亲密治疗是由本·列文执导的一部拍摄于2012年剧情片在美国上映，主演由约翰·浩克斯,海伦·亨特,穆恩·布拉得古德,Annika,Marks,威廉姆·H·梅西,W·厄尔·布朗领衔。 马克·欧布莱恩（约翰·浩克斯 John Hawkes 饰）曾在幼年时期患上过小儿麻痹症。疾病的后遗症不仅让他再也没有站起来过，并且还让他饱受呼吸困难的折磨。虽然已过而立之年的他早已成为一名成功的诗人兼记者，但作为一个男人，却从未尝试过性的滋味。在向牧师朋友多次寻求指引 后，他毅然决定通过雇佣专业性从业者来帮助自己完成这个愿望。于是谢尔（海伦·亨特 Helen Hunt 饰）出现在了马克的生活里。然而对于马克这样特殊的情况，谢尔一开始也觉得无所适从。但是渐渐地，两人不仅从医患关系变为朋友，谢尔同时也给予了马克追求幸福和爱的勇气，让马克迈出了追寻爱的第一步 本片根据真人真事改编。片中谢尔的扮演者海伦·亨特获得第85届奥斯卡最佳女配角等多项电影节提名。
下面是原文： One of my favorite movies of the year is The Sessions, based on the true story of sex surrogate Cheryl Cohen Greene and her work with Berkeley-based poet and journalist Mark O'Brien, who was confined to an iron lung after contracting polio at age 6. The story is riveting, and comprises the first chapter of Cheryl's memoir, An Intimate Life: Sex, Love, and My Journey as a Surrogate Partner.
For forty years, Cheryl has worked in a career that has helped so many people, yet is greatly misunderstood. Here's what she had to say about her life as a sex surrogate:
Lois Alter Mark: I absolutely loved The Sessions, and thought it was such a beautiful and important story that can really open people's minds. How accurate is the movie and what message do you hope viewers will come away with after seeing it?
Cheryl Cohen Greene: Overall, I'm pleased with the level of accuracy in the movie. Of course, there are some things that the film couldn't show because of time limitations, but they really gave an accurate depiction of my work with Mark. The part about Mark and I falling in love was an exception. I would say we fell in like and we shared some very intense, loving moments. We stayed friends for years.
I hope people will come away understanding how important sexuality is for everyone, including people with disabilities. They have the same needs and desires as those of us who don't live with a physical disability. Additionally, I hope people will have a better sense of who surrogate partners are and the services we provide. We offer people the education and experience that can help them move forward in their lives from a more secure, more knowledgeable place.
LAM: Helen Hunt gives a beautiful performance that has deservedly been nominated for an Academy Award. How did it feel to watch her portray you? Did she have any specific questions before she started? What kind of advice did you give her?
CCG: It was incredible! Helen observed me very closely. She herself has said that I'm a louder person than she is, but I really felt she got my energy into her portrayal. She asked a lot about how I work with people and the range of clients I have. We discussed my work with Mark and how I encouraged him to give me feedback. Once, I read the script to her in my own voice so she could get my Boston accent. She also invited me to her home and I demonstrated sensual touch, an exercise I do with clients, on her partner -- fully clothed. Much of what you see with Helen and John in the movie comes directly from my work with Mark. I did bring a mirror to our sessions so Mark could see himself, and I did touch him in much the same way Helen did.
LAM: Because the movie focuses on just one of your clients, I found it fascinating to read your memoir afterwards. You have lived a very rich life, in a world most people have no idea even exists!
CCG: Thank you. I agree! I've been very fortunate.
LAM: It seems that the biggest misconception about surrogates is that they're no different than prostitutes. The movie and your book clearly show how off-base that perception is. I love that you say you're more like Julia Child than Xavier Hollander, and you compare seeing a surrogate to going to culinary school. Can you explain that a little?
CCG: Well, if you go to a prostitute it's like going to a restaurant. You choose what you want for the menu, you eat and hopefully have a good meal, and then you pay accordingly. If you have a good experience, maybe you'll return or refer friends to them. With a surrogate, it's more like going to culinary school. You learn the recipes, you learn your way around the kitchen, and then you go back to your life equipped with new skills and knowledge. I've yet to find a better metaphor for explaining the difference.
