After Brokeback

Stormy night - but no rain.  Thunder, lightning... lots of show, but no substance.

Just finished watching Brokeback Mountain for the first time.  Many of you will notice that this is long after the date it was released in theaters, my first viewing of the film.  Truth is, I'm very wary of what they say in papers about "cutting-edge cinema."  When I hear that a film is "one of a kind" or "the best movie I've ever seen", I usually like to create some distance between the film and myself.  This is mostly due to the fact that I want to be unique - meaning, I don't want my experience to be defined or influenced by everyone else's.  When I see a film, and I like it, I want it to be because it resonates with me - not because, well, "It's better than Cats" and "I'd see it again and again" (anyone get that reference?).  This phoenomenon was true of Titanic (which I loved at first, having seen it two years after it opened - but later came to hate with a commerical passion), the second and third LOTR movies - which I love considerably (at the right time and place), and the new Star Wars movies (Episodes I through III, which I think I could've skipped entirely - I'm not the only one, I'm sure).

So, I just watched Brokeback Mountain for the first time.  Having had the distance, I can say I'm considerably moved by this movie... I can see why there was so much talk about it.  The score by Gustavo Sanaolalla is great - and haunting.  The blend of meditative guitar with favorites by Rufus Wainwright, Linda Ronstadt, and most of all, Willie Nelson, is perfect.  What's moving about the film isn't necessarily the questions of gay people living in deep rural conservatism, hate crimes, or even those men on the DL... these aren't things I think about very often (for better or worse).  To say what's especially moving for me, would, I think ruin it for me - so I won't say (interesting that I'd compose a post about the movie, then not share the clincher, eh?)... but suffice it to say, after the movie ending nearly an hour ago, I've cried more than once (which beats All Dogs Go To Heaven and Beaches considerably.  A personal best - or PB, as we used to say when I was on the swim team in high school).

If you've waited to see this movie - because you're really busy or for whatever reason - you should rent it, I mean, if you want to, and stuff.

Later this week, I'll give you all a recap of Connecticut, give a shout out to a new blogger who's making his debut, and tell you all why, on toe-up socks, it's especially important to mark where the heel goes (I'll tell this with pictures - it's much more dramatic than what I'm alluding to here).  Tonight, I've got a new swatch to make and then I'm off to bed.

PS Wednesday is MenKnit in DC.  If you're a man, who knits, come check us out. 

Comments

[Dave Daniels]

Michael, let me preface this with saying that you may delete this comment if you feel any of it is disagreeable.. It's YOUR blog.
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Um, dude, ANYTHING is better than CATS. Really. Having seen it during the opening in NYC, I can only say that it's run was WAY too long. WAY.TOO.LONG.
I thought Broke Back was just ok. I know, it was a "moving and pivotal film depicting a certain era"...but I found it slow at best. Yes, there were some emotional moments scattered here and there, but I found it difficult to hold my attention. Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was more, um, pivotal and moving. It had more social significance, IMHO. But, I tend ot be on the fringe of the gay world, and the experiences portrayed in that movie have been played out in real life a number of times. I suppose it's real importance is sharing to a crowd that is not aware of the fact that how things are now, have not always been this way.

[Judith in NYC]

I was another holdout. I had read the short story and liked it so much that I did not want to watch the movie for fear of being disappointed. About two weeks ago I got it from Netflix and watched maybe a half hour. Although I found it beautiful, I stopped watching because like DD, I found it too slow. For me it lacked the punch of the Annie Proulx story. I have not returned the dvd so I will watch the movie tonight because you recommend it.

[WoolGatherer]

I actually thought the movie was far better than the short story. I rarely prefer films to the books they are based on, but in this case I do.

Ang Lee is a much greater master of his craft that Annie Proulx is of hers. I found the short story of"Brokeback Mountain" to be just barely readable, but the film was a masterwork of visual style. I didn't find it slow at all, either. There's always something happening in the movie, but often it's happening in ways that we are forced to imagine, because the "action" is interior to the characters.

I was very surprised to like the movie as much as I did, because the short story had left me so cold. Again, not my usual response to films based on fiction.

- Sean

[QueerJoe]

I haven't seen the movie because I'm not a fan of painful longing for others.

I did read the Proulx short story, and I can imagine that Ang Lee's cinematography would make parts of it spectacular. Since my partner can get any movie for free, I may at one point see this movie. But by then, I'll be evaluating whether it stood the test of time or not, not the merits of the film.

[Judith in NYC]

Since I last wrote I have watched the movie twice, first by myself and then with my stepdaughter. Though I still prefer the short story (maybe because it was my first encounter with Ennis and Jack?)the film was very powerful and absolutely beautiful. [Yep, the cinematography is spectacular.]
My stepdaughter was trying to act blase' but she was soon crying and asking questions about homosexuality and love.
I am very glad that we had this chance to discuss the subject, thanks for your urging to rent the movie.

PS--As for how much things have changed re gays, I don't think they have changed that much.