電影《旺卡》、牛津的拍攝地點以及牛津如何聯合了蕃薯爸爸和媽媽 (Scroll down for English)
現在我（蕃薯媽媽）正在暫停撰寫有關醫療案例的文章，因為我剛剛完成了第一輪博士論文的重新提交，需要一些輕鬆的緩解！ 當一位同事在工作會議「5 分鐘分享會」結束後談論《旺卡》這部電影時，蕃薯媽媽突然醒起要寫《旺卡》了（正如我們早前在 Facebook 貼文中提到的那樣！）。 希望當這篇文章發表時這部電影仍然會在上映吧（如果已落畫，那它肯定很快就會在某個平台串流…）
第一個…關於《旺卡》電影的有趣事實，我在工作會議上發現了…。 巧克力是真的！
看看這裡：
並了解現實生活中的巧克力製造商：
https://ew.com/real-life-willy-wonka-gabriella-cugno-chocolatier-8414217
有趣的是，蕃薯媽媽的同事說，每當她看完一部電影，她都會用谷歌搜尋很多幕後資訊等。媽媽想這是否是一種公共衛生醫生的共同特徵呢？！
等等，這個標題是不是聽起來很耳熟？
熟悉是的，它是根據我最喜歡的作家之一羅爾德·達爾 (Roald Dahl)寫的《查理和巧克力工廠》改編的。讀英國童話長大的朋友也必定很熟悉達爾（相當於當年《哈利·波特》的作者JK·羅琳！）有一部電影叫《查理和巧克力工廠》，由強尼戴普(Johnny Depp) 飾演。 然而，《旺卡》其實並不是達爾寫的。 這是《查理與巧克力工廠》的前傳。 相當感傷又甜蜜，由帥氣的蒂莫西·柴勒梅德(Timothée Hal Chalamet)和搞笑的休·格蘭特 (Hugh Grant)飾演！
達爾的書到今天仍然很受歡迎。 蕃薯媽媽的教孫子（教女兒的兒子該這樣稱呼的嗎？！）常常埋頭閱讀達爾的書。 他們充滿想像力，詼諧又頑皮。 如果您的孩子7歲或7歲以上，我們強烈建議他們閱讀達爾！ 其中許多作品被拍成電影……《圓夢巨人》、《了不起的狐狸爸爸》（魏斯安德森、喬治克隆尼、梅莉史翠普）、音樂劇《瑪蒂達》（在Netflix 上，由可愛又邪惡的艾瑪湯普森飾演特朗奇布爾小姐）、《女巫》（安妮海瑟薇）以及最近的作品在Netflix 成人頻道上播放的《亨利舒格的奇妙故事》（魏斯安德森飾）。
牛津的場景
牛津的許多地方都很容易辨認，《旺卡》中出現的地方也不例外！ 如果您在牛津觀光，您可以考慮聘請當地攝影師來拍攝屬於您自己的「電影」！ 我們（蕃薯媽媽和爸爸）結婚兩週年紀念日時便這樣做了。 主要是因為那一年媽媽在牛津聖休學院 (St Hugh College)做了一個會議演講，所以很方便。 但這也很好，因為如果沒有牛津，我們便永遠不會認識對方了！
故事是這樣的：蕃薯爸爸和媽媽去了鄰近城鎮的寄宿學校，阿賓登學校 (Abingdon School) 和海丁頓學校（Headington School 與艾瑪·沃特森是同一所學校！）這兩所學校有一個聯合的華人學生社團，所以當時已有幾對情侶勾搭在一起了。 媽媽從來沒有參加過華人社會的社交活動，因為她忙於學習（好吧，你確實需要學習才能進入牛津大學，但那是另一回事了！）不過，她聽說過爸爸，因為據說他迷戀著她的朋友。 她的另一個朋友（現在是上面提到的教女！）和爸爸最好的朋友約會，這是從他們碰巧在牛津的一個週末住在同一家青年旅館時開始的。 顯然，爸爸也聽過媽媽，因為她很聰明， 讀書成績很好。 但不管聰明與否，對她來說幸運的是，她未來的教女（我們現在稱她為V）比媽媽花在學習上的時間很少，而花在社交的時間卻多得多。 因此，當媽媽忙著進入牛津大學並從香港大學醫學院畢業時，V 仍然與阿賓登男孩保持著朋友關係。 10 年後，媽媽從孟加拉飛回來過週末，(她在格萊珉銀行 Grameen Bank 實習)，擔任 V 的伴娘。 V 讓爸爸和媽媽坐在同一張宴會桌上的兩端（但他們整晚都幾乎沒有說話）。 後來媽媽前往舊金山加州大學舊金山分校獲得公共衛生碩士學位，並撰寫了關於烏幹達兒童抗瘧疾抗藥性的論文。 回來後，她和V一起去半島享受了個水療，為V慶祝生日。 午餐時，V 告訴媽媽，她認為爸爸很適合她。 順便說一句，V和媽媽在香港（MSS）讀同一所高中，媽媽的爸爸曾經告訴她不要和V成為朋友（因為V不夠好學）。
為了下一代
第一個故事的寓意是：生活不只是學習。
第二個故事的寓意是：如果你一定是個書呆子，請確保你周圍都是不是書呆子的朋友。
第三個故事的寓意是：不要總是聽父母的話，即使他們非常聰明（就像媽媽的爸爸）。 媽媽的爸爸鼓勵她和另外兩個非常好學、善良的女孩成為朋友。 媽媽現在不再是其中一個的朋友（太惡毒了），也不再是另一個的教母。 他們倆都沒有為她培養任何追求者。 然而，媽媽的爸爸卻實際上確保爸爸和媽媽在媽媽出生之前就認識了，但他卻沒有意識到這一點（這是另一個故事）……你看過《前世》嗎？ 它最近上映，是我們最喜歡的電影之一... In-yun 因緣
https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a44199258/past-lives-celine-song-interview-immigration-essay/
不管怎樣，2017 年是爸爸和媽媽第一次同時來到牛津並且真正認識彼此，16 年前，他們在同一個地方卻沒有見面。
我們以非常合理的價格找到了這位非常友好的攝影師（特別是與報名參加香港當地攝影師的歐洲之旅相比！）
https://kirstycoxphotography.co.uk/
我們拍照的地方也剛好出現在《旺卡》（我告訴你了什麼？這是標誌性的！）
Radcliffe Camera
Bridge of Sighs
Sheldonian theatre
Wonka the movie, filming locations in Oxford & how Oxford played a part in uniting Baba and Mama
Now I (Mama) am taking a break from writing about medical cases because I have just finished the 1st round of my PhD resubmission and need some lighthearted relief! I was reminded to write about Wonka (as we mentioned it in a Facebook post!) when a colleague talked about Wonka the movie in the end of meeting “5 minute sharing session”. Hopefully, it will still be in the cinemas by the time this comes out (if not, it will definitely stream somewhere soon….)
