Though this movie was officially released on December 09, it didn't get released in Alberta until tonight. And only on one screen at one theatre in Calgary. W and I drove up to Calgary this afternoon to see this long anticipated movie. I have not disliked any Ang Lee movie, and I was looking forward to Brokeback Mountain.
As with Mystery, Alaska, not only is it cool to see places in a movie which you've visited, but it's even better when it's the place you live. (No, I've never even been to Alaska, but this was filmed in Canmore Alberta, and I did live there a year after that production.) There is one scene early in Brokeback Mountain where the sheep are on the grassy side of a jagged and peaked slope. It's not quite a mountain top, but it is a unique formation, and a location which I've seen before, twice this summer on my bike. Most of the mountain scenes were shot near where I live.
In the theatre this evening, there were two full rows of fairly young teens who were quite rowdy and downright annoying. Hooting and hollering and all that nonsense. Making odd noises throughout the film. At one point, they all cheered a seemingly useless scene. Then, at the end, they all stayed for the credits (as did most people; that theatre did not clear out like most movies) and cheered...for their friend, Cheyenne Hill, who was not only in the film, but also in the theatre watching herself on the screen. That was kind of cool, in that eery, irony or coincidence kind of way.
I had already read Annie Proulx's short story, Brokeback Mountain, from which the film was written for the screen (if you click on the 'read from the book' link, you will get a pop-up with the full text of the short story). And to be honest, viewing the trailer was pretty much reading the short story. I wasn't all too sure how it would be stretched out into 134 minutes.
But this is Ang Lee!
I think I would discuss themes and memes from this film for hours. However, I'm not quite ready or in the mood to be doing such things at this late hour.
All I am saying is that it was a very good film. If you have a chance to see it, then go see it.
No comments:
Post a Comment