LAM: The world was a very different place when you originally started this career. How did you get into it and what does it take to be good at this job?
CCG: It takes compassion and empathy -- not sympathy, but empathy. It also takes having a very good intuitive sense. Surrogates have a process that we follow, but as the work progressives, it really becomes more individualized and it's important for the surrogate to be able to pick up subtle cues from the client.
I got into because it was meant to be! I had a sexually repressive childhood in which I was taught to believe that sex was dirty and wrong, but also that you were supposed to save it for the one you love. When I was pregnant with my first child, I went into therapy because I wanted my children to have a different and better experience from the one I had. In the process of working on myself, I really had to confront all of the shame and guilt I had about my sexuality. I was eventually able to work through it and free myself of it, even though it was intense. That made me believe that this was possible for others, too, and I wanted to help people not just overcome negative feelings about sexuality, but become more accepting and happy as sexual beings.
LAM: Although sex is all over the place now and it seems like there's a no-holds-barred attitude, the number of surrogates has actually decreased since you started. Why is that? What have been the biggest changes you've seen in our sexual culture over the past 40 years?
CCG: The biggest challenge has always been people's shame and guilt. In the sixties and seventies, people were rejecting that and trying to redefine their attitudes about sex. When AIDS happened, people became understandably scared and surrogates were no exception. A lot of them left the field. Those of us who stayed thought it was frightening too. We made a real effort to understand safer sex and to become condom positive. Most of our clients are low risk because they haven't had a lot of sex, but there was still a certain amount of risk that we faced. We had to have a new dialogue. Before AIDS, we asked if a client wanted to use a condom; now, it's taken as a given that he will, and if he refuses, we won't have intercourse. Surrogates became better sex educators because we had to be much better informed. We were up against something much more serious than syphilis and gonorrhea.
There are only about 50 trained surrogates in the U.S. now. That number was up to around 200 in the seventies. We're trying to find young men and women to come into the field and I hope the movie will spark interest in the profession.
LAM: What's the most difficult part of being a surrogate?
CCG: The most difficult part is probably to not continue to be a surrogate when you're with your partner. We're trained to be highly aware of what the client does and feels. Surrogacy is highly client-centric and the surrogate has to be closely attuned to her client. Sex with a partner is a much more shared experience and you don't want to find yourself becoming a spectator or losing touch with your own body. It took a while for me to learn not to be a surrogate all the time.
LAM: What's the scariest part?
CCG: I don't really find anything scary about my work. People are often surprised to hear that. There have only been very few instances where I felt scared with a client. One I detail in An Intimate Life. The other was with a man who had a lot of unresolved anger at his ex-wife, whom I apparently looked like. All my clients are screened by the referring therapist and it's appropriate for them to be working with me. In truth, surrogacy is, at least initially, probably way scarier for them than it ever is for me.
LAM: You are a breast cancer survivor, and you underwent a mastectomy in 2006. How did that affect your own body image as well as your practice?
CCG: It threw me for a loop at first, but I knew instantly that I didn't want to stop working. I had to learn a new dialogue about my body. I found myself trying to come to grips with the loss of a friend. I loved my breast. I loved the sensation I had in my nipple and it happens that the breast I had removed was the more sensitive of the two. I took a philosophical attitude. I had both breasts at one time in my life, and I enjoyed them, but to be alive was more important.
LAM: How has being a surrogate affected your personal relationships?
CCG: I think I have richer personal relationships because of my work. Who I am and what I do is so different than what others do. I have fabulous friends and a loving husband, and my work has helped me be more empathetic and compassionate with all of them.
LAM: You're 68 years old now and are still working. What's been the most rewarding part of your career? What do you see for the future?
CCG: I'm going to continue my surrogacy practice for as long as I can. I love the idea of having a public platform and being able to do more education. One thing I would absolutely love to do is to serve as a sex educator for parents. How parents address sexuality has a huge impact on kids, and I'd like to make sure it's a positive one. I'd love to help give parents the knowledge and tools they need to raise happy and healthy kids.
