Morning all
BBM Intern, had a lovely mental image of you turning up to the cinema in your Jack Wear
. And a big thank you for your Viewing Report! Know what you mean about the hyperventilating - had the same problem myself last nite. They aught to issue paper bags at the box office - and tissues!
What you say about sometimes hating the one you love is so true. the fight the boys had on their final day on the mountain spoke to this effect, beautifully and painfully. You can guess at the emotions that might come into play in such a situation. Impossible love
.
Had a good chuckle at your Pastor's comment, BTW!
Photondancer, lucky you, getting to meet Brian, seeing Brokeback, and all in a misty Katoomba evening! Great to read it was well worth the 2 hr train ride. I'm with you on getting such a great close up of the boys' different expressions of pain and longing. I REALLY felt Jack's agony when they parted after coming off the mountain. There's a quick shot of him right after Ennis says "guess I'll see you around", and it just about breaks my heart. Absolutely searing.
Lovely to hear there was such a good turnout too. it seems to make a big difference to the experience. I now firmly believe that largish, appreciative audience does indeed manifest some sort of group angst that is tangible and affecting.
re: husbands. the interesting thing about their odd disapproval is that it has nothing to do with misplaced jealousies. it's purely a manifestation of their straight bloke discomfort with all things gay. both are being very Ennis-like about it all
.
I'm with you on wanting to go to another Edge session - I think they should run it permanently, once a week. There seems to be enough of the 'right' sort of people in the mountains to support such a loony venture
.
Brian, I thought of you at 6.30 monday night, and again at 7pm, and again at 8pm, etc. Was very much wishing to be there! What a funny fellow your brother-in-law is. Pink screen indeed! Sounds as tho you have a US dvd, which won't play on regular Australian players. You may have to buy an all-regions player to watch it. I managed to find one for only $130, and it's a decent brand. Incidentally, I thought I'd watch the DVD frequently, and bits of it over and over etc, but neither has happened. I feel very strongly about only watching it with others, and only on their request. My father is coming to stay in a few weeks, and he's expressed interest in seeing it, so I'll watch it with him. As uncomfortable as that may be
.
Well, I did end up going to The Edge last night (first time I'd been there) with my neighbour. We were STUNNED when we walked in. That screen is so bloody huge it's actually quite disorienting! Felt that same giddy Imax sensation where you don't know where to look
.
We sat in the middle of the back row (my favoured possie, obviously!) and at 5 mins prior to commencement, there was just us and three pairs of older women. One of these couples we actually knew, which was a surprise. We talked about how few people were there, when suddenly there was a mad rush of people and in a couple of minutes the place was teeming. All demographics, but as per usual, the majority definitely in the grey brigade. A couple of young boys on their own (made me wonder if they were in the throes of finding out who they were. can't imagine a straight 20 yr old boy would go alone, if at all), and a smattering of young Japanese backpacker types.
That big screen definitely affected the experience. It was almost too hard to watch in places, and I found myself averting my eyes every now and then. As seems to be par for the course, the crowd was silent from the outset, a few quiet chuckles at Jack's clowning, and gasps at Aguirre and his binoculars, and Alma's discovery. We both came away as profoundly rattled as always, if not more so. My friend was actually sobbing quietly at the end, which was hard to see. I really felt for her, but had my own reactions to deal with so wasn't much help. The gay couple we knew were in front of us, and it was their first viewing. afterwards they sat for the entirety of the credits with us, quietly crying. One offered words to the effect "I can't think of anything sensible to say, I'm dumbstruck", and "those poor boys, they didn't have a hope did they". They're both women of roughly Ennis and Jack's age (early 60's) so can imagine there must have been some resonance.
Like Brian and photondancer, we also came outside and were immediately engulfed in a beautiful mountain mist, and 'rushing cold'. It was a special, and wonderfullly appropriate moment. Would love to have taken a walk in that mist, as per photondancer, but it was 11pm and we had a long drive ahead of us, so traded the mist in for the interior of my heated car and the Brokeback soundtrack. Needless to say, we 'workshopped' it all the way home. Cried some more, laughed, marvelled, cried again, and finally came back to the beginning of the circle. That is, WHY?. why does a FILM have the power to move some of us to places we've never been before. What is the magic ingredient?
On that note, I'm off to do a little more internet research on the above question. I know there's no answer, but the search for one seems to fill some need, so I'm happy to ride it for as long as I can
.
W