起来。我能够感受到父亲对我的爱。尽管昨晚他刚刚看过这部电影，他今晚还是要带我去看，甚至都没等几个星期再说。我深受感动，觉得自己很特别。
The Monroe Theater was big and smelled of heat, popcorn and seat cloth. Back then, anyone under age twelve couldn"t get into an R-rated movie. I looked older than I was, and my dad paid the extra money so we wouldn"t have any trouble from the ticket lady. I was thrilled that my father thought I was mature enough to see an R-rated movie and that he had no problem saying, "Two adults, please," when buying our tickets.
门罗影剧院很大，一股热浪夹着爆米花和座椅布的味道扑面而来。那个年代，任何一个不满12岁的孩子都不能看R级影片。我看起来比我的实际年龄要大一些，爸爸也多付了些钱，以免检票的女士找我们麻烦。我感到十分兴奋，因为爸爸认为我已经长大了，能看R级片了；而且他在买票时毫不犹豫地说：“请来两张成人票。”
The French Connection was better than I had anticipated. It was the most exciting movie I"d ever seen, and the most adult.
《法国贩毒网》比我预料中的还要好看。它是我所看过的电影中最令人兴奋的一部，也是最成熟的一部。
As we walked up the steps at home after the movie, I turned to my dad and really looked at him. I wanted him to know how happy he"d made me, how wonderful it was to believe he thought of me as an adult (at least in some way). But all I could come up with was, "Thanks for taking me, Dad."
我们看完电影，走上家门前的台阶时，我转身面向爸爸，非常认真地看着他。我想让他知道他让我多么快乐，他把我看作成年人(至少在某些方面)的感觉有多棒。可是我当时能说出来的却只是“谢谢您带我去，爸爸”。
He hugged me, his big arms wrapping me tightly, and held me for just a little longer than usual. Cologne never smelled so sweet.
他拥抱我，结实的臂膀紧紧搂着我，并且比平时拥抱我的时间多了那么一小会儿。我觉得古龙香水从来没这么好闻过。
Oh, my pleasure, he said, "my pleasure!"
“噢，我很乐意这么做，”他说，“我很乐意！”
And it was.
的确如此。
After that, we went to the movies together all the time. The R-rating lost its importance and was no longer considered a sticking point . I had seen one and could now see all of them. My rite of passage was over. But when I was fifteen, things changed a bit and I went to the movies with my friends more than with my dad.
从那以后，我们俩一直一起去看电影。R级片已不再重要，不再是我心中的症结。我已经看过一部，而现在全部都能看了。我的“成人仪式”结束了。可在我15岁时，情况有了一点变化，我和朋友们去看电影多过和老爸一起。
In 1975, Peter and I, and my two friends waited in line for two hours (this was very unusual back then!) to see Jaws . I went home raving about it. What a fantastic movie! I could see my father wishing he had been allowed to go with the teenagers to see this "event," because there was no way my mother was going to go with him and he certainly wouldn"t see it by himself. But he was the parent now. Teenagers don"t really want their parents around when going to the movies as a group.
1975年，范文，为了看《大白鲨》，我和彼得以及我的两位朋友排了两个小时的队买票(这在当时可十分不同寻常！)。回到家里，我对电影赞不绝口。多么棒的一部影片啊！我能看得出，爸爸非常希望能跟我们这些十几岁的孩子们一起去见识这场“大事件”。因为妈妈是不会陪他去看的，而他肯定也不会一个人去看。可是，他现在是家长。青少年三五成群去看电影的时候，真的不希望父母坐在身旁。
Hey, Dad, I said. "You wanna go see it?"
“嗨，老爸，”我说，“您想去看吗？”
He seemed a little surprised. He hesitated, knowing how his place had changed, but said, "Well, yes. I"d love to."
爸爸似乎有一点儿吃惊。他知道自己的位置已经发生了变化，犹豫了一下，但还是说：“嗯，是的。我想去。”
Okay, we"ll go. Tomorrow night. Just you and me.
“那好，咱们一起去。明天晚上，就你和我。”
Terrific, he said, turning away so I couldn"t see him smiling from ear to ear .
“太好了。”他一边说着一边转过脸去，以免我看到他笑得合不拢嘴。
The next night we waited in line for two hours to see Jaws. And this time, it was my pleasure to "take" my father to the movies. My pleasure.
第二天晚上，我们排了两个小时队去看《大白鲨》。这一次，是我很乐意“带”父亲去看电影。我很乐意。
(By Lenny Grossman)
