Brokeback Mountain
Ang Lee, my favorite Taiwanese director, is back!!! Two years after his only directorial disaster, Hulk, he is back in his top form. Brokeback Mountain has all of Ang Lee’s trademarks: breathtaking cinematography, superb acting and especially his quiet, subtle and poetic storytelling style. Even though Ang Lee set out to make a great love story, Brokeback Mountain has been inevitably labeled by mainstream press as that “gay cowboy movie”. It is not the first time Ang Lee made a gay movie or a western. Actually he has made one masterpiece in each genre (The Wedding Banquet and Ride with the Devil), but it is probably the first time anyone has attempted to tamper with the usual macho males formula in a western.
Brokeback Mountain is a heartbreaking love story between two cowboys over the course of about two decades. The movie begins in 1963 when two young men, Ennis Del Mar (played by Heath Ledger), a ranch hand, and, Jack Twist (played by Jake Gyllenhaal), a rodeo wanna-be, first met. They landed sheep herding jobs for the summer on Brokeback Mountain. Their love affair started on Brokeback Mountain, a lonely and beautiful place, in 1963, a year when many social changes took place in the U.S. and worldwide. On Brokeback Mountain, isolated from real world, it seems natural that they would become lovers. Once returning to the outside, they have to hide their relationship and try to live a more conventional life, with devastating effects on their loved ones.
The movie is beautifully shot not in Wyoming, where the story takes place, but in Alberta, Canada. The gorgeous mountain terrain is the only refuge for the characters to be at peace with their feelings and enjoy their stolen moments. With the Oscar buzz surrounding Heath Ledger, I had expected to see an astonishing performance from him, but was surprised that Jake Gyllenhaal also had a best performance so far in his career. He is convincing as a more fragile and idealistic Jack Twist and can easily break your heart with his sad puppy dog eyes every time when his hope of life with Ennis is dashed. With this film, Heath Ledger has completed his transformation from a star to an actor. This Australian hunk has always had a taste for interesting roles. His Ennis is a man with few words. Even when he does speak, he mumbles most of the time. With his cowboy hat on for most scenes and his eyes in the shadow of his hat, he simply conveys all the emotions through his tight lips and rigid body. It is an ultimate minimalist performance.
I think Ang Lee could have made sparser use of music. The quiet and sleepy Wyoming surroundings lend extra power to the movie and I feel Ang Lee should have utilized it more. Gustavo Santaolalla and Marcelo Zarvos wrote a marvelous score, but it is intrusive and quite unnecessary in a lot of scenes, especially during the sheep herding period on Brokeback Mountain. The sounds of nature and two actor’s superb performance are enough to convey their feelings. The music only adds a sense of melodrama and cheapens what has transpired onscreen. Willie Nelson’s songs at the end of the credits do not convey the mood of the movie. I think Elvis’ Are You Lonesome Tonight would have been a better choice to convey all the sadness and regret Ennis feels in his life.
My two favorite scenes in the movie are Ang Lee’s specialties: the Thanksgiving family gatherings of the Twist and Ennis families. Ang Lee is a master when it comes to table shots. Once again, he captured the tension on each dinner table so perfectly that we could have cut it with the carving knife. The editing between these two scenes typifies Ang Lee’s subtlety in showing the parallels of Jack and Ennis’s lives. Without any outside music, both scenes also feel much more realistic. I also love the shot of Ennis the morning after his first sexual encounter with Jack. He was riding a horse with only sky as background and it is such a clever way of showing how unreal he must have felt as if he were walking in the clouds. Once he reached the herd and saw a sheep butchered by coyotes, a sense of reality set in; the butchered lamb foreshadows Ennis and Jack’s ominous future together. From such little details, we can feel Ang Lee’s steady hand is always in control of every moment in this movie.
Brokeback Mountain is adapted by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana from the The New Yorker short story written by E. Annie Proulx. Proulx is the author of the Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, The Shipping News. In that book, Proulx also dealt with finding love in a cold remote place. I love that simple and compelling tale of a man’s psychological and spiritual growth. Even though I have never read this specific short story, I could imagine the excitement McMurtry and Ossana must have felt when they first read the story. McMurtry is a veteran writer in the western genre. He may be most famous for his Pulitzer-Prize winning book, Lonesome Dove, but he also originally created another famous counter hero in westerns, Hud. Incidentally, his book, Horseman Pass By, was transferred to the big screen as movie Hud in the same year Brokeback Mountain story started, 1963. Now McMurtry, with Ossana, has added a new twist to westerns and may have started another western genre revolution. According to Creative Screenwriting magazine interviews with both screenwriters, their major departure from Proulx’s story is the role of the wives. In the short story, the wives are relatively secondary, but McMurtry and Ossana think they are essential in explaining Ennis and Jack’s roles in this culture and in this time. They are not free to pursue their personal happiness, and in Ennis’ case, does not have a full grasp of his own sexuality.
