Brokeback Mountain

[BrownEyes]

I was able to see Brokeback Mountain this weekend when it opened in our area ... this is a very sad and sensitive movie - - very artfully done and well-deserving of all the accolades and praise it''s gotten from reviewers.

Brokeback Mountain is not just about "2 gay cowboys" - - it''s really the story of despair and intolerance, and what can happen when one is forced to live a lie.

My middle child and only daughter attends a Performing Arts high school as a Theater/Voice major. She is both sensitive and perceptive, and some of her best friends are amazingly talented young gay men - - my daughter says that their stories are heartbreaking, because many of them are/were forced to live a lie.

It was my daughter who encouraged me to go see Brokeback Mountain, and I was glad I did ... just thought I''d share.

_____________________________________________________
"Forget regret, or life is yours to miss" Jonathan Larsen from ''Rent''

 

[Patty]

We saw it on Christmas Eve and absolutely loved it. It was a very well done, very sad love story. It''s one of those movies that I would pay to go see again in the theater. Gorgeous scenery, great story, great acting.

 

[tawn]

I want to go see it on the big screen, and I heard on a Boston talk radio show that the movie is targeted at women because we love a good love story.

 

[Demelza]

I saw it last night and was so deeply moved, I couldn't stop crying. It was beautifully done, as all Ang Lee films are. My favorite is The Ice Storm.

As for it being a movie targeted towards women: I do wonder whether one of the reasons it appeals more to women is that a lot of heterosexual men (even very forward thinking ones) would find the subject matter uncomfortable. It is one of very few movies that portrays gays not as marginal or comical characters (think Will and Grace); in many ways, it is a typical Hollywood love story which is unusual only because the protaganists are gay. It was interesting how unaware I was of the fact that they were gay. I do wonder, however, whether men would have as easy a time getting lost in the story since male homosexuality is still such a taboo.

ETA I realized watching the movie last night how happy I am now to be living in a country where gay marriage is legal!

 

[BrownEyes]

I had not heard that Brokeback Mountain was intended to target women ... actually, when I saw it yesterday afternoon (Saturday matinee), it was a totally eclectic sold-out crowd. There were many older couples (gay and straight, and including many senior citizens) in the audience, along with some college-aged and middle aged folks - - it was a really nice crowd.

Also, it was AMAZINGLY quiet in the theater throughout the movie (which was 2+ hours), which is so unusual these days.

I actually sat next to 2 older women, both of whom were visibly moved by the film and who commented on how they welcomed Hollywood delving into this sensitive topic. I couldn''t agree more - now I want to go read the short story on which the film is based.

 

[tawn]

Perhaps the correct term would have been "marketed" towards women...that was the group that apparently they''re expecting to go see it at the theatre and make the bucks from!

 

[widget]

I'm DYING to see this movie!

I wanted to see it when I was visiting my son in Florida over the holidays...and he refused. I'm not sure whether it was the movie's theme that disturbed him, or the thought of seeing it with his mother!

I"m curious...are there any male PSers out there who saw it? Or refuse to see it? Would love to hear their opinions...

widget

 

[moon river]

Date: 1/8/2006 8:06:03 PM
Author: widget
I''m DYING to see this movie!

I wanted to see it when I was visiting my son in Florida over the holidays...and he refused...

I''m curious...are there any male PSers out there who saw it? Or refuse to see it? Would love to hear their opinions...

widget

I think it will bring out the homophobia in men to go see it. I can''t wait to view it. I just hope a bunch of nutjobs don''t set out to ruin it for everyone by staging protests and such. I am a straight person who has been very involved in the homosexual community for over 20 years and have seen how cruel people can be. I would love for this movie to get the credit it deserves as a love story instead of labeling it the ''Gay Cowboy'' movie. Kudos to the actors, directors and producers for the making of the movies.

 

[BrownEyes]

Moon River:

I''m with you 110%

As for my post above, I definitely meant to say ''marketed'' to women rather than ''targeted'' to women ... my mistake entirely! I guess it''s just been a long day.

