Hello,
I realise this is a very old thread started many years ago but I thought that if I posted here I might receive a little clarity even by simply writing because I am very confused.
I saw Brokeback Mountain for the first time last year. I'd never heard of it before and knew nothing about it. One night last year I sat down to watch Telly, I didn't know what I wanted to watch and whilst scrolling through the TV guide, I saw one of the channels advertising 'Academy Award Winning Brokeback Mountain. I decided to watch it afterall, it had won oscars so it should be somewhat decent. When I saw the scene of Ennis and Jack's first night together in the tent, I was surprised, I hadn't expected it but it didn't seem unnatural on the contrary, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to happen. I became engrossed after that and the ending came too soon for me. I loved it and could not get it out of my head.
The next day I watched it again on my laptop. I then watched everything there was on Youtube about the moving. I then read everything there was to read about the movie online. I then went and bought the short story from Amazon and read that. I then shared Sarah Brightman's song 'this love' and posted my love of the movie on Facebook but I didn't get any likes or comments. This surprised me, I realised the movie was over ten years old but it is a famous movie surely others had seen it and loved it like I did. Ok, I only saw it for the first time in 2015 but in 2005, I had a newborn baby, other small children and a bad marriage. Back then, I didn't see any movies but that's another story
Because I didn't get any likes or comments on Facebook in relation to my post on Brokeback Mountain, I started to question my obsession with this movie. This was the most beautiful albeit tragic true love story I'd ever seen or read. A masterpiece, up there with Shakespear's 'Romeo and Juliet and Jane Austin's 'Pride and Prejudice'. Surely others 'got it' like I did so why didn't I get any feedback on Facebook, my posts usually did, was it the 'gay thing'?
I didn't see Jack and Ennis as gay. I hadn't really thought of their relationship as gay until after I'd read articles online. I saw their love as beyond labelling. I also found myself lacking sympathy for Alma and I should have had sympathy for her because I was her for a long time, overwork in a loveless marriage. I know she got hurt and she was a victim but I don't think she could ever understand the force that drove Ennis in Jack's direction,
I've also started for the first time in my life to think and question by own sexuality. I'm a 49 year old mother of four. I've only ever had sexual relationships with men. I've fallen in and out of love with a couple of men. I've had very few close females in my life and as a matter of fact, I find it much easier to talk and form friendships with men. That said,most of the men I became close friends with, I ended up sleeping with and there were a couple of women that I got very close to and wanted to sleep with but never did. Isn't only natural to want to sleep with a person you hold a deep connection with even if the person is of the same sex? Is this true of most people or am I wrong? I need to know
Brokeback Mountain was the best movie I've ever seen. Why it didn't win Best Picture at the Oscars is a total mystery to me. As for the acting, wow, were Jake and Heath 100% acting or was there a real life connection there? If it was pure acting, then it was totally amazing however I'm not convinced it was
Hi there, Blownaway. I'm glad that you liked "
Brokeback Mountain" (2005) and I hope that you will like this forum as well. Its interesting to see how "
Brokeback Mountain" can still have a major emotional effect on recent viewers of the film nearly 11 years after its theatrical release. Its also very nice to see a new person commenting on this forum. Personally, I have never read Annie Proulx's short story, but I have heard a lot about it. I have also never seen the opera nor the British stage play that are based on the short story. I know that there are numerous books that have been written about the short story, the film and their impact on readers, viewers and popular culture over the years, but I have never read any of them. I have heard a lot about them though. There is also a straight-to-DVD film version of the opera, but I haven't seen that.
In regards to Alma, I felt sympathy for her, but I agree that she didn't understand the attraction that Ennis felt towards Jack, but I suppose you have to consider the time and place in which the film occurs. I also agree that Heath and Jake's performances are amazing, I think the fact that they became close friends by working on this film together, that certainly must have further helped with the chemistry between their characters. I don't think that the film made me question my sexuality. I am a heterosexual, married woman all the way. Is it common for some people to question their sexuality? Sure. Is it "natural" for adults to want to have sex with another non-related adult that they are emotionally attached to, even if they are the same-sex? I don't know, I cannot really say. I think that you would already have to have romantic and sexual feelings for people of the same-sex or eventually discover that you have those feelings if you are a "late bloomer". Sure, there are heterosexual, cisgender and LGBT people who sexually experiment with people of another sexual orientation and/or someone of the opposite-sex, but at the end of the day, they most likely still identify as heterosexual, cisgender, lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Only you can decide how you feel.
It would have been interesting if "
Brokeback Mountain" had won Best Picture, but that is really all that one can say. It didn't win the award, but it hasn't stopped "
Brokeback Mountain" from making viewers ask complex questions even almost 11 years later. I certainly think that you have come to the right place, if you are looking for people who share your enthusiasm about this film. There are also a few other interesting forums for fans of "
Brokeback Mountain" as well, but the "davecullen . com" forum seem to be a bit more active than the other forums are. Thanks for posting your comment, Blownaway, I thought it was very interesting.
B.W.