Brokeback Mountain Review and Response

[sparky]

Originally Posted by Rickypt

There's two of us who feel this way, me and my friend who saw it with me. I'm sure we'll be in the very small minority. It's impossible to get into it without revealing details--maybe when more people see it, there can be a discussion. I just feel like we didn't witness enough of the development of the relationship to truly understand its depth.

That said, it's definitely a stunningly beautiful movie with fantastic acting (particularly Ledger and Michelle Williams--she was my favorite character). Maybe if it wasn't hyped as such a masterpiece, I would have had a different reaction.

But I'm very moved by your reaction, Sparky. I have had similar reactions to other movies and plays and I marvel at the power of art to halt us in our tracks sometimes.

People are very different when it comes to these kind of things. There are plenty of people who probably won't have the same visceral reaction I did. Those who connect with it the way I did will say masterpiece, but most everyone else will say merely great.

I can understand my own response pretty well. So much of that landscape and imagery are familiar to me. The characters too. It really pushed a lot of my buttons, most powerfully in terms of the tone. In some odd way, and this is simply a connection I have with the way Lee directs, the pacing, the framing, and the ambience of the movie evokes the way my brain constructs memories. It felt extremely intimate and personal to me, my experience, and the style in which my imagination works.

The fact that the two main characters do not share a great amount of dialogue also worked for me. The film doesn't have a lot of dialogue, period.
So much of what was communicated was communicated visually, and the images that were chosen were extremely evocative and memorable to me. The more things I see, hear, and experience...the more I am finding that certain kinds imagery and careful, quiet storytelling have the most impact on me. It is in near silence and stillness that some of the most compelling things in life happen. Lee captures that. There was also a lack of sentimentality that, for me, makes all the difference.

It is perhaps an intensely personal and particular vantage point that enabled me to understand the relationship between these characters and feel the depth of it. The outdoors, the things they did together, the stillness between them...it spoke volumes to me. But not everyone is going to get that, I suppose. They were scenes that could have been pulled out my life. Characters that I have known. That is a familiarity not everyone is going to have. I do not think it detracts from the success of the film, however. I believe the original writer of the story, the screenwriters, and the director all understood the way the two men thought, and the way they related to each other. The scarcity of their time together, the intimacy of the wilderness, all of this enhanced the intensity of it for me. The very scarcity of a precious item is part of what enhances its value. I guess that I felt that way about the character of Ennis. We all have known a few people who rarely say much. But when they do ? Every word counts. When you are with them, every second counts. I felt the film makers conveyed this sense of gravity and power. It is a language that was natural, familiar, and effective to me.
And that is probably part of why it impacted me the way it did.

[markolas]

I want to see this and the Johnny Cash thing, but unfortunately the only movies my friends like to see are sci-fi and teeny bopper movies like Mean Girls and Sky High.

[sparky]

Originally Posted by markolas

I want to see this and the Johnny Cash thing, but unfortunately the only movies my friends like to see are sci-fi and teeny bopper movies like Mean Girls and Sky High.

Dude, what do your friends tastes in movies have to do with anything ?

Or do movie theatres in Texas prohibit the sales of single tickets to movies ?

[markolas]

Originally Posted by sparky

Dude, what do your friends tastes in movies have to do with anything ?

Or do movie theatres in Texas prohibit the sales of single tickets to movies ?

Going to movies by yourself is just creepy.

[sparky]

Originally Posted by markolas

Going to movies by yourself is just creepy.

On what planet ? Dude, that is goofy.

Does this mean that you simply don't get to see movies unless you
can find someone to go with ? I am kind of snickering to myself writing this,
but I find that really bizarre.
It sounds like a social anxiety disorder that
hasn't been researched yet. But, hey, if that works for you, it works for you.

[markolas]

Originally Posted by sparky

On what planet ? Dude, that is goofy.

Does this mean that you simply don't get to see movies unless you
can find someone to go with ?

Yep.

I am kind of snickering to myself writing this,
but I find that really bizarre.
It sounds like a social anxiety disorder that
hasn't been researched yet. But, hey, if that works for you, it works for you.

It doesn't work for me, actually. I need to find better/more compatible friends.

[sparky]

Originally Posted by markolas

Yep.

I can only shrug. All I can say is that I guess
you must not want to see movies very badly if
you would rather not see them than go alone.
It doesn't compute in my brain. But, it takes
all kinds to make the world go round.

It doesn't work for me, actually. I need to find better/more compatible friends.

We have so had this conversation before.
I like ya, Mark, but it does seem that your friends suck.
Sorry, man.

[irishgrl]

Originally Posted by sparky

On what planet ? Dude, that is goofy.

