Brokeback Mountain

[Sunbaneglasses]

I watched it with my wife,and it was pretty good.But I refuse to say anything more about it.

[matrixman]

I watched this movie, but it did not move me to any great degree. It's possible that I kept an emotional distance between myself and the movie due to the subject matter. Like Sunbaneglasses said, I think it's better if I not say anything further either. Braver posters, walk into the fire if you wish.

[variol son]

Wow guys, is homosexuality that scary for us all?

Seriously, I'm trying to come up with another reason why you might not want to give any further impressions of the movie, but I'm getting zip. Is it the sex scenes between two guys? If so, then say so. Far worse things have been posted on the Watch.

[A Gunslinger]

I thought it was as heartbreaking a love story as I had ever seen. The Heath Ledger character in particular never reached the sort of equalibrium the the JG character reached...though that very equalibrium caused him to become careless and doomed.

Great soundtrack too, btw.

[sindatur]

Wow guys, is homosexuality that scary for us all?

Seriously, I'm trying to come up with another reason why you might not want to give any further impressions of the movie, but I'm getting zip. Is it the sex scenes between two guys? If so, then say so. Far worse thing shave been posted on the Watch.

Don't let it bother you VS. When someone nails a Gay character, they are lauded and have heaps of awards put upon them, and told how brave they are. When someone nails the character of a Serial killer, you almost never hear a word about it. It's far scarier to me, that the public considers it more natural and easier to get inside a serial killer's head, then a Gay character's head.

I agree with Guns, BB Mountain was a heartbreaking love story, and one poster here even talked about how the story it's based upon was even moreso, since the daughter never did come around. Although I'm Gay, I think I can be objective when comparing this to any classic Hetero love story, it outranks most of the Gay ones I've seen.

[A Gunslinger]

Wow guys, is homosexuality that scary for us all?

Seriously, I'm trying to come up with another reason why you might not want to give any further impressions of the movie, but I'm getting zip. Is it the sex scenes between two guys? If so, then say so. Far worse thing shave been posted on the Watch.

Don't let it bother you VS. When someone nails a Gay character, they are lauded and have heaps of awards put upon them, and told how brave they are. When someone nails the character of a Serial killer, you almost never hear a word about it. It's far scarier to me, that the public considers it more natural and easier to get inside a serial killer's head, then a Gay character's head.

I agree with Guns, BB Mountain was a heartbreaking love story, and one poster here even talked about how the story it's based upon was even moreso, since the daughter never did come around. Although I'm Gay, I think I can be objective when comparing this to any classic Hetero love story, it outranks most of the Gay ones I've seen.

I am willing to offer that Sunbaneglasses and MM, both I believe to be progressives of one flavor or another meant no offense. I think they were jokin' around a bit. I do agree that it is silly that homosexuality is still treated as a HUGE taboo. Maybe that is changing bit by bit though? There are a ever-growing number of gay characters in TV and movies. The women outnumber the men, but STILL...it is gowing more accpetable.

Another great love story; this one hetero...."Secretary" starring Maggie Gyllenhall and James Spader.

Brokeback Mountain was a beautifully shot, well-acted (both wives were great), and made people talk and think, which is the goal of any work of art.

[dANdeLION]

Do NOT turn this into a homophobia/sexuality/serial killer/anything not directly related to this movie thread, or I'll lock it.

[variol son]

Hmmm, I thought homosexuality was directly related to the movie. My bad.

Sorry all if my comments seemed rather harsh. I'm just interested in hearing these comments on the film that some feel they can't make here for whatever reason.

[dANdeLION]

Sarcasm will NOT help you here, VS. You weren't talking about the movie, you were talking about things not to be found in the movie, like why people din't want to talk about the movie; what's worse, a homosexual role or a serial killer role; blah blah blah. Frankly, stuff like that belongs in the Tank. I admit Sunbane's post is quite pointless, and I can see how it would upset you, but I doubt he was trying to bait you or upset oyu; in fact, it looks like he was trying to do the opposite. So, LET IT GO.

