Brokeback Mountain has finally had its US release. So it begins.
While audiences squirmed uncomfortably in their seats, this film has squirmed its way into the public imagination. It's been called the most beautiful film of the year, if not the decade. High praise, indeed. Heath Ledger has been tipped for an Oscar nod, and my fingers are crossed. The more Oscars this film gets, the higher the chances of this film making it to Indian shores, and into the eye sockets of our cheap-scotch-in-cognac-bottle audiences. Hee hee. Grandma's gonna have a heart attack.
There is the flip side. This film has been criticized primarily for it's storyline, and how it is unrealistic and cold. This story has been criticized for Ennis Del Mar's lack of articulation, or for Jack Twist's eagerness to set up home from the moment he was porked. One reviewer said it left him feeling as “cold as the Wyoming mountains”. As someone who has read the short story, I beg to differ. This story may be many things, but unfeeling it certainly is not.
I admit, when I first read the story, I had a rather queer reaction: I instantly regretted it. I cursed myself for having put myself through the torture of reading those 20 odd pages, and felt as if I had stuck an ice pick in my chest. It was like being stabbed by an icicle, you just have a big hunka ice where your heart used to be. Then it changes. Ice turns to water (steamy scenes not withstanding), and you find yourself standing in a puddle. Make that a puddle of tears!!
As the days passed, I knew that for better or for worse, I would not be able to get the story out of my head. Over time, I came to feel that I was glad I read it. Seeing the trailer after that just made it all the more real, and I know I'll be a bawling idiot whenever I see it. I just hope I have a loved one close by to turn me over so I don't choke in my own tears. Or to put me out of my misery.
A State where a boy named Matthew Shepherd lived. And a country where a President named Dubya ponders his response to the war in Azkaban.
3 comments:
Best film of the decade??Isnt that stretching it a little too much??And that too for a film you havn't even seen yet?Even i am a fan of Ang Lee's work but even then this is hard to swallow(pun intended).I am not exactly bothered about this coming to India.I wont waste any effort watching this in a theatre because i DONT watch anything censored.Thats not the director's vision and i wont watch it.So i will wait for the dvd to come out.But frankly ,please post something about other films also.All the jazz about Brokeback is watering down the anticipation for me.Personally,i am waiting more eagerly for Jarhead.Sam Mendes man!WOO!HOO!One post requested about a list of films you are looking forward to watch.Not one film,but a list.
I paraphrased the reactions following the release of the film. These are not my opinion of the film.
The point here is that before this, all reviews were from film critics and film festival audiences, hardly your typical, representative film goer. This is now no longer the case. Reviews are now appearing from ppl who have not read the story, or who don't really care about anything either way.
The review in point i refer to went on to say that while BBM might be a visual treat, it was emotionally void. He also added that it was undoubtedly one of the finest films of this decade, but it did nothing for him. He went on to praise Transamerica, which he saw at the same time. In his opinion, BBM is visual cotton candy compared to the gritty Transamerica.
His point was that BBM, in the end, achieved nothing new. The basic story is eventually pointless, he felt. Old, and tired.
My intention was to defend BBM, the story. I havent seen the film, and have no idea when that will happen. I probably won't like it as much as the story.
I should add... I totally agree with you. Too much talk can dull anticipation, and I can appreciate that.
The problem here is, the negative reviews have been about certain story points, which I don't want to give away. The person dissed the film because he disagreed with this story point.
So you see my conundrum... I must talk about something, and not really talk about it. I can't post links to other reviews because they have rather foolishly given too much of the story away (and at 20 something pages, there's not a lot of story to begin with). Even Harry Potter fan sites imposed a three month moratorium on discussing the Half Blood Prince after it's release, so as not to ruin it for others.
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