“龙餐馆”背后的文化味道：中餐重团圆，寓意“止戈”

作为暑期档最受欢迎的热门大片之一，《欢迎来龙餐馆》（ Once Upon a Time in the Middle East）自上映以来，已连续20天蝉联中国内地单日票房榜冠军。

随着九月将近，《欢迎来龙餐馆》也将在海外市场上映。

目前，影片的豆瓣评分已高达8.7分。与以往国产战争片惯于采用宏大叙事、渲染英雄气概的拍摄手法迥然不同的是，《龙餐馆》巧妙地以中餐为切口，将镜头对准两个普通中国人，讲述他们在异国他乡猝不及防地被卷入战争的残酷与黑暗中，又在最绝望的瞬间迸发出最动人心魄的人性光芒的感人故事。

早在上世纪七十年代，法国电影大师弗朗索瓦·特吕弗便留下一句关于战争片的著名论断：“每一部战争片，终将沦为替战争辩护。”这一观察常被用来警示战争片可能在不经意间将暴力奇观化、美学化。

In 1970s, French film master François Truffaut had a famous line about war films: "Every film about war ends up being pro-war." This observation has often been cited as a warning that war films may inadvertently turn violence into spectacle and even aestheticize it.

这一悖论，始终激励着创作者探索反战叙事的新可能。而文牧野导演的《欢迎来龙餐馆》，正是中国电影人对这一命题的一次有力回应。

This paradox has long inspired filmmakers to explore new possibilities for anti-war narratives. Director Wen Muye's Once Upon a Time in the Middle East is precisely a powerful response from Chinese filmmakers to this very challenge.

日前，中国日报记者专访了导演文牧野。采访时，他正奔波在路演途中。在车上，他与中国日报进行了电话采访，伴随着略有些不顺畅的通信网络，导演回顾起八年来对这部影片倾注的心血。

“我不是一个很爱吃的人，也不太会做饭。但我想通过这部电影传达的东西很简单：好好吃饭。在中国，‘好好吃饭’这四个字承载的意义远不止表面那么简单。它其实是在说‘照顾好自己’。”文牧野说。在动荡不安的时刻，这可以是一种无声的爱意表达，也可以是一份对平安回家的祈愿。

"I'm not really a foodie, and I'm not much of a cook either. But what I want this film to say is, 'Eat well'. In China, those two words can carry much more meaning than they seem to. They hint at 'Take care of yourself'," says Wen. "In times of chaos, it can be a quiet expression of love — a wish that you stay safe, keep going, and above all, make it home," he adds.

作为一名东北人，文牧野对“吃饭”这件事有着刻在骨子里的记忆。在他的印象中，家里的饭桌是圆的，筷子是成双成对的：在中国人的日常里，圆，意味着团圆；双，象征着圆满。

吃饭不只是填饱肚子，更是一场仪式：两个人有了矛盾，请吃顿饭，酒杯一碰，话就开了；谈生意，也常常是在推杯换盏之间，把事定了下来。

因此，在文牧野看来，中餐的用餐方式，背后藏着一种独属于中国人的文化逻辑——“止戈”与“圆满”。

In Wen's view, the way Chinese people dine reflects a cultural logic uniquely their own — one rooted in the ideas of "ceasing conflict" and "completeness".

这部影片的筹备可以追溯到2019年。当时，文牧野曾前往约旦采风，但后来因国际局势紧张，最终选择转赴埃及拍摄。在筹备过程中，他还发现，由于历史悠久的开罗国际电影节在埃及首都举办，这意味着在选择阿拉伯语演员时，埃及拥有较为成熟的影视环境，可以进行演员选角（casting）。

In 2019, Wen traveled to Jordan for location scouting. However, due to international tensions, he eventually chose to shoot in Egypt instead. During the preparation process, he also discovered that Cairo, the capital of Egypt, hosts the long-established Cairo International Film Festival, which meant that when it came to casting Arabic-speaking actors, Egypt offered a relatively well-developed film and television environment for conducting casting sessions.

影片中沈腾饰演的徐福收的外国徒弟塞夫，其扮演者是当时13岁的奥马尔·谢里夫（Omar Sherif），这个有着山东血统的埃及小演员正是从六千多人中遴选出来的。在加入剧组拍摄之前，他曾在埃及用三个月的时间提前学习中文和做中餐。

Omar Sherif, then 13 years old, was selected from more than 6,000 competitors and learned Mandarin and about Chinese cuisine in Egypt for three months to prepare for the role.

在选角过程中，令文牧野印象深刻的，还有饰演贾马尔的年轻演员法鲁克·穆罕穆德（Faruk Muhammad），他在影片中扮演了一个被极端武装组织利用，在不知情的情况下被派遣用书包运送炸弹，最终不幸在爆炸中身亡的少年。为了能拿下这角色，穆罕穆德甚至自己“手搓”了一个背包炸弹的道具，在面试中直接演了催人泪下的一幕。

Faruk Muhammad, a young Egyptian actor who also plays an orphan, impressed Wen during his audition. For his character — a boy exploited by an extremist armed group to become a suicide bomber — Muhammad made a backpack filled with handmade "explosive" props himself, as featured in the script he was given.

影片中对“吃”的呈现也下了更深的功夫——中餐的魅力不止于色香味形器的完美，更在战火纷飞的背景下，成为叙事的核心推动力。一餐一饭之间，传递出跨越国界的情感，也寄托着人们对和平与友谊的深切渴望。

片中有一幕令人印象深刻：徐福和马俊生带着二十多个孤儿操办婚宴，因宾客众多，徐福就地架起一口直径超过两米的大铁锅，热气升腾，场面壮观。这口大锅将东北的铁锅炖与阿拉伯风味烤鱼相结合，既是味觉上的碰撞，更是一种文化上的对话：通过充满烟火气的生活画面，展现中外文化的交汇与融合。而在这道融合菜肴的背后，传递着一个更深层的主题：无论身处何地，人们对美好生活的向往，是相通的。

One of the most mouth-watering sequences shows Xu Fu and Ma Junsheng, assisted by more than 20 local orphans, preparing a wedding feast. The centerpiece is a large iron wok measuring more than 2 meters in diameter, turning the preparation of a celebratory meal into a striking visual spectacle.

Speaking of the wok used to prepare a fusion dish that combines iron-pot stew, a typical cooking method in northeastern China, with Arabic-style grilled fish, Wen says the scene was intended to reflect the exchange and fusion of Chinese and foreign cultures through vibrant, everyday imagery. More importantly, it highlights the shared aspiration of people from different countries for a better life.

目前，《欢迎来龙餐馆》票房已突破19亿元，跃居暑期档全国票房第二。在这个夏天，相信这部影片也让许多走进影院的观众，在光影交错之间，更深刻地感受到和平的珍贵，也更珍惜每一刻的安宁与日常。

记者：徐帆

编辑：夏梦晨

实习生：钟叶

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