[sindatur]

Sarcasm will NOT help you here, VS. You weren't talking about the movie, you were talking about things not to be found in the movie, like why people din't want to talk about the movie; what's worse, a homosexual role or a serial killer role; blah blah blah. Frankly, stuff like that belongs in the Tank. I admit Sunbane's post is quite pointless, and I can see how it would upset you, but I doubt he was trying to bait you or upset oyu; in fact, it looks like he was trying to do the opposite. So, LET IT GO.

Actually dAN, the serial killer stuff came from my post. My apologies, no offense or warfare was intended. (Not trying to stir things up, just didn't want VS to take the blame for my post). I didn't think my post was out of line (When I posted it), though, because Heath Ledger was actually awarded lots of praise for his role and called brave.

[variol son]

Sarcasm will NOT help you here, VS. You weren't talking about the movie, you were talking about things not to be found in the movie, like why people din't want to talk about the movie; what's worse, a homosexual role or a serial killer role; blah blah blah. Frankly, stuff like that belongs in the Tank. I admit Sunbane's post is quite pointless, and I can see how it would upset you, but I doubt he was trying to bait you or upset oyu; in fact, it looks like he was trying to do the opposite. So, LET IT GO.

In that case I won't respond with the sarcastic comment that came to mind.

For reference though, I thought that when I said

I'm just interested in hearing these comments on the film that some feel they can't make here for whatever reason.

that I was talking about the film. I am genuinely interested in hearing their points of view on the film. If their reasons for not wanting to discuss it here have nothing to do with the film itself then that's fair enough, but if they do then I don't see why I shouldn't ask.

Like I also said earlier, sorry if my comments sounded harsh. They weren't intended to come across that way.

[Sunbaneglasses]

I am sorry if I offended anyone with my "pointless" post.Truth is,unless I am fired up or excited about something I am usually not very long winded.God did not bless me with much but he did give me a sense of humor,and I am sorry if you felt like you were the butt of the joke,or in some other way felt slighted by what I said.I am no homophobe!So can we all just be friends?(but not too good of friends if you know what I mean).

[variol son]

I didn't think your post was pointless SBG.

I guess that when you said you liked it but refused to say any more, my curiousity was piqued. I may however have expressed myself in an inappropriate way and I apologise to both you and Matrixman.

PS - I know you're not a homophobe, and I'm happy with being friends, but not close friends.

[matrixman]

Sigh.

See, this is why I prefer talking about superhero action movies and cool special effects. With a drama like Brokeback Mountain, one inadvertent wrong word and people get offended. Just because this film did not work for me personally does not mean that somehow I'm anti-gay. For the record, in case people are keeping score, I am emphatically NOT against homosexuality (or asexuality, for that matter).

I applaud Ang Lee for being a versatile filmmaker, with each project being so different from the next: Sense & Sensibility, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Hulk, and now Brokeback Mountain.

However, I think my problem with Brokeback was the same one I had with Crouching Tiger: I simply failed to connect with the characters. I could not get into them and really understand their motivations. On an intellectual level, I could grasp the unfolding tragedy in each of those films, but on an emotional level, I was left cold. Of the two men in Brokeback, Heath Ledger's character seemed to go through the biggest arc, but I was left feeling more sympathetic towards his hapless wife, stuck as she was with the children. I guess my view is coloured by a certain ethical stance about parental/spousal responsibility: I don't have very kind words for men who abandon their families and wives, regardless of whether they're heterosexual or homosexual. If you're single, then power to you: screw around as much as you want. BUT...once you decide to establish a family, then the game's up. I would even go so far as to call Heath Ledger's character an irresponsible loser. Would that be considered offensive and unfair? Perhaps, but MY gut reaction was that I was the one offended by his irresponsible behavior. So again, maybe I only see the negative because I failed to properly connect with his character. Maybe Ledger put up such a blank front that I was frustrated by my inability to read his performance. Who knows?