This is not a movie one can easily forget upon leaving the theater; it has been lingering in my mind and refuses to let go. Sometimes unbeknownst to filmmakers, their movies connect in a special way. Years ago, I saw a wonderful British movie, Maurice. I discerned a lot of similarities in their plots, with major difference being their surroundings and social backgrounds. Maurice is a movie adaptation of E.M. Forster’s tale of two men coming to terms with their sexuality in the Edwardian age. Now years later, Proulx’s story shows us a similar struggle in the American West. As long as there is intolerance in society, there will be more heart-wrenching tales for writers to tell.
Ennis and Jack are correct when they say they are not queers; they are only human. And Ang Lee has succeeded after all: the movie is a great love story showing that love knows no gender, race or country.
Brokeback Mountain is a heartbreaking love story between two cowboys over the course of about two decades. The movie begins in 1963 when two young men, Ennis Del Mar (played by Heath Ledger), a ranch hand, and, Jack Twist (played by Jake Gyllenhaal), a rodeo wanna-be, first met. They landed sheep herding jobs for the summer on Brokeback Mountain. Their love affair started on Brokeback Mountain, a lonely and beautiful place, in 1963, a year when many social changes took place in the U.S. and worldwide. On Brokeback Mountain, isolated from real world, it seems natural that they would become lovers. Once returning to the outside, they have to hide their relationship and try to live a more conventional life, with devastating effects on their loved ones.
The movie is beautifully shot not in Wyoming, where the story takes place, but in Alberta, Canada. The gorgeous mountain terrain is the only refuge for the characters to be at peace with their feelings and enjoy their stolen moments. With the Oscar buzz surrounding Heath Ledger, I had expected to see an astonishing performance from him, but was surprised that Jake Gyllenhaal also had a best performance so far in his career. He is convincing as a more fragile and idealistic Jack Twist and can easily break your heart with his sad puppy dog eyes every time when his hope of life with Ennis is dashed. With this film, Heath Ledger has completed his transformation from a star to an actor. This Australian hunk has always had a taste for interesting roles. His Ennis is a man with few words. Even when he does speak, he mumbles most of the time. With his cowboy hat on for most scenes and his eyes in the shadow of his hat, he simply conveys all the emotions through his tight lips and rigid body. It is an ultimate minimalist performance.
I think Ang Lee could have made sparser use of music. The quiet and sleepy Wyoming surroundings lend extra power to the movie and I feel Ang Lee should have utilized it more. Gustavo Santaolalla and Marcelo Zarvos wrote a marvelous score, but it is intrusive and quite unnecessary in a lot of scenes, especially during the sheep herding period on Brokeback Mountain. The sounds of nature and two actor’s superb performance are enough to convey their feelings. The music only adds a sense of melodrama and cheapens what has transpired onscreen. Willie Nelson’s songs at the end of the credits do not convey the mood of the movie. I think Elvis’ Are You Lonesome Tonight would have been a better choice to convey all the sadness and regret Ennis feels in his life.
My two favorite scenes in the movie are Ang Lee’s specialties: the Thanksgiving family gatherings of the Twist and Ennis families. Ang Lee is a master when it comes to table shots. Once again, he captured the tension on each dinner table so perfectly that we could have cut it with the carving knife. The editing between these two scenes typifies Ang Lee’s subtlety in showing the parallels of Jack and Ennis’s lives. Without any outside music, both scenes also feel much more realistic. I also love the shot of Ennis the morning after his first sexual encounter with Jack. He was riding a horse with only sky as background and it is such a clever way of showing how unreal he must have felt as if he were walking in the clouds. Once he reached the herd and saw a sheep butchered by coyotes, a sense of reality set in; the butchered lamb foreshadows Ennis and Jack’s ominous future together. From such little details, we can feel Ang Lee’s steady hand is always in control of every moment in this movie.