懒得翻译了，只写几点印象深刻的：
CCG没有爱上Mark。（我觉得这一点很重要，电影的设置因为这一点而比现实生活逊色很多，当然我们都能理解为什么要这样编剧本）
曾经有过200多名surrogate，现在只有50名。（经济不景气，需求萎缩啊）
CCG因乳腺癌于2006年切除单侧乳房，她今年（2013）已经68岁，仍然战斗在工作第一线。（这才是为革命事业奋斗终生）
下面是原文：
One of my favorite movies of the year is The Sessions, based on the true story of sex surrogate Cheryl Cohen Greene and her work with Berkeley-based poet and journalist Mark O'Brien, who was confined to an iron lung after contracting polio at age 6. The story is riveting, and comprises the first chapter of Cheryl's memoir, An Intimate Life: Sex, Love, and My Journey as a Surrogate Partner.
For forty years, Cheryl has worked in a career that has helped so many people, yet is greatly misunderstood. Here's what she had to say about her life as a sex surrogate:
Lois Alter Mark: I absolutely loved The Sessions, and thought it was such a beautiful and important story that can really open people's minds. How accurate is the movie and what message do you hope viewers will come away with after seeing it?
Cheryl Cohen Greene: Overall, I'm pleased with the level of accuracy in the movie. Of course, there are some things that the film couldn't show because of time limitations, but they really gave an accurate depiction of my work with Mark. The part about Mark and I falling in love was an exception. I would say we fell in like and we shared some very intense, loving moments. We stayed friends for years.
I hope people will come away understanding how important sexuality is for everyone, including people with disabilities. They have the same needs and desires as those of us who don't live with a physical disability. Additionally, I hope people will have a better sense of who surrogate partners are and the services we provide. We offer people the education and experience that can help them move forward in their lives from a more secure, more knowledgeable place.
LAM: Helen Hunt gives a beautiful performance that has deservedly been nominated for an Academy Award. How did it feel to watch her portray you? Did she have any specific questions before she started? What kind of advice did you give her?
CCG: It was incredible! Helen observed me very closely. She herself has said that I'm a louder person than she is, but I really felt she got my energy into her portrayal. She asked a lot about how I work with people and the range of clients I have. We discussed my work with Mark and how I encouraged him to give me feedback. Once, I read the script to her in my own voice so she could get my Boston accent. She also invited me to her home and I demonstrated sensual touch, an exercise I do with clients, on her partner -- fully clothed. Much of what you see with Helen and John in the movie comes directly from my work with Mark. I did bring a mirror to our sessions so Mark could see himself, and I did touch him in much the same way Helen did.
LAM: Because the movie focuses on just one of your clients, I found it fascinating to read your memoir afterwards. You have lived a very rich life, in a world most people have no idea even exists!
CCG: Thank you. I agree! I've been very fortunate.
LAM: It seems that the biggest misconception about surrogates is that they're no different than prostitutes. The movie and your book clearly show how off-base that perception is. I love that you say you're more like Julia Child than Xavier Hollander, and you compare seeing a surrogate to going to culinary school. Can you explain that a little?
CCG: Well, if you go to a prostitute it's like going to a restaurant. You choose what you want for the menu, you eat and hopefully have a good meal, and then you pay accordingly. If you have a good experience, maybe you'll return or refer friends to them. With a surrogate, it's more like going to culinary school. You learn the recipes, you learn your way around the kitchen, and then you go back to your life equipped with new skills and knowledge. I've yet to find a better metaphor for explaining the difference.
LAM: The world was a very different place when you originally started this career. How did you get into it and what does it take to be good at this job?
CCG: It takes compassion and empathy -- not sympathy, but empathy. It also takes having a very good intuitive sense. Surrogates have a process that we follow, but as the work progressives, it really becomes more individualized and it's important for the surrogate to be able to pick up subtle cues from the client.
I got into because it was meant to be! I had a sexually repressive childhood in which I was taught to believe that sex was dirty and wrong, but also that you were supposed to save it for the one you love. When I was pregnant with my first child, I went into therapy because I wanted my children to have a different and better experience from the one I had. In the process of working on myself, I really had to confront all of the shame and guilt I had about my sexuality. I was eventually able to work through it and free myself of it, even though it was intense. That made me believe that this was possible for others, too, and I wanted to help people not just overcome negative feelings about sexuality, but become more accepting and happy as sexual beings.