BrownEyes

 

[MrsFrk]

I too thought it was a beautiful, honest movie about love and the choices we make in life.
I''ve never been impressed by Heath Ledger, but he was phenomenal.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 1/8/2006 8:06:03 PM
Author: widget


I''m curious...are there any male PSers out there who saw it? Or refuse to see it? Would love to hear their opinions...

widget

I cannot imagine my husband wanting to see this and I don''t plan to see it. I''m not sure if the subject matter bothers me to a huge extent, as I think Will and Grace is entertaining enough, but to tell the truth I love Jake Gyllenhaal and especially love his movie Donnie Darko, and I think seeing him in a roll like this would bother me. My husband would just be totally uncomfortable. One of his friends IS gay, so he''s not entirely homophobic, but it''s not like him and his friend TALK about being gay. Accepting a person for being gay is one thing, having to delve into the topic at any length is another and I think my husband wouldn''t want to watch this up on the big screen.

 

[DonaBella]

Date: 1/9/2006 12:23:20 AM
Author: MC

Date: 1/8/2006 8:06:03 PM
Author: widget


I''m curious...are there any male PSers out there who saw it? Or refuse to see it? Would love to hear their opinions...

widget

I cannot imagine my husband wanting to see this and I don''t plan to see it. I''m not sure if the subject matter bothers me to a huge extent, as I think Will and Grace is entertaining enough, but to tell the truth I love Jake Gyllenhaal and especially love his movie Donnie Darko, and I think seeing him in a roll like this would bother me. My husband would just be totally uncomfortable. One of his friends IS gay, so he''s not entirely homophobic, but it''s not like him and his friend TALK about being gay. Accepting a person for being gay is one thing, having to delve into the topic at any length is another and I think my husband wouldn''t want to watch this up on the big screen.

I just saw the advertisements for this movie on tv this week. I must say that for me, I have no problem seeing it, but my husband--who is much less accepting of gays in general--would not. For him, he can deal with people being gay, just not flaunting it. I worked with folks with alternate lifestyles a few years ago and while I am straight and do not condone or condemn that lifestyle, I made some friends who practice it and it doesn''t bother me. My son''s fiancee has 2 uncles who are both gay and that will take some getting used to for my hubby. I have met both of these men and find them not that much different outside of sexual orientation, than anyone else.

 

[Demelza]

I always think it''s interesting (and sad) when someone says, oh, I''m accepting of gays so long as they don''t flaunt it. This is exactly the attitude of the US army -- Don''t ask, don''t tell. Frankly, I find this terribly offensive. Why should gay people hide their identity any more than heterosexuals should hide theirs? What does that mean even? Gays shouldn''t hold hands in public, they shouldn''t talk openly about their same-sex life partners, they shouldn''t be who they are? This is like asking them to live a lie -- or, at the very least, a lie by ommission. This is the very tragedy so painfully depicted in the movie. Imagine the psychic cost of telling people that who they are is so unacceptable that they must somehow keep from the world their true selves! It''s hard to imagine anything more painful. Being gay isn''t a "lifestyle" choice anymore than being heterosexual is. All anyone ever wants in life is to connect with others and feel understood. Whether that''s with someone of the same sex or not is, in my opinion, wholly irrelevant.

Deb was kind enough to email me an article by Frank Rich of the NY Times and I found the below excerpt particularly compelling:

"Though "Brokeback Mountain" is not a western, it''s been directed by Ang Lee with the austerity and languorous gait of a John Ford epic. These aesthetics couldn''t be more country miles removed from "The Birdcage" or "Will & Grace." The audience is forced to recognize that gay people were fixtures in the red state of Wyoming (and every other corner of the country, too) long before Matthew Shepard and Mary Cheney were born. Without a single polemical speech, this laconic film dramatizes homosexuality as an inherent and immutable identity, rather than some aberrant and elective "agenda" concocted by conspiratorial "elites" in Chelsea, the Castro and South Beach, as anti-gay proselytizers would have it. Ennis and Jack long for a life together, not for what gay baiters pejoratively label a "lifestyle.""

 

[DonaBella]

Date: 1/9/2006 2:44:08 AM
Author: Demelza
I always think it''s interesting (and sad) when someone says, oh, I''m accepting of gays so long as they don''t flaunt it. This is exactly the attitude of the US army -- Don''t ask, don''t tell. Frankly, I find this terribly offensive. Why should gay people hide their identity any more than heterosexuals should hide theirs? What does that mean even? Gays shouldn''t hold hands in public, they shouldn''t talk openly about their same-sex life partners, they shouldn''t be who they are? This is like asking them to live a lie -- or, at the very least, a lie by ommission. This is the very tragedy so painfully depicted in the movie. Imagine the psychic cost of telling people that who they are is so unacceptable that they must somehow keep from the world their true selves! It''s hard to imagine anything more painful. Being gay isn''t a ''lifestyle'' choice anymore than being heterosexual is. All anyone ever wants in life is to connect with others and feel understood. Whether that''s with someone of the same sex or not is, in my opinion, wholly irrelevant.

