« ghosts of christmas past and present | Main | ok, it's not the holidays that suck... »
brokeback mountain
December 15, 2005
ok, i got to go to a sneak of brokeback mountain last night, and that there gay cowboy movie was one of the best films i've seen. i need some time to digest and put it in a historical perspective, but it might be one of the best ever. it's certainly one of the best, most compelling love stories ever.
and, while i've never seen this dude heath ledger act before, he was incredible as ennis del mar. he's got to be looked at for an oscar. i mean, holy crap.
the cinematography, not surprisingly for an ang lee movie, was incredible. the landscapes lend themselves to that, but shots of a bus station, of dusty alleyways, a shot of ennis' wife, alma, sitting in her kitchen with dingy yellow walls behind her, waiting for her husband to come home from his affair, were as completely mesmerizing as paintings by some of the masters.
it was such a well-balanced movie, too. lots of artsy movies, particularly ones about love, tend to be a bit overwrought and seek their realism and emotional impact through imposing the most depressing situations possible. but ang lee made this much more realistic and much more emotional, and not so much, umm... ang-st ridden. get it? ang lee? ang-st? never mind. point still stands.
the wyoming landscape was a huge character in the movie, as well. it wasn't just there for composition and picture-postcard wowness. it had its own emotional energy. i hated that my stepfather would love and appreciate that so much, as well as the lifestyle of these cowboys, but would miss it because he wouldn't be able to get over the fact that the lovers happen to be homosexual.
and it was just that - it wasn't so much a gay love story as just a
powerful love story that anyone should be able to appreciate. sure,
even my gay and lesbian friends enjoy calling it "the gay cowboy movie," because, let's face it, that's funny, particularly given the
south park reference to independent films being all about "gay cowboys
eating pudding." there was no pudding in this movie that i saw. but while the homosexual nature of the relationship made it an "impossible" one for the characters, it could just have easily been a racial difference, a cultural or religious difference. hell, it could easily have been the montagues and capulets.
it takes some incredibly compelling and honest storytelling and acting
and direction to make that impression, to make the love story overwhelm the prejudices and lack of understanding that exist to some degree in almost everyone. i can't think of any other film that has done it, and i can't imagine it being done this well.
Posted by Rob at December 15, 2005 12:11 PM
Comments
Sorry to burst in on your scene. Just wanted to add that I agree with your statement regarding this movie being about star-crossed lovers. It will be interesting to see if it takes home any well-deserved awards.
Coral
Posted by: coral at January 9, 2006 09:41 PM
hey, you're not at all bursting in on my scene - i had originally wanted to see more comments posted, but i realized that a lot of what i write doesn't really lend itself to much commentary. i'm surprised it lends itself to reading, actually. i'm glad you are...
Posted by: rob at January 9, 2006 10:35 PM