Brokeback Mountain Shines in Venice

Heathandjake

Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger are looking happy here at the Venice Film Festival for a very good reason. Brokeback Mountain, the Ang Lee drama based on Annie Proulx's novella, which I've been covering here for months, had its premiere over the weekend and is getting rave reviews from American and European critics alike.

EuropeanFilms.net said, "The entire film is very close to the original novella, but for those who have not read it I will not reveal the heartbreaking ending; suffice to say that Lee and his cast and crew have done the near impossible; they have translated one of the most acclaimed American novellas of modern times onto the screen and deliver something that is on par, if not better, than the work that inspired it and yet is completely respectful of its source material."

The Hollywood Reporter said, "Brokeback Mountain" will appeal to moviegoers who enjoy grand filmmaking and poignant love stories, whether gay, hetero or otherwise.

Variety said, "Both young thesps are game, credible as cowboys and unselfconscious with the verbal and physical intimacy. But while Gyllenhaal is engaging as the more free-wheeling of the two, Ledger is powerfully impressive as a frightened, limited man ill-equipped to deal with what life throws at him. Mumbling, looking down, internalizing everything, Ledger's Ennis at times looks as though he's going to explode from his inchoate feelings. Perf could scarcely be more different from his terrific work in the otherwise negligible "Lords of Dogtown," and the combo makes it a dazzling year for Ledger."

Often people ask me why I champion this movie so much. It's because Annie Proulx is one of my favorite authors and I was moved to tears by the story on which the film is based. It appeared first in a 1997 issue of The New Yorker and is the highlight of her collection of short stories, Close Range : Wyoming Stories. I encourage everyone to read it.

Cowboys in Love....with Each Other [ny times]
Gay Cowboy Film Rides into Venice [bbc]
Brokeback Mountain [official site]

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Posted 9:01 AM EST by Andy in Film & TV | Permalink

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Ang Lee is that rare thing: the soul of a sensitive woman trapped in the body of a straight man.

Posted by: yohji | Sep 6, 2005 10:24:03 AM

cannot wait to see this movie, and you make it more and more difficult to have to wait...keep up the good coverage andy. !!!!

Posted by: Nate | Sep 6, 2005 10:28:05 AM

Oh nuts. It has a "heartbreaking" ending? Why can't we have happy endings? I'm not being sarcastic, I'm serious. There's enough sadness in real life right now - just watch the news. I want these cowboys to ride off into the sunset together.

Posted by: Bill | Sep 6, 2005 10:33:25 AM

I saw the trailer the weekend before The Constant Gardener. After reading the book, even the trailer brings tears to my eyes. I can't wait!

Here's a review from a blogger who saw it at Telluride. Some spoilers, and you have to get around the squeee's and guh guh guh's. http://www.livejournal.com/users/ficbyzee/61200.html#cutid1

Posted by: Ian | Sep 6, 2005 10:46:11 AM

Portuguese papers are saying the movie has lots of chances to win the golden lion. And for the interpretation one, all the bets go to Ledger ;)

Posted by: Miguel Cabo | Sep 6, 2005 12:08:02 PM

Hey Andy, I´ve been reading your blog for years and I´m also a fan of Brokeback. Have a look ate my blog. It´s a pitty you can´t read portuguese. We had someone in the papers saying John Wayne is probably very mad in his grave. But the rest of the critics loved it.
So do we, and we hadn´t even seen it!
:)
xoxox from Lisbon, Portugal

Posted by: André | Sep 6, 2005 12:18:50 PM

Check out the link below for BBC's coverage of BBM, including a video clip with some new scenes from the movie.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/4209110.stm#

Posted by: Ian | Sep 6, 2005 12:35:47 PM

I also saw the Brokeback trailer before The Constant Gardener. It was the same as on CNN a week earlier, so I was disappointed not to see new footage. Pleasantly, I only noted slight audience reaction of the sophomoric kind.

On Gardener, did anyone else notice Pete Postlethwaite's character? That was an HRC cap he was wearing, right? Was he giving us a clue to the personal devil from which he was tring to escape (via Jesus)?

Posted by: Thom | Sep 6, 2005 2:50:44 PM

The gods have smiled upon me and delivered this movie to my doorstep. As a resident of Telluride, I had the privelege of seeing it here this weekend at our film fest (check out my website for the review).

This film is what Latter Days could have been in the hands of a genius like, well, Ang Lee for example...

Posted by: Dave | Sep 6, 2005 8:15:34 PM

I'm so ready to trade in my Mercedes for a horse. If I could only find a pony with air conditioning....

I guess I'm lucky that my cowboy fantasies are being filmed, because it's so much easier to enjoy Jake and Heath with a cold pitcher of Martinis and a leather sofa that doesn't MOO when you lean on it.

Ahh... the life of a cowboy.

Posted by: jay | Sep 6, 2005 11:16:29 PM

Well I’ve read several reviews from Venice and a few from Telluride now and my emotions have cycled between relief, joy and, I have to confess, disbelief. All I wanted from this film was respect for the story… an accurate transmission of its emotional resonance and power. After years of seeing almost everything that the lecherous hand of Hollywood touched turn to prettified glop, I didn’t dare hope that this story that I love so dearly would be touched by an equally loving hand.

Everything that I have read indicates that I should have had more faith in the integrity of Ang Lee and in the integrity of Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana. I’ve actually cried in relief. I’m glad that they recognized that Annie Proulx provided everything that they needed.

I feel as if Ennis and Jake are my brothers and I was going to be very sensitive to how they were treated. It seems that Heath and Jake have treated Ennis and Jake with deep insight, love and respect. I wish I could personally express my gratitude to them.

Andy, again, thank you for being a champion for this story and for being such a great resource for news of this story we love.

Posted by: John Beene | Sep 7, 2005 2:24:55 AM

Congratulations to Ang Lee on winning the prestigious Golden Lion at this years Venice Film Festival.

This is movie is gonna be huge!!

Posted by: Sunny | Sep 12, 2005 9:55:19 AM

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Brokeback Mountain Shines in Venice

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