〔Jep，上流社會的權力之皇，大志未竟的小說家。就為了這個笑容，這叼煙的姿勢，這悠悠的轉身的出場，我可以把trailer或DVD的00:09:21至00:11:23看個十幾廿遍。意大利男人，唉，害人。〕
好像先是BW說起的，正在談論何謂美，她就說在飛機上看的The Great Beauty。Paolo Sorrentino，人稱新一代的費里尼，但管他呢。一代有一代之La Dolce Vita。當年的Marcello誠然好吸引（那副眼鏡﹗）但這位Toni Servillo 亦叫人暈其大浪。電影中演65，真人不過56，難怪綽綽有餘，演玩家演虛無主義者都有說服力。BW當時大力闡述戲中104歲聖女的皺紋與堅信的力量，以及每天吃四十克樹根的篤愛勤勞。但我無法不被Jep對虛假無反省之昔日女同學當頭棒喝所吸引。太精彩了，洋蔥一樣辛辣與細緻。
話說50有幾的靚姑在友儕派對間抽水批評時下年輕人無責任感，並且說當年勇，如何暴烈參與黨活動，如何溫柔為人母，為下一代犧牲，同時又寫過十一部小說和黨史，言下之意你班友無仔無女日日吹水好頹廢，Bla bla bla...
Jep說，阿靚姑，我地關心你，先忍你咁多年，唔想你難堪，你宜家大言不慚，只不過顯示你的浮誇、自大，以及隱藏其間的脆弱與匱乏，最慘，仲有一籮大話。靚姑不甘示弱，喂你講吖，咩大話？有咩不足？有咩脆弱？我係女中豪傑唔怕你，你講吖，講呀﹗然後，最精彩一段來了，Jep說（btw, 靚姑叫Stefania）︰
All right, Stefania,
you asked for it. In random order:
Your civil vocation during
your student days went unnoticed.
But another vocation of yours
is remembered by many,
the one practiced by you then,
in the university toilets.
You wrote about the Party because
you were its leader's mistress.
And your 11 novels,
published by a small publishing
house subsidised by the Party,
reviewed by minor Party-affiliated
newspapers,
are insignificant,
everyone says so.
I'm not saying my novelette
was any better,
I agree with you there.
Your relationship with Eusebio...
What relationship? Eusebio
loves Giordano, everyone knows.
He has for years.
They lunch every day
at Arnaldo's, under the coat rack,
like sweethearts under an oak tree.
You all know but turn a blind eye.
Your dedication to your children,
with all the sacrifices entailed...
You work all week in TV,
you go out every night,
even on Mondays, when popper
dealers don't even venture out.
You're never with your children,
not even on the
long holidays you take.
And plus you have a butler,
a waiter,
a cook, a chauffeur
who drives the kids to school,
three babysitters, so...
how and when exactly
do you make any sacrifices?
These are the untruths and fragility
I'm talking about.
Stefania, mother and woman.
You're 53, with a life in tatters,
like the rest of us.
Instead of acting superior
and treating us with contempt,
you should look at us
with affection.
We're all on the brink of despair,
all we can do
is look each other in the face,
keep each other company,
joke a little...
Don't you agree?
這一段寫得太酣暢了，演也厲害，一句一驚心。靚姑老羞成惱，拂袖而去。我也看得一額汗。
一額汗在於，我有過，這樣的勇氣嗎？
不是說靚姑那種扮烈女的勇氣，而是阿Jep，那種戳破假面又輕描淡寫不得不如此的勇氣。
在香港，有人說現在許多怨氣，但我更覺得我們更有太多的客氣。而客氣，最擅長變成怨氣。
我們無力戳破別人的假面，就無法面對自己的假面。
一句「唉，不多說了。」太懶惰。
但反省又太難。
只好躲回電影世界，比較有guts比較美好。電影末段Jep與Stefania竟在party後的清晨草地上共舞，Jep在Stef耳邊問︰Have we ever slept with each other？Stef有點呆（那表情真是好），但仍回答說 No, of course not. Jep說，真是個大錯誤。又說，好在我們還可以馬上修正。Stef說黐線，Jep說Thank goodness. We still have something nice to do together。我覺得比La Dolce Vita的海灘washed out結局更有建設性。靜靜的，陽光充沛，幾十年朋友，就這樣。
到底什麼是The Great Beauty呢？是炒到咁都可以冰釋前嫌的情誼嗎？是修女的終生儉樸的奉獻？是Jep的初戀情人凌晨時份的容顏與肌膚？是侏儒女編輯上司的睿智？是脫衣舞女郎的隨遇而安好性格？還是Jep在豪宅天台、Martini霓虹燈下、羅馬鬥獸場前的透徹與虛無？
