The Secrecy of Brokeback Mountain

the Secrecy of Brokeback Mountain in France or Souvenirs of Brokeback Mountain in Quebec ( Brokeback Mountain ) is an American film carried out by Ang Lee, left in 2005.

Synopsis

Adapted of a news of Annie Proulx, Price Pulitzer, the film tells the secret passion lived during twenty years by two men, Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist which “ had grown in two small poor wretches Ranch S at the two ends of the State [[Wyoming]] ”.

These two cow-boys meet spring 1963, employed by Farm and Ranch Employment, one as shepherd, the other like person in charge of camp, assigned with the same breeding of sheep in the north of Signal, in a mountain pasture located on the Brokeback Mountain, “ they were not twenty years old ”. In spite of this intense first meeting, followed by one second only four years afterwards, they make their life each one on their side, marry, have children, and meet episodically between Wyoming and the Texas before Jack Twist is not killed in doubtful circumstances, leaving Ennis alone with its memories.

Comment and critical

The difficulty in being gay, that it is with respect to oneself or the company, is in the middle of this film which borrows from the kind Western all while being dissociated some. “Brokeback is a great epic history of love which represents the dream of a total and honest complicity with another person ”, its Ang Lee author summarizes. A counterpart of the news of Annie Proulx particularly marked the realizer ( " All that we have, it is Brokeback Mountain" ). “C'est-à-dire a place out of time, out of the world, where, in all innocence, they loved each other, where they believed to be able to like. It is what interested me: to make a film on the illusion of the love. Not on the true love. One does not know only it est.”. “ There is a certain beauty in the wait state in love. The love is like the mountain of film. It is necessary to climb, still and still, to reach it. It is an existential question. With what does recognize one the love? And what are we ready to make to keep it? ” (Ang Lee, at the end of 2005).

Télérama notices that “ if it misses sometimes with the realization, the special genius of one… Wong Kar-wai to say the slow one and vain flow of vital energy far from the being loved, two upsetting characters are incarnated indeed. As if one moment ago of eternity in a whole life and, then, dedicated decades, as a recluse or to two, with the worship of this moment. ” ( Télérama n° 2923, Louis Guichard). Le Monde , as for him stresses that “ it is in this universality that one will find a possible range social and political with what is initially a beautiful film, serious and tearing. ” ( Le Monde , January 18th, 2006, Thomas Sotinel, “With the West, an impossible love”).

Two principal dissonant voices, in a quasi-unanimous concert of praises which go from Humanity to the Figaro . the Books of the cinema , while admitting with the scenario writer Ang Lee to be “décidément as enthralling as inégal”, consider it regrettable that bloque film the “any overflowing and condemns to the balance of the beautiful image, except some strong passages of mountain and short the one evening dazzling of festival foraine” (n° 608, January 2006). The French review of film critic Positif (n° 539, January 2006) is even more severe while considering than Ang Lee drew from the news “un academic film and longuet which collects the postcards. The unit sinks rather quickly in the melodrama oaf where all is surligné and in the marsh mallow ”.

This film “ was extremely likely to be disputed ” at the time of the 62e festival of the film to Venice where it was presented for the first time in the big room of the Lido Thursday September 4th 2005. “ But it is one surprising thunder of applause which concluded projection from what it is necessary well to call the first homosexual western epic and Hollywood ” ( Libération , 9/5/2005) and the film gained the Lion of gold, “ after having been one of the peaks of emotion of the festival ”.

“ Specialized in this register of the gay life in medium hétéro ( Best man ), the Ang Lee American repeats with the setting in imposing images of the one of the toughest phantasms homo: the western fag, love between Cow-boy S (in the species, one could say “Co-servant boys”), on bottom of splendid landscapes, naked bathe and campfires in the paradisiacal rivers of Wyoming. Of this reason, one knew already the version mutic avant-garde of Andy Warhol ( Lonesome Cow-boys ), of innumerable versions porns or even the point of view of Lesbien developed by Gus Van Sant in Even Cow-girls Get the Blues . But it missed the version Hollywood ienne and general public, panoramic and traditional, that Ang Lee has just signed with a beautiful audacity, after the world success of Tigre and Dragon . More made a success of in this passion deployed on more than twenty years between two very beautiful cow-boys hétéros and married (Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal: one takes both), it is precisely that their love is not explained: it is essential, and initially with themselves ” ( Libération ).

Funny of mixture conventions of the canonical western enters, practically all respected, and the incongruity of one at the same time sentimental and virile topic, Brokeback Mountain , which pains perhaps a little to settle in its first sequences, reached truths peaks of emotion in its second part, rougher and finally tragedy. It is undoubtedly not John Ford or Nicholas Ray, but it is a nice homage with the western kind and its Masters, even if those, possibly, would have been strangled some.

“ I was with the Texas with Larry McMurtry and of the friends. One of them gave me the New Yorker while recommending to me to read there the news of Annie Proulx. To two thirds, I had already the tears with the eyes. I rose the next morning and read again it, because I wanted to see whether it did as much effect to me than the day before. It touched me still more and I asked Larry to read it. Larry found that it was the best news than it ever read in the New Yorker and we decided to write in Annie Proulx to inform him of our wish to write a scenario starting from this history. ”, Diana Ossana, producing scenario writer and of film, Notes of production, “Press kit”.