As for the other male lead, Jake Gyllenhaal, I thought his character was a bit of a whiner, always seeming to nag Ledger. I did, however, like Gyllenhaal's scene at the Thanksgiving dinner scene where he made a courageous stand against the bigoted father-in-law.

I suppose the scene of Ledger visiting his partner's house where he grew up should have been the emotional climax, the point where I should have wept with him for his lost companion, yet I did not. Maybe because the scene was (I thought) played out in such a pedestrian fashion that it did not emotionally grip me.

The ending of the film failed to move me as well. The daughter's reconciliation with Ledger seemed to me like they were just walking through the scene. Everything was so muted - maybe too muted - that I hardly felt anything at all. I'm not sure if this was a problem with the actors or the director. I know the story is about repressed feelings; nevertheless, it remains that I was not moved by Brokeback Mountain.

I just want, for comparison's sake, to point out another movie about repressed emotions and the violence brimming underneath the surface of normality: Ordinary People. I had no trouble understanding that movie, even though its actors are almost as muted or low-key in their performances as the actors in Brokeback.

So...I have my reasons for not giving much praise to Brokeback Mountain. I respect the social conscience of the film, as well as the bravery of the film's stars and the director for tackling such a story. But all its social/political relevance is undermined by the story's failure to move me.

All right, everyone satisfied now? I've pretty much said all that I wanted to say about this film (and then some). I'm not saying anymore. Thanks for reading.

[variol son]

Thanks Matrixman. You're thoughts were almost exactly the same as my (gay) flatmates - he thought that Brokeback Mountain was good at providing social commentary and bad at actually entertaining the audience. He thought it was slow and boring and he didn't really care for any of the characters.

I'm sorry if you feel I was forcing you to speak as that wasn't my intention, and I certainly don't think you a homophobe because you didn't enjoy a film that happened to have gay characters. I was more interested in why you disliked it, since I hadn't heard many other negative reviews.

Must say I agree with you too.

[Fist and Faith]

As for the other male lead, Jake Gyllenhaal, I thought his character was a bit of a whiner...

Gays usually are.






*running away very quickly*



I still haven't seen the movie. I want to, though, to see if they do a good enough job for me to be able to get over the oddness I'm sure I'll feel, and simply view it as a story about love. It's the flip-side of something my sister told me. She used to have a gay male roomate. One of the few major movies with a gay theme came out, and he and some friends were going to see it. She said something like, "Why must you automatically see it? You think that, just because it's about homosexuality, it must be good?" He said not necessarily. Unlikely, even. But there are darned few movies that deal with this huge aspect of his life. If it was a given that every movie that came out would be filled with homosexual characters, you can bet I wouldn't miss the extremely rare one about heterosexuals. If it was a rare occurrence, it would be so nice to see something that I could relate to so easily. Well, since I have the luxury of taking heterosexual movies for granted, I'd like to see a movie that was good enough to make me forget this big aspect that's the opposite of what I relate to.

[sindatur]

Matrixman, I happen to agree with you very much about the leaving of the family, that also bothered me, alot. Due to the times, and the geographic location, the characters were forced into those families by society, which is the flipside of that, and part of why it is so heartbreaking, because the families never should have existed.

[Sunbaneglasses]

I didn't think your post was pointless SBG.

I guess that when you said you liked it but refused to say any more, my curiousity was piqued. I may however have expressed myself in an inappropriate way and I apologise to both you and Matrixman.

PS - I know you're not a homophobe, and I'm happy with being friends, but not close friends.

We cool man,we cool.But unfortunately you are not completely off the hook,I do happen to be somewhat of a Kiwiphobe.

[variol son]

Hey I can understand that. We Kiwi's are freakin' scary at th ebest of times.

[Dromond]

I watced it on cable a couple weeks ago, enjoyed it and was moved, and saddened.

But like others here have said, I felt mostly for the wives, especially Heath's, who saw them embracing and kissing, and, gay affair or straight, was merely a woman who's husband was cheating.(shrug)