Deb was kind enough to email me an article by Frank Rich of the NY Times and I found the below excerpt particularly compelling:

''Though ''Brokeback Mountain'' is not a western, it''s been directed by Ang Lee with the austerity and languorous gait of a John Ford epic. These aesthetics couldn''t be more country miles removed from ''The Birdcage'' or ''Will & Grace.'' The audience is forced to recognize that gay people were fixtures in the red state of Wyoming (and every other corner of the country, too) long before Matthew Shepard and Mary Cheney were born. Without a single polemical speech, this laconic film dramatizes homosexuality as an inherent and immutable identity, rather than some aberrant and elective ''agenda'' concocted by conspiratorial ''elites'' in Chelsea, the Castro and South Beach, as anti-gay proselytizers would have it. Ennis and Jack long for a life together, not for what gay baiters pejoratively label a ''lifestyle.''''

I understand from where you speak, but I do not feel as my husband does...He obviously has issues, whereas, I don''t look for issues to be offended by...I have personally dealt with prejudice and ostracization when I was a child and teen where I lived because I looked different. I am Spanish, Italian, Scottish, Swedish, Navajo, French and German and have dealt with the constant question--even now--of what ethnicity I am. I respond with, "I am an American..."

 

[devientdrow]

I want to see this and my husband would see it with me. I mean he''s in no way effeminate or girly but he''s not one of those guy guys whose going to cringe or have to say ewww if there are two guys kissing onscreen. I know A LOT of men are like that though so please don''t think i''m insulting your guys ladies!!! I have friends/family that are like that as well.

MC, I am a HUGE Jake Gyllenhall fan and I don''t know what you mean it would bother you to see him in this. I think this is a perfect role for him. He likes edgier roles......and this is pretty darn edgy.

 

[Madam Bijoux]

This film was so well done, it deserves to win every award for which it was nominated. (Except best actor - I''m rooting for Mr. Crowe.)

 

[Momoftwo]

Regardless of the whole gay thing, What about the fact it involves infidelity?

 

[pricescope]

Mom, are you for real?

 

[Demelza]

Date: 1/9/2006 4:53:09 PM
Author: Momoftwo
Regardless of the whole gay thing, What about the fact it involves infidelity?

What about the fact that there is "infidelity" in the movie?

 

[Kaleigh]

I want to see this movie. I had a brother that was gay, I say had because he died 12 years ago. If people have problems with those that are gay, that's their problem not mine. I love people for WHO they are as a person. That's all that matters to me. I look forward to seeing it with my husband and will probably cry my eyes out, but any love story does that to me. And that's what it's all about a love story, right???

 

[Momoftwo]

Date: 1/9/2006 6:27:12 PM
Author: Pricescope
Mom, are you for real?

Uh, yes. Are you? Is that a taboo subject? There is infidelity is there not? Is that okay too?

I'm sorry, I obviously forgot I can't have my own opinions on the subject. It's a legitimate question.

 

[Demelza]

Date: 1/9/2006 7:20:20 PM
Author: Momoftwo

Date: 1/9/2006 6:27:12 PM

Author: Pricescope

Mom, are you for real?

Uh, yes. Are you? Is that a taboo subject? There is infidelity is there not? Is that okay too?


I''m sorry, I obviously forgot I can''t have my own opinions on the subject. It''s a legitimate question.

Just so I get this straight, when you say "is that [infidelity] okay too," are you implying that it is also not okay to be gay???

 

[Momoftwo]

Are you saying you're not tolerant enough to accept other opinions? And there are plenty of people with opinions different than yours.

That's not the point anyway, are you saying infidelity is okay since no one mentioned that in their "reviews". What I see is everyone is so quick to say how wonderful a love story it is, but they totally ignore the fact that infidelity was a big part of it.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 1/9/2006 11:35:05 AM
Author: devientdrow

MC, I am a HUGE Jake Gyllenhall fan and I don't know what you mean it would bother you to see him in this. I think this is a perfect role for him. He likes edgier roles......and this is pretty darn edgy.