Business success

The film right now paid more than 160 million dollars of receipts to the Box-office (including nearly 50% except the United States), which makes of it film produced by Focus Features most profitable (it would not have cost which 14 million dollars, without the costs of promotion). It is classified right now with the 8th rank of dramatic films since 1980, according to IMDb. In France, at the end of the 12th week of exploitation, it exceeded 1.255.000 spectators, including more than 405.000 only in Paris, which does of it one of more nice successes of at the beginning of 2006 in France.

Originality of the topic

In addition to the fact that the scenario is inspired by a news, the set of themes of film is less original than it appears to with it first of all. It seems necessary to balance the advanced idea of original” and “atypical” subject an “, the western having been very many times used as support of analysis of the homosexual condition in the American independent cinema, it since the beginning of the Années 1990.

Data sheet

Distribution

Around film

  • turning was held in Alberta (Canada), from May in August 2004, in the Rocky Mountains around Calgary, with Bieseker, Carseland, Cowkey, Crossfield, Fort MacLeod, Irricana, Rockyford and Seebe, like with Mesilla, in the State of the New Mexico, with the the United States.
  • the film was censured at the time of its exit with Sandy (Utah) at the beginning of 2006 by a chain of cinema of this State. It was also censured in China and in the majority of the Islamic countries (all countries of the Persian Gulf, the Egypt, the China - but not with Taiwan nor with HongKong where it had a great success with the boxoffice - with the the Bahamas).
  • Le Monde devoted to it a whole page of its edition of the January 18th 2006 while Libération devoted the aforementioned day to it half of its One.
  • Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger met on turning, they had since a child together.
  • Gus van Sant declared that it could have carried out this film in 1999, it held the rights of them, but which it had given up, being unable to find actors known to assemble the project.
  • Original music

See also: Brokeback Mountain (original soundtrack)

Principal rewards

  • Lion of gold to the Mostra of Venice 2005
  • Golden Globes of best dramatic film, the best scenario, the best realizer and the best original song. 3 other nominations with the Golden Globes of which that for the best main actor.
  • the February 19th 2006, he was the large winner of the ceremony of the British Film Academy Awards (BAFTA), the annual rewards of the British cinema, with four prices on the whole, of which that of better film, ceremony at the time he also gained Baftas of the best realizer, male best supporting role for the actor Jake Gyllenhaal and that of the best film adaptation.
  • According to several concordant American sites, relayed by Universal Pictures, it would be the film more preceded in the world in 2005.
  • With the Oscar S 2006, it is this film which obtains the most nominations (8) in the categories “better film”, “better realizer”, “better scenario adapted”, “better actor” (Heath Ledger), “female best supporting role” (Michelle Williams), “male best supporting role” (Jake Gyllenhaal), “better music” and “better photography”.
  • At the time of the 78e ceremony of the Oscars to Hollywood, the March 5th 2006, the film of Ang Lee, presented like the big favorite, finally received only three rewards out of eight possible (what in fact despite everything the 1st ex-aequo): “better realizer”, “better film music” and “better adapted scenario”. But the Oscar of best film finally returned to film of Paul Haggis “ Collision ”.
  • LAFCA of the best film 2005.
  • at the end of 2006, the weekly magazine Télérama published the vote of its readers and the drafting where Volver of Pedro Almodovar triumph in the two prize lists. Although left in any beginning year 2006 to France, the Secrecy… is however 3rd prize list of the readers and 2nd with the prize list of the drafting (“ let us quote the romanticism coming up of the Secret of Brobeback Mountain”), which will enable him to arise in rooms within the framework of the Télérama Festival in nearly 150 rooms in France starting from January 17th, 2007. On the other hand, the review the Books of the cinema continues not to retain this film in ten best films of 2007 (city by only one of criticisms of the review).
  • February 2007, nominated with the César of the cinema, like Better foreign film because left in January 2006 to France.

A deep social impact

This film seems to have started a movement and an interest which goes well beyond its business success. A great number of spectators, on a level seldom reached by a film, discuss it on various forums (nearly 300.000 tickets posted on the site of the IMDb at the beginning of March 2006). The site of AlloCiné classifies it from its exit like preferred film of the spectators and it counts already more than 1.000 criticisms. The site of the writer Annie Proulx () also reached a frequentation more than remarkable. The fans of film raised in two days the sum of 20.000 $ to publish on Friday, March 10, 2006 a whole page of publicity in the Daily Variety , immediately exhausted the day out. This page thanked the team for film to have them " rassemblés" around the " Better film". Lastly, the New Yorker of the October 13rd 1997, which published the news éponyme, is the only number of the review to being exhausted (over one period of 1970 to 2006) and is sold already with more than 300 $ on EBay. In March 2007, is published a book in English ( Beyond Brokeback: The Impact off has Film ), collection of impressions.

Quotations

  • Jack Twist: It' S nobody' S business drank bear. ( That looks at to only us )
  • Jack Twist: in Ennis I wish I knew how to quit you. ( I would like to know how to leave you )
  • Jack Twist: It could Be like this - just like this - always. ( That could be thus - right like that - always )
  • Ennis del Mar: Yew you can' T fix it, you gotta stand it. ( If you can nothing change there, it should be made you there)
  • Jack Twist: You cuts No idea how bad it gets. ( You ace not idea at which point it is hard… )
  • Ennis del Mar: " Jack, I swear… " ( Jack, I swear you… )
  • Jack Twist: Sometimes I miss you so much, I edge hardly stand it. ( Parfois I miss you so much, I can hardly support it. )

See too

Random links:Hockey Club Amiens Summons | Menconico | Park of Coudray-Montceaux | Manon Kirouac | Bernhard Bauer | Technique_de_Lego