Notablog: Heart-Broke-back Mountain
Notablog: Heart-Broke-back Mountain: "December 14, 2005
Heart-Broke-back Mountain
I had the occasion to see the film 'Brokeback Mountain,' which, yesterday, received seven Golden Globe nominations. The Ang Lee-directed film, which has become known in certain circles as the 'gay cowboy movie,' stars Heath Ledger, who received a nomination for Best Actor in a Drama, and Jake Gyllenhaal, as well as the nominated Michelle Williams (of 'Dawson's Creek' fame).
I don't like to say much about movies for fear of including too many spoilers, so I will just say this: The film is heartbreaking. It is a testament to the damage that is done to human lives by self-alienation, repression, and fear, internalized homophobia and the pressure to conform to certain 'roles' in society. It can be tender, sad, and funny. The performances are superb; the cinematography is gorgeous; the minimalist score is effective; the nature-backdrop is awe-inspiring.
Right-wing scare mongers notwithstanding, the intimate scenes are not all that explicit (though the first sexually charged scene between the two main characters does have a Roarkian-Fountainhead quality about it... viewers will know what I mean when they see it). I suspect some people will always be upset at the thought of two guys kissing, or even touching. And still others will be upset because this film is not simply about two cowboys rolling in the hay, but two men who have a romantic-love connection.
I do wonder if the PR guys were scared for Ledger and Gyllenhaal, however; is it a coincidence that Ledger has a 'Casanova' film coming out on Christmas day and that Gyllenhaal is featured in the recently released military-themed 'Jarhead'? It's almost as if some 'handlers' in the actors' camps said: 'Let's make sure we get a few 'mach"
Heart-Broke-back Mountain
I had the occasion to see the film 'Brokeback Mountain,' which, yesterday, received seven Golden Globe nominations. The Ang Lee-directed film, which has become known in certain circles as the 'gay cowboy movie,' stars Heath Ledger, who received a nomination for Best Actor in a Drama, and Jake Gyllenhaal, as well as the nominated Michelle Williams (of 'Dawson's Creek' fame).
I don't like to say much about movies for fear of including too many spoilers, so I will just say this: The film is heartbreaking. It is a testament to the damage that is done to human lives by self-alienation, repression, and fear, internalized homophobia and the pressure to conform to certain 'roles' in society. It can be tender, sad, and funny. The performances are superb; the cinematography is gorgeous; the minimalist score is effective; the nature-backdrop is awe-inspiring.
Right-wing scare mongers notwithstanding, the intimate scenes are not all that explicit (though the first sexually charged scene between the two main characters does have a Roarkian-Fountainhead quality about it... viewers will know what I mean when they see it). I suspect some people will always be upset at the thought of two guys kissing, or even touching. And still others will be upset because this film is not simply about two cowboys rolling in the hay, but two men who have a romantic-love connection.
I do wonder if the PR guys were scared for Ledger and Gyllenhaal, however; is it a coincidence that Ledger has a 'Casanova' film coming out on Christmas day and that Gyllenhaal is featured in the recently released military-themed 'Jarhead'? It's almost as if some 'handlers' in the actors' camps said: 'Let's make sure we get a few 'mach"
posted by travel_lingo at 11:19 AM
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