1st off… fun fact about the Wonka movie which I found about at my work meeting…. The chocolates were REAL!!!
Have a look here:
& read about the real-life chocolatier:
https://ew.com/real-life-willy-wonka-gabriella-cugno-chocolatier-8414217
Interestingly, my colleague said that whenever she finishes watching a movie, she googles a lot to find behind-the-scenes information etc. I wonder if this is a public health trait?!
Wait, doesn’t the title sound familiar?
Yes, it is based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, written by Roald Dahl, one of my favourite authors. Roald Dahl is familiar amongst people who grew up reading English children books (the equivalent of the Harry Potter author JK Rowling back then!) There is a movie called Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, played by Johnny Depp. However, Wonka is not actually written by Roald Dahl. It is a prequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Quite sentimental and sweet, played by the good-looking Timothee Chalamet and funny Hugh Grant!
Roald Dahl’s books are still popular. My grand godson (is that what I’m supposed to call my goddaughter’s son?!) regularly has his nose buried in a Roald Dahl book. They are full of imagination, delightfully witty and naughty. If your child is 7 or over, I would highly recommend getting them to read his books! Many have been made into movies… The BFG, Fantastic Mr Fox (Wes Anderson, George Clooney, Meryl Streep), Matilda the musical (on Netflix, featuring delightfully wicked Emma Thompson as Miss Trunchbull), The Witches (Anne Hathaway) and most recently on Netflix for adults, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (Wes Anderson).
Scenes featured in Oxford
Many places in Oxford are instantly recognizable and the ones that appeared in Wonka are no exception! If you are sightseeing in Oxford, you may consider hiring a local photographer to capture your own “film”! We (Mama and Baba) did that for our 2nd wedding anniversary. Mainly it was convenient because I had a conference presentation at St. Hugh’s College in Oxford that year. But it was also nice, because without Oxford, we would never have met!
Here is the story: Baba and Mama went to boarding schools in neighboring towns, Abingdon School and Headington School (the same school as Emma Watson!) The 2 schools had a joint Chinese society, so there were a few couples who hooked up back then. Mama never socialized in the joint Chinese society because she was busy studying (well, you do need to study to get into Oxford, but that’s another story!) She had heard of Baba, however, because he supposedly had a crush on her friend. Another of her friends (now the goddaughter mentioned above!) dated Baba’s best friend, which started when they all happened to be staying in the same youth hostel one weekend in Oxford. Apparently, Baba had also heard of Mama because she was so brainy. Brainy or not, luckily for her, her future goddaughter (who we will now call V) spent much less time studying and much more time socializing than Mama. Thus, V remained friends with the Abingdon boys whilst Mama was busy getting into Oxford and graduating from HKU medical school. 10 years later, Mama flew back from Bangladesh for the weekend, where she was interning at Grameen bank, to be V’s bridesmaid. V sat Baba and Mama on the same banquet table, at opposite ends (they barely talked). Mama went off to UCSF in San Francisco to get a master’s degree in global health and write her thesis on anti-malarial drug resistance in Ugandan children. When she came back, she went on a spa day with V at the Peninsula to celebrate V’s birthday. Over lunch, V told Mama that she thought Baba was a suitable match for her. BTW, V and Mama went to the same high school in Hong Kong (MSS) and Mama’s dad once told her not to be friends with V (code for V is not studious enough).
For the next generation
Moral of the story no.1: There is more to life than studying.
Moral of the story no.2: If you must be a nerd, make sure you surround yourself with friends who aren’t.
Moral of the story no.3: Don’t always listen to your parents, even if they are very street-smart (like Mama’s dad). Mama’s dad encouraged her to be friends with 2 other girls who were very studious and good. Mama is now no longer friends with 1 of them (too bitchy) and is not godmother to the other. Neither of them produced any suitors for her. Nevertheless, Mama’s dad actually had a hand in ensuring Baba and Mama met, without realizing it, before Mama was born (that’s another story)… Have you watched Past Lives? It was out recently and is 1 of my favourite movies… In-yun 因緣
https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a44199258/past-lives-celine-song-interview-immigration-essay/
So anyway, 2017 was the 1st time Baba and Mama were both in Oxford and actually knew each other, 16 years after they were in the same place without seeing each other.
We found this very friendly photographer at a very reasonable price (especially when compared to signing up for a local HK photographer’s Europe tour!)
https://kirstycoxphotography.co.uk/
& the places we took pictures in also happened to be featured in Wonka (what did I tell you? Iconic!)
Radcliffe Camera
Bridge of Sighs
Sheldonian theatre