LAM: Although sex is all over the place now and it seems like there's a no-holds-barred attitude, the number of surrogates has actually decreased since you started. Why is that? What have been the biggest changes you've seen in our sexual culture over the past 40 years?
CCG: The biggest challenge has always been people's shame and guilt. In the sixties and seventies, people were rejecting that and trying to redefine their attitudes about sex. When AIDS happened, people became understandably scared and surrogates were no exception. A lot of them left the field. Those of us who stayed thought it was frightening too. We made a real effort to understand safer sex and to become condom positive. Most of our clients are low risk because they haven't had a lot of sex, but there was still a certain amount of risk that we faced. We had to have a new dialogue. Before AIDS, we asked if a client wanted to use a condom; now, it's taken as a given that he will, and if he refuses, we won't have intercourse. Surrogates became better sex educators because we had to be much better informed. We were up against something much more serious than syphilis and gonorrhea.
There are only about 50 trained surrogates in the U.S. now. That number was up to around 200 in the seventies. We're trying to find young men and women to come into the field and I hope the movie will spark interest in the profession.
LAM: What's the most difficult part of being a surrogate?
CCG: The most difficult part is probably to not continue to be a surrogate when you're with your partner. We're trained to be highly aware of what the client does and feels. Surrogacy is highly client-centric and the surrogate has to be closely attuned to her client. Sex with a partner is a much more shared experience and you don't want to find yourself becoming a spectator or losing touch with your own body. It took a while for me to learn not to be a surrogate all the time.
LAM: What's the scariest part?
CCG: I don't really find anything scary about my work. People are often surprised to hear that. There have only been very few instances where I felt scared with a client. One I detail in An Intimate Life. The other was with a man who had a lot of unresolved anger at his ex-wife, whom I apparently looked like. All my clients are screened by the referring therapist and it's appropriate for them to be working with me. In truth, surrogacy is, at least initially, probably way scarier for them than it ever is for me.
LAM: You are a breast cancer survivor, and you underwent a mastectomy in 2006. How did that affect your own body image as well as your practice?
CCG: It threw me for a loop at first, but I knew instantly that I didn't want to stop working. I had to learn a new dialogue about my body. I found myself trying to come to grips with the loss of a friend. I loved my breast. I loved the sensation I had in my nipple and it happens that the breast I had removed was the more sensitive of the two. I took a philosophical attitude. I had both breasts at one time in my life, and I enjoyed them, but to be alive was more important.
LAM: How has being a surrogate affected your personal relationships?
CCG: I think I have richer personal relationships because of my work. Who I am and what I do is so different than what others do. I have fabulous friends and a loving husband, and my work has helped me be more empathetic and compassionate with all of them.
LAM: You're 68 years old now and are still working. What's been the most rewarding part of your career? What do you see for the future?
CCG: I'm going to continue my surrogacy practice for as long as I can. I love the idea of having a public platform and being able to do more education. One thing I would absolutely love to do is to serve as a sex educator for parents. How parents address sexuality has a huge impact on kids, and I'd like to make sure it's a positive one. I'd love to help give parents the knowledge and tools they need to raise happy and healthy kids.
现在喜欢平常心这个词，对生活里存在的事情或现象用平常心对待，有了平常心，你才会不带偏见的愿意去倾听，看着对方的眼睛，尝试着去理解，然后做出自己的判断。电影如素描一般，勾画出一个disabled的人的生活的方方面面。每个人都有权利并且有能力去追求自己想要的东西，这个能力包括自身的能力，以及合理利用工具的能力。帮助也是一种工具，寻求并且接受帮助，有时会事半功倍。既然是根据真实故事改编，感谢生活中有这样的牧师和代理。
让我的文字抓住你的头发，滑过你的后背，挠挠你的肚子，从我的双手，轻盈自由的飞行
忽略我所有的梦想，固执的拒绝，完成我最安静的欲望
让我的文字进入你的心灵，埋葬火把，带领他们进入你的身体
于是他们温柔的，存在于你的身体里”
一段特别的经历，笑与泪、灵与欲。
For my hands
Lie limp as empty gloves.
