★Lima Latin American Film Festival 2006 / First Prize of the Critics Award
★Montréal World Film Festival 2004

影壇又一巨星隕落──智利電影大師拉烏．盧伊茲於今年8月19日因病辭世法國巴黎，享年七十歲。

拉烏．盧伊茲在1941年生於智利小鎮波多蒙第，早期投入智利前衛劇場運動，撰寫過無數舞台劇本。19歲開始拍攝電影短片和紀錄片，1968年以首部劇情長片《三隻傷心老虎》（Three Sad Tigers）勇奪盧卡諾「金豹獎」，而崛起於國際影壇。

1973年，由於在影片《白鴿》中針對智利政府和軍隊對百姓的欺壓進行了尖銳的諷刺和批判，被禁止再在本國拍攝影片並受到政府的通緝而流亡法國，此後20多年間，盧伊茲在法國、荷蘭、瑞士、德國等地拍攝了大量優秀的藝術電影和先鋒電影，被認為重現了法國詩意寫實主義時代的精神，對燈光的掌握尤其獨具特色，受眾多評論家譽為是繼高達之後最具革新意識和創造力的電影大師。
盧伊茲的藝術風格與視野俱皆獨特，半世紀以來自透過藝術上的實驗，展現少人能及的創造力，是影壇最具魅力的導演之一，受到全球影壇推崇，共計拍攝過不下90部的長片及30部的短片，擅長結合藝術與文學於其電影作品之中，此間最知名的作品包括《追憶似水年華》、《情慾克林姆》以及《里斯本的秘密》等片。

本次所選映作為台灣拉美影展開幕片之《鄉村歲月》為拉烏．盧伊茲在智利結束獨裁政權後返回祖國所完成的一部傑作，根據智利著名文學作品改編而成，影片重現智利昔日上層社會的時代氛圍兼及處理記憶所引發對現實與虛構之討論，敘事活潑大膽，燈光細膩幽微，運鏡優雅流暢，畫面詩意豐沛美不勝收，音樂配置精準無懈可擊，充份展現拉烏．盧伊茲的純熟電影技巧與獨特的創造力，以及他對人情世事的包容理解。本影展謹以此片紀念他對世人的貢獻與啟發。
In a cafe probably in Santiago two old men talk over their past and about themselves as if they were dead. Don Francisco already 90, remembers the people that surround him at his old "hacienda". For years he tries to finish his novella with memories from past conversations in his peaceful and rainy estate, where only apparitions of people that might be dead disturb everyday life. His daily routines include ordering the menus for meals he hosts and also meaningful talks with his old and loyal servants. Toward the end Don Frederico wanders through the house full of objects placed as still life portraits, beautifully illuminated by natural windows while occasionally meets his thirty-year-younger self; he listens to the announcement of his own death tirelessly repeated on the radio……

Dias de campo marks another return by Raúl Ruiz to his homeland of Chile after filming the four-part epic Cofralandes (2003). Raul Ruiz passed away earlier in August this year (2011) leaving behind a rich legacy of complex, cutting-edge and poetic films. He wrote in his book Poetics of Cinema: ‘Every film buff has at least one special experience, the object of his regret. Mine is neither sad nor happy, given that it never really happened. It provokes a melancholy that the Portuguese call saudade: nostalgia for what might have occurred.’

◎For more info: http://mubi.com/films/days-in-the-country
◎Print source: Margo Films