Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountian" wins Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival

[Rowdyboy]

A gay love story about two young cowboys in the American west in the mid-1960's. Does life get any better than this?

Trust me. Read Annie Proulx's novella "Brokeback Mountain". Its beautiful, tragic and extremely moving. You won't regret it.



http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-09/11/content_3472804.htm

[Democrats_win]

1. Glad to hear that it won!

[skooooo]

2. I just saw the trailer in the theater..

Kind of looked like a gay "Bridges of Madison County," which wasn't my cup of tea. I was surprised to see Hollywood come out with a film like this. Makes me think maybe some progress toward accepting people's differences has been made.

[papercut]

3. Those sideburns are certainly tragic!

Looking forward to seeing it anyway.

[dsc]

4. I so can't wait to see this movie

I think Jake Gyllenhaal is amazingly hot. Plus Ang Lee is a terrific director. This should be a terrific film. I have also heard the sex scene if graphic.

[kweerwolf]

5. Gay cowboys?

Don't ya just know somewhere John Wayne is spinnin' in his grave fast enough to generate electricity for the entire eastern seaboard.

Ya gotta love it! :bounce:

[Rowdyboy]

6. You really should read the short story

It is devastatingly beautiful.

[kweerwolf]

7. I've been looking for a copy.

I know if was first published in the New Yorker, but I havn't been able to find a copy of it anywhere.

[Meldread]

8. Ahh Sweet Google! I found a downloadable Trailer!

http://www.iheartjakemedia.com/videos/brokebackmountain.mov

Check it out. It looks to be pretty good. Not the standard crap they use and pass off, a real love story dealing with real issues. I just wish they could have found actual gay actors. (But right now, I'm just happy to see a main stream film like this, so I won't complain!)

Besides, when I first saw the name I thought it said: "Bareback Mountain". I was like "woah", and had to take a double look. :P

[davidinalameda]

11. bareback mountain is the porno version

:bounce:

[jackelope72]

9. A beautiful, romantic, gay love story.

So which one of them dies in the end? :eyes:

It's a mainstream Hollywood film, which means that if you have two gay men in some sort of serious relationship, one or both of them is going to die. Because, see, gay love stories can't end happily. It's just not done.

[Rowdyboy]

10. The story of their friendship and growing feelings was very positive

Sadly, after that first part, many things went downhill. Mainstream Hollywood or not, it does not end with everyone living "happily ever after" but that merely follows the author's storyline accurately.

Sometimes life can be a bitch for those who refuse to accept society's restrictions.

[Meldread]

12. I don't agree.

Maybe it's just because I personally enjoy tragedies, but... would Romeo and Juliet have been as fantastic had they lived happily ever after? It was the ending, the tragic ending, that made the story so great.

I for one can't wait to see the movie, and in my mind I kinda have a gay Romeo and Juliet picture in my head. So I'm really excited. I think audiences form a deeper emotional bond with characters if they suffer tragedy and hardship rather than live fairytale lives. Those two things are good for conflict, which is important in any type of drama.

I'm hoping the movie doesn't bomb and that it generates enough interest to inspire other Hollywood Directors and Actors to do more mainstream gay-themed movies. Frankly, I think it will do pretty well and will be more interesting to heterosexuals. After all, gay romances have an "exotic feel" to straights and come with unique challenges not faced by them. It gives us the opportunity to be seen as more human by the masses, and therefore further our political goals.

Besides, straight romance stories have been run into the ground. There is nothing new there.

[jackelope72]

13. I have nothing against tragedies, and in fact enjoy them if well done.

That having been said, I DO have a problem with gays constantly being portrayed in mainstream cinema as either tragic figures, comic relief, or in existence simply to help further a plot point for the (usually straight) hero.

I'm not saying that I want a gay version of a Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan coo-fest, but I would like, just once, to see a movie in which:

1. The protagonist is gay.
2. The protagonist is happy--or at least okay--with being gay.
3. The protagonist does not have or contract AIDS during the course of the film.
4. The protagonist, although possibly persecuted for being gay, does not end up being murdered, killed in an accident, or committing suicide.
5. The protagonist, although possibly a very sexual person, is not completely motivated by the need to find his next sex partner.
6. The protagonist, after much hardships and/or twists of fate, ends up in a happy, fulfilling, loving relationship with another gay character.

I am currently beginning a novel in which at least 5 of the 6 conditions are met (he learns to be comfortable with his homosexuality as the novel progresses, but starts out semi-closeted and with a healthy share of self-loathing). Hopefully, once I'm finished, I'll be able to also write a screenplay adaptation. The point being, I'm not just cursing the darkness here, I'm trying to light a candle.

If you can point the way to a film in which at least four of these conditions are met (#2 and #5 don't necessarily have to be met at first, as long as the character eventually achieves #2 and #5), please let me know. I doubt that any recommendations (if there are any) will be mainstream films, but I wouldn't mind being pleasantly surprised.

[dsc]

16. Torch Song Trilogy comes close

though an important character is killed off. Latter Days starts off with plenty of self loathing and one sexually obsessed man but ends with the self loather feeling good and the obsessed man settling down. Neither are mainstream though.

[Chovexani]

14. I feel your pain dude

Just once I'd like to see a bisexual woman in a mainstream movie that isn't a)crazy, b)flaky, c)slutty, or d)a murderer. In some movies it's all of the above. :banghead:

[jackelope72]

15. Whaaaa?

You mean bisexual women AREN'T all ditzy, whorish homicidal maniacs? :wow:

Well, knock me over with a feather! You learn something new every day!

[cwydro]

17. hmmm..

well the only bisexual woman I ever tangled with was all of the above...

But very much looking forward to this movie...and some of the best STRAIGHT love stories are the star-crossed, tragic ones...

[cwydro]

18. let me correct myself

as far as I know, she isn't a homicidal maniac....btw...this movie is getting great reviews across the board.