I cried through most of Brokeback Mountain. I expected that I would. I even brought tissues. It was as beautiful and as sad as I expected it to be. What I wasn’t expecting was the general feeling of sadness that lingered for the rest of the day after I saw the movie. It’s only a movie, so why did I feel so sad? It’s most likely because Ang Lee is one hell of a director who knows how to make movies that are more than just cheap entertainment.
It’s difficult to pick one scene in this movie to exemplify how good Ang Lee is at his job. So many things worked so well in this movie. The music was simple but effective throughout. Did you notice that Ennis and Jack never talked to one another indoors? Anything they ever said to one another was said outside and was mostly said when they were together in the mountains. But one of the most powerful things that Ang Lee did in the movie was use flashbacks. There were only three that I recall. One was of Ennis’ recollecting when his father showed him the maimed and murdered body of a man who was suspected of being a homosexual. A second one was of Jack recalling a bittersweet moment between himself and Ennis up on Brokeback. And finally, it’s not a flashback per se, but a brief moment from Ennis’ inner point of view. It occurs when Ennis calls Jack’s wife to find out how he died. She is telling him how it happened and Ennis has this brief vision of Jack being beaten to death. If you ever wondered while you were watching this movie why Ennis never moved to Texas to be with Jack, that moment right there summarizes the reason.
I also think that this movie made me feel sad because it was a terrible tragedy that Ennis and Jack couldn’t be together. They truly loved each other but society and their own fears kept them apart. How awful is that? I realize that some people have overcome that fear and have been able to love in spite of the obstacles that society has made for them. But you know that these barriers still exist for homosexuals and probably will for some time.
This movie also had some personal significance for me. I have a relative that is a lesbian. As a kid, she could never come to any of my school events because – this was the excuse that I was given by my parents – if anyone found out about it, I would be picked on or ostracized at school. It was hard for me to understand that rationale. I didn’t care if anyone knew, but obviously, the stigma of homosexuality was real and frightening to my parents. Watching this movie makes me again wonder how people can be so judgmental about such a simple thing as love. Does it really matter the gender of the person you love? I hope that some day it will not.
at January 17, 2006 9:26 AMI also cried at this film. When I was in the theater, I remember wishing I had seen it at home so I could really let loose with the hysterical, uncontrollable, sobbing. I feel bad for men who feel trapped by their gender's stereotype and who don't cry at movies. It's such a catharsis.
I think what was so moving for me about this movie was how universal the love was. The characters' gender was incidental to their feelings for one another. And it was tragic (SPOILER) in that they were never get to spend their lives together. As a cynical single woman, I wonder if it isn't best never to fall in love if it means that we don't have to feel the pain Ennis felt at the end and will likely feel the rest of his life.
My father died when he was 37. That was 20-1/2 years ago, and my stepmother has been alone ever since. It is that lonliness, knowing that your one true love is gone forever, that keeps me home on Friday nights. And it is that universal feeling of longing that touched me so deeply from this film.
Jill
Posted by: Jill at January 18, 2006 6:52 AMI'd like to echo something that Jill wrote. To me, the power of this movie was in the depiction of the main characters as human beings who were deeply in love. I understand the importance of the homosexual aspect of the film, but it primarily allowed me to think and feel deeply about issues of love, aloneness, and loss in my life, as a human being. I've seen so many movies that deal with male and female relationships in terms of men and women, that I have a hard time see the human dynamic at work. Brokeback Mountain allowed me to explore the human side of love and loss that both men and women experience. It was a wonderful film.
Scott