Does this mean that you simply don't get to see movies unless you
can find someone to go with ? I am kind of snickering to myself writing this,
but I find that really bizarre.
It sounds like a social anxiety disorder that
hasn't been researched yet. But, hey, if that works for you, it works for you.

okayyy that was a bit harsh....on a couple of levels.
1) if markolas prefers to go to events with a partner, who are YOU to tell him thats goofy or bizarre? Some people are just old school and feel that that is how it is done. not everyone has embraced the credo of independence....but even if that isnt the issue,
2) its extremely cavalier of you to make light of what may or may not be a mental issue. We are what we are and we are also not cookie cutter people.

ok. flame away.

edit: I posted this before I saw your other comment, (which is a bit more compassionate--thank goodness) but it still doesnt negate the fact that you're being a bit hard on markolas IMO.......

[Richard B]

Originally Posted by irishgrl

okayyy that was a bit harsh....on a couple of levels.
1) if markolas prefers to go to events with a partner, who are YOU to tell him thats goofy or bizarre? Some people are just old school and feel that that is how it is done. not everyone has embraced the credo of independence....but even if that isnt the issue,
2) its extremely cavalier of you to make light of what may or may not be a mental issue. We are what we are and we are also not cookie cutter people.

ok. flame away.

edit: I posted this before I saw your other comment, (which is a bit more compassionate--thank goodness) but it still doesnt negate the fact that you're being a bit hard on markolas IMO.......

I don't think Sparky was harsh at all and was simply responding to this:

Originally Posted by markolas

Going to movies by yourself is just creepy.

I go to movies by myself...so by his remark...I'm creepy. That's not very nice at all. I like going to movies alone with my own thoughts and less distraction. I also meet people all the time that way, especially if I'm early and the film has not started yet.

[irishgrl]

Originally Posted by Richard B

I don't think Sparky was harsh at all and was simply responding to this:



I go to movies by myself...so by his remark...I'm creepy. That's not very nice at all. I like going to movies alone with my own thoughts and less distraction. I also meet people all the time that way, especially if I'm early and the film has not started yet.

that isnt the impression I got....I understood him to say that for HIM, going by himself was creepy. That doesnt mean everyone who goes by themselves is creepy, only that Markolas doesnt like to do it.

[irishgrl]

Originally Posted by Lux

Well he did say that going by yourself is creepy which would make me one of the creepy ones.

I think he meant creepy for HIM. not that everyone who goes alone is creepy. And Sparky also took it the way I did, as evidenced by his reply.

good grief. and there are those who say that words mean only one thing....

the only one who can answer the question of what he meant by his statement is markolas........so If I am wrong, fine. but I'll wait to see his explanation before I do any apologizing.

[Richard B]

Originally Posted by irishgrl

that isnt the impression I got....I understood him to say that for HIM, going by himself was creepy. That doesnt mean everyone who goes by themselves is creepy, only that Markolas doesnt like to do it.

Regardless, both comments are quite innocuous anyway.

[irishgrl]

Originally Posted by Richard B

Regardless, both comments are quite innocuous anyway.

REALLY? telling someone they have an unaddressed mental problem is INNOCUOUS? Maybe in YOUR world, but not in mine

[Richard B]

Originally Posted by irishgrl

REALLY? telling someone they have an unaddressed mental problem is INNOCUOUS? Maybe in YOUR world, but not in mine

On a forum with people you don't know, don't want to know and who could probably care less...YES.

But you care and that is really sweet.

And again, saying "Going to movies by yourself is just creepy" is again not a nice thing to say and the grammar used does not imply "him" going to the movies is creepy. The comment is wielded to all.

[irishgrl]

Originally Posted by Richard B

On a forum with people you don't know, don't want to know and who could probably care less...YES.

But you care and that is really sweet.

And again, saying "Going to movies by yourself is just creepy" is again not a nice thing to say and the grammar used does not imply "him" going to the movies is creepy. The comment is wielded to all.

actually, if you read the thread, Sparky and Markolas have had discussions regarding this before. so its not technically a topic that hasnt already been broached between them. Thus, for Sparky to say such a thing to Markolas even after they have already discussed it, is harsh to MY way of thinking. Again, Sparky took it the same way I did, which was more on a personal level (ie Markolas' preference).
as for why I care:
I guess its a little closer to home for me because I work with people who DO have agorophobia and anxiety disorders and its like pulling teeth for them to even come to my office to deal with their own cases! Just because I dont suffer from the phobias that my clients do, doesnt mean I have the right to feel superior to them...and that was the tone I got from Sparky's post (dude: that's bizarre, and you've got some unaddressed social anxiety disorder) Just uncalled for IMO, or at the very least, oblivious to how it might be received....

btw: Im very well aware that I may be overly sensitive on behalf of Markolas and that he didnt take offense. He knows his own business best. Im only expressing my OWN opinion about how it hit ME. by tomorrow this wont matter diddly, so, I guess I'll just let it go........carry on good people