Brokeback Mountain is adapted by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana from the The New Yorker short story written by E. Annie Proulx. Proulx is the author of the Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, The Shipping News. In that book, Proulx also dealt with finding love in a cold remote place. I love that simple and compelling tale of a man’s psychological and spiritual growth. Even though I have never read this specific short story, I could imagine the excitement McMurtry and Ossana must have felt when they first read the story. McMurtry is a veteran writer in the western genre. He may be most famous for his Pulitzer-Prize winning book, Lonesome Dove, but he also originally created another famous counter hero in westerns, Hud. Incidentally, his book, Horseman Pass By, was transferred to the big screen as movie Hud in the same year Brokeback Mountain story started, 1963. Now McMurtry, with Ossana, has added a new twist to westerns and may have started another western genre revolution. According to Creative Screenwriting magazine interviews with both screenwriters, their major departure from Proulx’s story is the role of the wives. In the short story, the wives are relatively secondary, but McMurtry and Ossana think they are essential in explaining Ennis and Jack’s roles in this culture and in this time. They are not free to pursue their personal happiness, and in Ennis’ case, does not have a full grasp of his own sexuality.
This is not a movie one can easily forget upon leaving the theater; it has been lingering in my mind and refuses to let go. Sometimes unbeknownst to filmmakers, their movies connect in a special way. Years ago, I saw a wonderful British movie, Maurice. I discerned a lot of similarities in their plots, with major difference being their surroundings and social backgrounds. Maurice is a movie adaptation of E.M. Forster’s tale of two men coming to terms with their sexuality in the Edwardian age. Now years later, Proulx’s story shows us a similar struggle in the American West. As long as there is intolerance in society, there will be more heart-wrenching tales for writers to tell.
Ennis and Jack are correct when they say they are not queers; they are only human. And Ang Lee has succeeded after all: the movie is a great love story showing that love knows no gender, race or country.
11 Comments:
What is going on, movieexpert?
This is a word for word copy of the review by Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune.
http://movies.myway.com/MovieReview.jhtml?movieId=41914
What's with the personal attacks? I made a mistake. I merely meant to paste the link (not the article) as an alternative to the musings of a terrorist sympathizer...
He has yet to admit that he was wrong to excuse a terrorist act just because the terrorist was laid off. This person bubbles with insanity.
It is interesting to use another "terrorist sympathizer"’s musings as an alternative. http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/movies/mmx-0501208-movies-review-syriana,0,858013.story?coll=mmx-movies_top_heds
By the way, I cannot allow pasting other people’s article without stating the source. I will have no alternative but to remove the post.
movieexpert - Accidentally pasted the whole review without attribution instead of the link? How the heck does that happen?
xiao - I think you are way off on the Hulk. I liked the Hulk. Have not seen Brokeback Mountain yet.
Personal attack? I don't believe I personally attacked you, movieexpert.
I would recommend leaving the insane terrorist sympathizer personal attacks back in the Syriana section, at least until the site gets to another movie with terrorists.
I was a lesbian. I liked the gentle touch of a woman’s hand and gentle women can be rough when equipped with the proper accessories. I’m not lesbian right now but if the right girl comes along I might drop the whole family and kids thing and move to a far-away island. But I cannot condone gay as in man-man relations. That is absolutely disgusting. It is just not right to put anything up there, not mice, not Christmas lights, and not man parts. Xiao doesn’t have a problem with putting man parts in the wrong place as long as there is “love”. In my opinion the “exit” is not the preferred location for most people. Xiao can you clarify your stance on this?.
I think it is up to each consenting adult to decide.
Of course, but I’m not talking about laws or anything like that. In some cases there needs to be laws against entering an exit. I mean nobody thinks it is ok to enter a highway using the exit ramp. At the airport you can’t run up the down escalator to avoid security lines.
This is an easy question. It is no harder than "Do you like escargot?" So if somebody says "Do you like escargot?" do you say "That is for each consenting adult to decide?" No! They would think you to be an opinion-less retard.
This is not a legal issue at all. Everybody know that. It’s a matter of preference. So Xiao, my question to you was: Regarding the man-part what is your personal position on it?
This is not a website about me, or highway, or escargot. It doesn’t matter what I think.
Its not about you? But you wrote the commentary. Is it somebody else's opinion coming from your fingertips? OK, I concede its not about uptight xiao - its about this movie and the people who go to see it. I am grossed out by the thought of watching giant theater screen gay sex so I wonder aloud "who would want to see that?" and the conclusion I draw is that you and anyone else that actively runs out to see this movie has a fantasy involving anal/man-part interactions. I must conclude based on your review and your defensive nature that this film depicted your (unfulfilled? secret?) desires….
I would recommend withholding judgments until you see the movie.
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