Telling it on the Mountain

Hello - as promised, I will (briefly?) discuss my last trip to the cinema to view the critically acclaimed Brokeback Mountain. Although overhyped a bit, it's definitely an excellent film - touching without being overly manipulative. By the end, if you didn't feel the longing and frustration and sorrow experienced by several characters, you probably don't have a heart.

One nice aspect of the film was it's sparse style - the dialogue and pacing often resembled the spare but beautiful scenery. A lot was said by what WASN'T said or even there.

My biggest impression is that you could basically write a book based on audience comments whilst exiting the theater.

From some girls about 10 years younger than me, in regards to a "skinny-diving" scene where the guys jump naked off a cliff into a lake: "Um, hello...I would have been ok but what was the deal with all the flapping genitalia? ohmigod!"

It took a great deal of self-restraint to resist saying, oh, i don't know... "Well, ladies, I don't want you to be TOO surprised on your wedding nights, but let me explain a few things..." or even "Hey, let's try a little experiment. Go take a running jump into a lake (topless) and then we'll talk about who's flapping...." la la la....

and then there was the inevitable: "Ya know, I was pretty much ok w/ the love story but...c'mon, it was two GUYS!"

Um. let's see. That earns a big critical blank stare and head shake from this movie goer. I mean...duh. that's like when I saw some young ladies leaving Saving Pvt. Ryan some years back going, "Oh! I just wanted to see Matt Damon...I didn't realize it would be so VIOLENT!"

All ya had to do was read ANY snippet of any article or see any bit o' TV or hear anyone at all talk about it and the words "most gorily realistic cinematic portral of war EVER" would show up.

Anyway, what I found most interesting was how the two leads were both quite functionally bi-sexual. Most gay men I know are, realistically, as repulsed by the notion of sex with a woman as straight guys are by the possibility of a homosexual encounter. Or at least that what people say - obviously Kinsey & co. feel that everyone is on this continuum....

Anyway, I don't have any more pithy thoughts on the subject, but will welcome comments and discussion!

I'll try to get back to more dentistry next post!