相比同时期喧闹的喜剧,这部片子最独特的地方在于“静音的暴力”。 片尾两名无家可归的流浪汉轮流在沙发上小憩,虽无一句台词,却精准捕捉了战后底层生活的无奈与温情。如果你厌倦了吵闹的滑稽戏,喜欢那种“把玩笑开得一本正经”的冷幽默,以及追求电影形式美感的观众,这部冷峻的小品绝对是更胜一筹的佳作。 当剧中两个过着“喜剧”般无厘头生活的男人,与两个正经过日子的老实邻居在不知情中发生戏剧性交集时,影片那种荒诞的张力便不期而至。作为巴斯特·基顿无声电影风格的集大成之作,它以精准的默片节奏和象征主义美学,将邻里摩擦升华为一场荒诞的社会寓言。影片并没有刻意追求廉价笑料,而是通过精巧的剧本设计,让角色们在公寓楼里进行一场无声的对抗。
Buster Keaton and Virginia Fox play young lovers who live in tenements, the rear of which face each other, with backyards separated by a wooden fence. Their families feud over the lovers' relationship, resulting in much mayhem and slapstick. The Romeo and Juliet story played out in a tenement neighborhood with Buster and Virginia's families hating each other over the fence separating their buildings.