Brokeback Mountain is...
hard to describe or categorise, at least for me...
The built-up of feelings (of love) between the 2 main characters was not very convincing to me. If one is to believe that homosexuality is a nurtured behaviour, then there must be thousands of gay cowboys since the Wild West, given the situation at that time!! If it is nature, then both of them just happened to be in the right place at the right (most vulnerable/loneliest) time to be 'stuck' on each other.
But as the movie goes along, it's so heart-aching to see, once one get over the fact that it is 2 (cute) guys agonising over this forbidden love (at that time), how both tried and failed to 'quit' one another..
I must say Ang Lee did a great job bringing this onto the big screen, although there are some scenes that I was uneasy about (like the first time they did 'it' in the tent at the Brokeback Mountain). [Mind you, it's not that I am conservative or homophobic, I've seen many more gay make-out scenes in HBO's Six Feet Under.] Once he shown us how they 'devour' one another every time they had the chance, he stop at that. Never too graphic (thus turning it into a cheesy gay porn) nor did he try to preach (aka one should not be homosexual). He just leave it as it is. A story of 2 person caught in a forbidden love, treasuring each other whenever they have the chance/time, wanting yet unable to attain it, holding themselves back from following their hearts because of the obligation they have to their families, and in the end suffering because of it.
The story spans almost 20 years, meaning their relationship too went through such a long torment. The romantic in me wanted to believe that it was their true love for one another that kept this relationship alive for over 2 decades. But the cynic in me thinks that the relationship survived because it was forbidden, thus making it more precious and them more unwilling to let it go. Because humans sometimes are just plain stubborn, if they are told that they can't be together, they will try their utmost to be together, although they might not be compatible at all...
I must commend the two lead actors for bringing out the characters. Although it is hard to believe that those 2 guys are gays (blame that on the trashy entertainment news showing them married/attached in real life), one can feel the longings and love they have for one another in the movie. Their eyes tell so much. A glance here, a sneaked peek there really makes me feel for their suffering.
So for this movie, I'll give it a 3.5 star out of 5. If you watch it with an open mind (aka you can get over the make-out scenes and appreciate the human side of feelings and emotions without attaching any labels or stereotyping them), then go and watch it. If you are really bothered/turmed off by the notion of a guy kissing another guy, then I will advise you to give this a miss.
I am really interested in getting my hands on the short story written by Annie Proulx that inspired this movie.. See how she portrayed Jake and Ennis in her original work.. Curious..
The built-up of feelings (of love) between the 2 main characters was not very convincing to me. If one is to believe that homosexuality is a nurtured behaviour, then there must be thousands of gay cowboys since the Wild West, given the situation at that time!! If it is nature, then both of them just happened to be in the right place at the right (most vulnerable/loneliest) time to be 'stuck' on each other.
But as the movie goes along, it's so heart-aching to see, once one get over the fact that it is 2 (cute) guys agonising over this forbidden love (at that time), how both tried and failed to 'quit' one another..
I must say Ang Lee did a great job bringing this onto the big screen, although there are some scenes that I was uneasy about (like the first time they did 'it' in the tent at the Brokeback Mountain). [Mind you, it's not that I am conservative or homophobic, I've seen many more gay make-out scenes in HBO's Six Feet Under.] Once he shown us how they 'devour' one another every time they had the chance, he stop at that. Never too graphic (thus turning it into a cheesy gay porn) nor did he try to preach (aka one should not be homosexual). He just leave it as it is. A story of 2 person caught in a forbidden love, treasuring each other whenever they have the chance/time, wanting yet unable to attain it, holding themselves back from following their hearts because of the obligation they have to their families, and in the end suffering because of it.
The story spans almost 20 years, meaning their relationship too went through such a long torment. The romantic in me wanted to believe that it was their true love for one another that kept this relationship alive for over 2 decades. But the cynic in me thinks that the relationship survived because it was forbidden, thus making it more precious and them more unwilling to let it go. Because humans sometimes are just plain stubborn, if they are told that they can't be together, they will try their utmost to be together, although they might not be compatible at all...
I must commend the two lead actors for bringing out the characters. Although it is hard to believe that those 2 guys are gays (blame that on the trashy entertainment news showing them married/attached in real life), one can feel the longings and love they have for one another in the movie. Their eyes tell so much. A glance here, a sneaked peek there really makes me feel for their suffering.
So for this movie, I'll give it a 3.5 star out of 5. If you watch it with an open mind (aka you can get over the make-out scenes and appreciate the human side of feelings and emotions without attaching any labels or stereotyping them), then go and watch it. If you are really bothered/turmed off by the notion of a guy kissing another guy, then I will advise you to give this a miss.
I am really interested in getting my hands on the short story written by Annie Proulx that inspired this movie.. See how she portrayed Jake and Ennis in her original work.. Curious..
posted by imm @ 10:40 PM
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