Let my words stroke your hair.
Slide down your back and tickle your belly.
For my hands.
Light and free-flying as bricks.
Ignore my wishes and stubbornly refuse to carry out my quietest desires.
Let my words enter your mind.
Bearing torches.
Admit them willingly into your being.
So they may caress you gently,within.
《亲密治疗The Sessions》根据诗人Mark O'Brien的亲身经历改编。在马克接到新的杂志采访任务“残疾人的性生活调查”之后，他也不得不开始思考自己的处男身份。在牧师好友和心理咨询师的鼓励下，马克联系到了一个专业性治疗师莎若。
什么是性治疗师？
老实说去看这样的一部真人真实的独立电影，多少有些猎奇心理。残疾人的性需求问题如何解决，性治疗师和专业性工作者，也就是职业妓女到底能有什么区别？每一位坐在电影院软垫靠椅上的观众一定都会情不自禁的琢磨，这其中的确有种沽名钓誉的可能性。
许多年前荷兰就已经有专门为残疾人士提供性服务的性工作者，英国也有类似的性志愿者，其中有很大一部分是享受专项拨款的职业妓女，算是残疾人的社会福利的一种，由政府买单。《亲密治疗》里给出的答案是，职业妓女要解决的是性的欲望，而性治疗师要解决的有关性的困惑，来自身心或者特殊经历的性障碍。是辅导受众如何正确和自己的性欲相处。除了性治疗师（sex therapist）一词，还可以用性代理人（sex surrogate)，即性障碍治疗的替身，等于又是教练又是陪练。和妓女卖春不同之处还有，这样的性辅导疗程是有次数限制的，总共是六次。他们使用的专业名词是：Body Awareness Exercise, 身体意识觉醒的练习。 第一次，莎若从头发开始抚摸马克，赞美他身体的每一处。第二次，莎若带领马克找到身体的敏感位置。每一次都有一个主题和需要解决的任务。
演技派的新高度
真正以演戏为毕生之事业的人，都是森林里的独行猎手，永远在寻找下一个能证明自己的猎物。
饰演马克的约翰哈克斯今年应该被再次提名奥斯卡最佳男主角。完全靠面部微表情来表演，上一次我们欣赏到这种超难度演技的还是07年的《潜水钟与蝴蝶》吧。有一场戏是马克的第一次性治疗，他躺在门口由助理按下门铃，是另一位好心的残疾女孩愿意出借自己的公寓给马克提供性治疗的场地。在门铃响起到应答的几秒钟之内，有一个大特写，他鼻翼轻轻颤抖，眨眼速度加快，嘴角抽搐，连睫毛和瞳孔都是戏份。相信还在讨论《1942》和《少年派的奇幻漂流》哪组人马饿得比较狠的影迷们，在看了《亲密治疗》里约翰哈克斯的表演之后都可以彻底闭嘴了。那嶙峋的肋骨以及肌肉的萎缩感、僵硬感根本就是瘫痪了三年以上的躯体才会有的，连专业医生都唬的过。虽然约翰哈克斯在接受媒体采访的时候谦逊表示，只是在拍摄前半年控制饮食并在日常锻炼中去除了肌肉训练的部分。一位对待无论大小的每一个角色全力以赴的优秀演员，永远值得脱帽致敬。
像这样这样一部男主角动弹不得的电影，对白又是重中之重。马克许多精彩的对白让我想掏出小本子快快记下，比如他每周去教堂听神的话，“我当然信仰上帝啊，不然我这么凄惨，总要有个谁能让我怪罪吧！” 约翰哈克斯塑造的马克，幽默又磊落，他困惑时困惑，伤情时伤情。对待周围的人善意温和，永远去爱。虽然身有残疾，人格却比我们正常人要完善许多。上帝果真对照自己的形象塑造的马克，在残破的肉身里隐隐向外散发神的光辉，很暖。