I'm not just a fan of Jake, I'm in love with him

lol

Watching men kiss is just an awkward subject matter for me. I agree 100% with Demelza that it is sad that gay men have to hid their true sexual identities from prejudice people, and I don't think a gay couple should hid out in secrecy. But, respecting a person's right to express their love for another in REAL LIFE is one thing, but paying to watch a movie on the subject is another.

I just would rather watch a different film while eating my popcorn & drinking my diet coke. Sorry, this is just me!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 1/9/2006 7:28:56 PM
Author: MomoftwoThat''s not the point anyway, are you saying infidelity is okay since no one mentioned that in their ''reviews''. What I see is everyone is so quick to say how wonderful a love story it is, but they totally ignore the fact that infidelity was a big part of it.

But, I think you''ve missed THE ENTIRE POINT of the movie. It''s extending beyond REGULAR subject matters (like infidelity which has been done dozens of times over) and focusing on Gay Men and their relationships. This is a whole new arena!

 

[Demelza]

Date: 1/9/2006 7:28:56 PM
Author: Momoftwo
Are you saying you're not tolerant enough to accept other opinions?

Yup! You are correct. I have no tolerance for bigots. If that makes me an intolerant person, so be it. In my line of work, it is my job to understand why people are they way they are, so I am indeed curious how someone can be opposed to two people of the same sex loving each other. But I don't imagine that level of understanding will happen here.

You don't need to like the movie, you don't need to see it, you don't even need to approve of it. But once you come on a public forum and say that homosexuality is unaccpetable, you need to be prepared for the fact that a lot of people are going to feel hurt, offended, and angry. I am one of them. I may be a straight woman, but to suggest that there is something immoral about being gay offends me to the core.

ETA The reason there was infidelity to begin with is because these men were forced to live a lie. That is partly the point of the movie; to show how entire families suffer when people are unable to be who they really are.

 

[hlmr]

Date: 1/9/2006 7:28:56 PM
Author: Momoftwo
Are you saying you're not tolerant enough to accept other opinions? And there are plenty of people with opinions different than yours.

But momoftwo, you do not tolerate anyone's opinion except your own.

That's not the point anyway, are you saying infidelity is okay since no one mentioned that in their 'reviews'. What I see is everyone is so quick to say how wonderful a love story it is, but they totally ignore the fact that infidelity was a big part of it.

Love doesn't always remain within the boundries of happy marriages between men and women. Sometimes love dares to blossom in relationships that may be repugnant to some people. Love is not logical and law bound and movies would be pretty boring if they had to be filmed with those rigid constraints.

 

[Momoftwo]

How tolerant of you to accept the fact that not everyone thinks the way you do. It offends me to the core that you cannot see any other view point than your own. I thought liberals were supposed to accept everyone for who they were. I never once said being gay is wrong, but I did ask about infidelity which you ignored and did not address at all. I do not agree with that lifestyle, but I asked a question in a way you didn''t like. What really offends me about this movie, about how callously someone can throw aside their commitment.

 

[Momoftwo]

Date: 1/9/2006 7:41:52 PM
Author: hlmr

Date: 1/9/2006 7:28:56 PM
Author: Momoftwo
Are you saying you're not tolerant enough to accept other opinions? And there are plenty of people with opinions different than yours.

But momoftwo, you do not tolerate anyone's opinion except your own.

That's not the point anyway, are you saying infidelity is okay since no one mentioned that in their 'reviews'. What I see is everyone is so quick to say how wonderful a love story it is, but they totally ignore the fact that infidelity was a big part of it.

Love doesn't always remain within the boundries of happy marriages between men and women. Sometimes love dares to blossom in relationships that may be repugnant to some people. Love is not logical and law bound and movies would be pretty boring if they had to filmed with those rigid constraints.

That last statement tells me a lot about you. That's a really sad statement on the commitment of marriage. I really nope no one else on here thinks that way about marriage and commitment to your vows. Movies also don't have to make social statements.

Good night. I'm giong to spend some time with my loving husband of 25 years.

 

[belle]

Date: 1/9/2006 7:45:02 PM
Author: Momoftwo
How tolerant of you to accept the fact that not everyone thinks the way you do. It offends me to the core that you cannot see any other view point than your own.

pot
kettle
black