Brokeback Mountain (2005)

R: Yeah, we saw it. Yeah, it's excellent -- 'Capote' and '3 Iron' were the only comparable things we saw this year. And yes, it will win lots of Oscars. And yes, it will be for the wrong reasons.

K: I cried harder during this movie than I've ever cried in any movie before. But...um...in a good way. Yeah, anyway, you don't need us to tell you to see this movie. Unless, of course, you've been locked in a box.

R: I read an interesting review of this that claimed that, contrary to all those other reviews, it was not true that "it didn't matter that they were two men." That, in fact, the whole point of the movie was the phenomenon of the closet -- that Ennis, at least, loathed himself because of who he was, not because society disapproved of what he wanted. And of course, there's merit to this. I mean, there are some fantastically unsubtle shots of, you know, the closet. And of course the poitn of makinga movie is that everything you put in matters, so of course it would be a different movie if they weren't two gay cowboys. In Wyoming. Etc etc. And I love the movie, so I'm glad that it is what it is.

But there is a part of all those other reviews that I agree with, and it's this: we see alot of movies at the Michigan that are basically bad movies. Or merely competent movies, but no better than what gets shown at the Quality 16. Except that they deal with an unfamiliar culture, or they play with gender roles, or whatever. And there's value in this -- we do go to see them -- but most of these movies can safely be filed under some specialty heading. "Lesbian Asian Movie." "Ultra-Orthodox Israeli Movie." Etc. And, unless they're essentially free, or you're interested in that particular specialty heading, there's no need to see these particular movies. We call them "bad movies for people who aren't supposed to like bad movies." "Brokeback Mountain," on the other hand, is legitimately good, which makes the story interesting to a wide audience, and the story itself is relevant to a wide audience. I have a hard time really connecting with the need to bone your fellow shepherd. I do have a deep-seated fear that my best days are behind me, that I'm "beating back ceaselessly into the past." I think this film is good first, and gay second, and that's why I would encourage anybody who hasn't yet to see it.