性治疗师莎若这个角色的从某种程度上来说也许更难一筹。裸露却不艳情，关怀而不滥情，海伦亨特的演出可以用她曾经拿下奥斯卡影后的那部电影片名来形容：尽善尽美。首先莎若极为专业，每一次疗程都开宗明义，疗程结束后都做笔记和录音，清醒理性的面对患者马克的心理层面的不同反映。她特别坦诚，也许会让有的人意外，莎若有一个圆满的家庭，她的丈夫对自己的职业完全知情。甚至在入睡之前，莎若还会不时和丈夫讨论，我有一个患者是怎样怎样的情况。她有强大的爱的力量。在最后一次治疗时，全身赤裸的她搬了一面大镜子照着马克瘫痪萎缩多年的裸体，一字一句清晰又柔和的说：“马克，这就是你的身体，是上帝为你创造的身体，没有什么是值得羞耻的。” 在救赎别人的同时自我救赎，电影里莎若的镜头每每与圣母像对照。坦白说，用伟大一词形容一个角色有点让我不好意思，但莎若是个伟大的女人，这一点毋庸置疑。
重如泰山，又轻如鸿毛
这样一部电影，探讨的都是生死、人性、信仰、性爱与救赎这些重如泰山的大论题，所以处理的多闷多文艺，多晦涩多独立范儿都不为过，可是导演和编剧本莱文却没有这么做。 好莱坞的影评人还真是客观，“导演本莱文和熠熠发光的各位主演相比，实在不具备那样的天才，可他就有可以让这些天才的演员再发光一万倍的能耐。”窃以为，这也可算做对导演一职的最高评价之一。他创造了一个好剧本，又为每一个角色找到了最对的人选，攻城掠地，加攻加防。
在导演本莱文的诠释下，《亲密治疗》里的每一个人都好可爱。好久没见到威廉梅西刮干净胡子整整洁洁的样子了。他也许是影史上最可爱的神父，他认为性是圣经中最严肃的事情之一，还在听了马克的告解之后开玩笑：“性嘛，上帝参与的最多了，哪怕是不信神的人在高潮时也Oh God叫个没完啊。”在马克第一次性经历之后，这位神父哥们绑着花头巾拎着半打啤酒直接上门来和马克一起庆祝。 除此之外，还有酷酷的亚洲女助理，推着马克淘二手衣服店，在他第一次性治疗之前迅速从包里掏出古龙水对着他咔咔一阵猛喷，企图用香味助阵；墨西哥大叔保姆，鼓励马克去尝试，认为“性被过高评价又是生活必需品”；性治疗师莎若的丈夫，偷偷拆了马克寄来的情诗，第二天又郑重向妻子道歉……甚至是咖啡馆的服务员，把一杯拿铁小心的放在马克的脑袋旁边，调整好吸管的位置，他并没有表现对这位特殊的客人表现出惊讶，只是提醒：“咖啡用吸管喝可能会有点烫，最好再等一下。”
所有人都没有对马克给予额外的同情或关注，他们把他当作一个普通人，一个平等的朋友。这让全片都充满了秋天午后阳光般的金色温柔基调，含情脉脉。电影谈了重如泰山的话题，手法却轻如鸿毛。我们总是赞美以小见大，但是把如此特别的奇情题材拍得细微轻柔、温暖和煦，也许更加难能可贵。
电影结束的时候是马克的葬礼，“有人说生命是半杯水，乐观者觉得半满，悲观者以为半空。可谁也没说水和空气正好是平分杯子的啊”，葬礼上伴随着马克的旁白在笑咪咪的打趣道，“我杯子里的水刚好能淹过杯子底儿吧。可是即便如此，也因为你们的存在，让我获得最大的快乐。”马克的葬礼当然还是他的神父哥们主持的，他生命中曾经爱过的人们全来了，性治疗莎若和她的丈夫也一起来了。大家含泪带笑的坐一起，听完了马克写的一首情诗。
于是，原本嘻嘻哈哈嗑着爆米花坐等瘫痪小子破处的观众们安静了，大家默默的坐在一起看字幕，那气氛倒不是肃穆，而是静谧。这是怎样一部温柔的电影啊，唤起人性中最敞亮的一部分。让我再一次感到，人是荣耀的造物，不该活的如此畏缩。