Brokeback Mountain celebrated its 10th anniversary this week. Isn't it amazing how much has changed in just the last 10 years?
Did you see the movie and did you like it? I saw it a few times, and everytime I cry and cry and cry at the ending.
This is the 10th anniversary of the release of "Brokeback Mountain".
Almost as amazing as the movie itself, was that when I left the theater, there was a long line of people waiting to get in. What shocked me was the diversity of the people in line - gays, straights (I assumed), blue-haired grandmothers, housewives, and high school students. I felt very embarrassed as I walked past them. But then I'm sure I wasn't the only person they saw who was leaving the theater sobbing. I wondered if they knew what they were in for.
lover in murder, I am sure they felt the same. I bought the dvd and I don't have the courage to watch it..no alone, anyhow.
Thanks for your posting...while painful, it was heartwarming to know I am not alone. Happy New Year, buddy!
The one scene in the book/story which truly felt genuine was the final scene where Ennis finds Jack's shirt, and breaks down. Other than that, most of the story, to me, read like what a straight woman would imagine gay sex or romance would be (much like EL James's terrible idea of S&M, as evidenced by her book, 50 Shades of Grey).
Don't get me wrong - the story is an important one, and I'm sure many folk from that time would be able to relate to it deeply, but I just found the movie adaptation to be much more heartfelt and genuine than the writing.
I know quite a few of you guys are older than me. So I know you must remember the way things used to be. I have personally known a number of gay/straight married men not all that different from Ennis. I had one I saw off and on for close to 20 years. At one point I really could have fallen for him, but I finally got over it and said so long. I really think "Brokeback Mountain" captured that time period beautifully. I think it's a painful portrait of a time gone by in gay closet history, and one that younger gay men may not feel empathy with.
As far as the Oscars, there are several reasons it didn't win: the little old lady vote; voter fatigue (it was a heavy favorite); and opting for the safer ground of a racial relations movie. (Only problem: "Crash" was a really weak, amateurish movie that shouldn't have been nominated, much less win.)
The untimely death of Heath Ledger, who was brilliant as Ennis, just a few years later only adds to the intense sadness of the film. I absolutely loved the movie, but it's hard for me to watch it anymore.
The purpose of art is to achieve getting some reaction from those who see, hear, or read it. I was speaking with my spouse just today about how far we have come since Mart Crowley‘s “The Boys…” That was a very small step up from ‘major gay ridicule’ found in previous stories, but it was a step. The final step ‘will be’ when something new is written so that it could be about gay or straight with little distinction- as the rank and file of our country are beginning to recognize as 'the actual.'
As an extreme dyslexic, my spouse reads to me snugged in bed with some works taking a year or so to get through. Here he read “Brokeback Mountain” from our subscription of “The New Yorker.” I can not remember a time when I cried so, both vocally and with loss of breath. The movie had far less affect on me, probably because I knew the outcome and was prepared. But look up the story in Wikipedia: “Brokeback Mountain is a 2005 American romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. Adapted from the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx,…” ‘Romantic drama film?’... like ‘Romeo and Juliet,‘ or ‘Wuthering Height.’ or ‘Tristan and Isolde,’ etc? Perhaps we LGBT people also need to recognize 'the actual.' There are stories written about us: comic, historic, tragic, good, and bad.
The most important thing is the movie, from the short story, from the pen of Annie Proulx is one of many works of art featuring and containing homosexuality. Good, bad, or indifferent they are art. They are not in the shadows viewed only by Gays and Lesbians, but rather in shadow and light on the silver screen seen by everyone. We are still a minority. People of ‘Good faith’ with Bad intensions want us back where we came from… the closet. But most of us are not in a small dark space anymore unless some of us choose to be. We are in the open arguing about the virtues of a piece of art, ‘Gay Art.’ ...And I think that’s wonderful.
Thanks for reminding me.
It was also a big break through for gays and understanding the inner feelings a man can have for another man giving society a good look how normal a same sex attraction can be and that it can happen to anyone without being labeled a "queer".
Have a Happy Christmas to all...