The word dream is probably heard most frequently from people in showbiz, where everyone dreams of standing¹ under the spotlight² and being somebody. But the brutal³ truth is most end up being nobody. Hong Kong director Derek Yee’s latest drama I Am Somebody pays tribute to these anonymous⁴ extras in the film industry.

“梦想”这个词，我们可能会频繁地从娱乐圈的人口中听到。在这个圈子里，每个人都渴望站在聚光灯下，成为被别人关注的大人物。但残酷的事实是，大多数人到头来还是默默无闻。香港导演尔冬升的最新电影《我是路人甲》讲述的就是追寻影视梦的无名之辈们的故事。

To ensure his film’s accuracy, Yee spent three years making this extras-take-the-lead drama. He did extensive research, talking with over 1,000 Hengdian drifters to learn their personal stories and integrate what he learned into the script.

为了确保电影的准确性，尔冬升花了三年时间来制作这部由临时演员做主演的电影。他做了广泛的采访，聆听了1000多个“横漂”的故事，然后把他听到的故事融合在了剧本里。

In the film, Wan⁵ Guopeng, son of a woodcutter, comes a long way from Dongbei with only 1,000 yuan in his pocket to the dream factory of the East to become an actor. In real life, when the earthy and diligent⁶ young man was chosen by the director to play the leading role, he had only 20 yuan left but still hadn’t considered giving up.

在影片中，东北小伙万国鹏怀揣着1000块钱离开家乡到号称“中国好莱坞”的横店追寻成为一名演员的梦想。在现实生活中，当这位质朴勤奋的年轻小伙被导演看中来主演这部电影的时候，他全身上下只剩下20块钱。尽管如此，他从未想过要放弃。

Distinguished⁷ Hong Kong actor Tony Leung recalled in a review that 30 years ago, he was a salesman but knew that’s not the kind of life he wanted to live. “Wan is exactly like me back then ... Only when I was in an acting⁸ training course did I realized that what I wanted to be was an actor, not a star winning the best actor awards, only being an actor.”

香港著名演员梁朝伟在为《我是路人甲》撰写的影评中回忆：30年前，我还只是一个推销员，但我知道这不是我想要的生活。“万国鹏就像当年的我……我是在进入训练班之后，才发现这是我想要的人生——我想要成为一名演员，不是明星，不是影帝，就只是演员。”

Yee chose real nobodies to play themselves in the movie, even using their real names. Their strength was their deep understanding of the feelings of the characters they portrayed⁹. But the disadvantage was also obvious: They lacked of acting skills. When performing scenes required their emotional intensity¹⁰, their expressions and moves seemed exaggerated and unnatural¹¹.

尔冬升选择无名之辈来做主演，甚至在电影里使用他们的真实姓名。这些演员们的优势在于他们能深刻地理解他们所刻画的人物（因为那就是他们自己人生的真实写照）。但是他们的劣势也是显而易见的：缺乏演技。当拍摄那些需要他们表达强烈情感的场景时，他们的表情和动作似乎有些夸张和不自然。

Inspirational movies about underdogs pursuing their dreams are nothing new. But the entertainment industry is special. It might be the field with the most broken hearts and most efforts gone in vain. Here luck, opportunity and physical appearance are probably much more crucial than hard work and persistence¹².

关于小人物追求自己梦想的励志电影并不新鲜，但娱乐圈这个题材是特别的，这里可能让最多梦想之心破碎，让最大努力付之东流。在这里，运气、机遇和外表可能都要比努力和坚持更重要。

In the film, Qin Peijun, a survivor¹³ from a coal mine collapse¹⁴, goes all out to seize every possibility to get his face in the lens of the camera, even if only as an extra. However, his dream of becoming a professional actor is obviously much less promising¹⁵ than Wang Zhao, who is a cynical¹⁶ slacker with a pretty face.

在影片中，覃培军扮演了一位经历过煤窑塌方的幸存者，他拼命抓住每一个可能让他在镜头前露脸的机会，即使只是作为背景。然而，他成为一名专业演员的梦想实现起来显然比有着漂亮脸蛋的王昭更困难，尽管王昭是愤世嫉俗的懒鬼。

Some critical comments are directed at the sudden inversion¹⁷ in the last part of the film. The two protagonists¹⁸’ happy ending seems discordant¹⁹ with the film’s realistic tone. But anyway, this movie is not a documentary but a way to reinforce that every bold heart deserves to have their dreams realized.

对这部电影也有一些批评的声音，主要是针对电影最后的转折。这两个主人公的美好结局似乎和整部影片的写实风格不一致。但无论如何，这部电影不是纪录片，而是想要强调“每个勇敢者值得去追寻、实现梦想”的信念。