What’s the meaning of passing the university entrance exam? In today’s modern and competitive China, it’s still a gateway to a better, more promising life. But it may also mean the chance — even a slight one — to get closer to the girl of your dreams.
走过“高考”这座独木桥意义何在？在如今现代化且竞争激烈的中国，高考仍是开启光明前途的一扇门。但它同时也意味着一次接近你心中女神的机会，尽管可能性不大。
That’s what Young Style, a charming and beautifully shot movie about first love in high school, is all about.
这就是《青春派》，这样一部讲述高中生情窦初开的影片的主题。该片画面精良，魅力十足。
The 16-year-old Ju Ran (Dong Zijian) fails the vital exam after being rejected by Huang Jingjing, 18, for whom he’s held a torch for three years. Ju retakes the entire fourth year of high school, with the same class head teacher Sa (Qin Hailu) and a group of return students. His only goal is to get into the same institution, the prestigious Fudan University, as Huang.
16岁的居然（董子健饰演）在向暗恋三年的女神——18岁的黄晶晶表白后，却以失恋收场，而后他高考落榜。原班主任萨老师加上一群复读生，他开始了自己的复读生涯。他只有一个目标，那就是考入黄晶晶所就读的名校复旦。
The movie has no major stars to impress audiences with, and compared with Japan and South Korea, the high-school movie is a relatively new genre in China. Even so, cinematographer-turned-director Liu Jie gives the characters and the cliched story a fresh feel on the screen, packing a tight hour-and-a-half full of laughter and tears.
该片并没有什么令人印象深刻的大明星，相对于日韩片，高校题材的影片在中国尚属“新生事物”。即便如此，在拍而优则导的刘杰手中，片中人物以及老套的剧情竟呈现出令人耳目一新之感。在一个半小时的电影中，故事情节一气呵成，充满欢声和泪水。
What’s new about Young Style is not only its accessible approach, but also the great confidence Liu shows in handling the material. Naughty students, concerned parents, strict teachers and first-love pains, that’s almost all we’ve seen in other high-school movies. But under Liu’s direction, the movie plays out with so much assurance that it maintains a consistent feel without losing its focus on the lead character Ju.
《青春派》的新颖之处不仅仅在于“接地气”，刘杰导演在处理素材上所表现出的那份自信也是功不可没。顽皮的学生、焦虑的家长、严格的老师以及初恋的痛楚，这些主题我们早已在其他同类型影片中见识过。但在刘杰的执导下，该片显得“底气十足”，情节连贯一气呵成之余，并未有将焦点从主角居然身上移开。
On the acting side, there isn’t a weak link in the casting. While the young actors and actresses appear fresh and natural, the always-reliable Qin binds the movie together with her portrayal of a paradoxical teacher. On the one hand, she wants her unruly students to realize how important the exam is to their future. On the other hand, she avoids being a stereotyped figure of authority.
在表演方面，演员阵容堪称无懈可击。年轻演员们的表现清新、自然，实力派演员秦海璐则充当了该片的“粘合剂”，她刻画了一位内心矛盾的教师形象。一方面，她希望这群无法无天的学生能够意识到高考对前途的重要性；另一方面，她又想摆脱教师刻板的权威形象。
Between all the classroom pranks and playing around, the emotional undertow is provided by the audience’s desire for Ju to wake up, forget about Huang and realize there’s something more important in his life.
在校园恶作剧以及玩耍打闹之间，观众渴望看到居然能够早日醒悟、忘掉黄晶晶并意识到生命中有些更重要的事情要做，而这种意愿也汇成了一股温情的暗流。
It’s true that in a society that’s obsessed with profit and success, often times we’re told to focus on studying and building up a career. But the movie’s subtly romantic touch certainly provides some comforting distraction that many of us need.
诚然，在一个痴迷于功名利禄的社会中，很多时候，我们都被教导要关注学业，开创事业。而该片将浪漫气息巧妙地融入其中，令我们中的许多人可以暂时从追名逐利中解脱开来，放松一下。
词汇拓展：
1.university entrance exam：高考。
2.cinematographer-turned-director：拍而优则导。
