Brokeback Mountain

[Guest endure]

Anyone know when/if 'Brokeback Mountain' will be showing in Chiang Mai? I think it's being released in the UK while I'm on my hols in CNX and I don't want to miss it

[britmaveric]

Anyone know when/if 'Brokeback Mountain' will be showing in Chiang Mai? I think it's being released in the UK while I'm on my hols in CNX and I don't want to miss it 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well always can catch it on knockoff DVD!

[Guest endure]

Anyone know when/if 'Brokeback Mountain' will be showing in Chiang Mai? I think it's being released in the UK while I'm on my hols in CNX and I don't want to miss it 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well always can catch it on knockoff DVD!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Shhh! You're not supposed to say that

[DUMPSTER]

I would think this is the kind of movie that will be shown around Oscar time if it gets nominated. I'm not sure if it will have much commercial value here in Thailand before then unless there's plenty of blood and a few ghosts in the story or maybe a fat ladyboy who is a joker. Of course if the cowboys fly of their horses with ak 47's killing all before them then it will be on next week.

[Ijustwannateach]

I've read some lovely reviews of the movie online, and I believe it was written by the same woman (Proulx) who wrote the Shipping News? That was a great book (haven't seen the movie)- I might look up both the book and the movie!

[Guest endure]

Yes, that's right - a short story by Annie Proulx. Is Shipping News worth reading?

[meadish_sweetball]

Ang Lee's a really interesting director who tries his hands at movies on the complete opposites of the spectrum with masterpieces in their own right such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and The Ice Storm... respect to him.

I am sure Brokeback Mountain is worth seeing too - he has never failed to deliver so far (although The Hulk was not *that* fantastic) .

[Ijustwannateach]

Shipping News was an *excellent* book- I haven't seen the movie so far because I heard they didn't do it well. The main character is supposed to be rather large and plain, and the actor they chose for the job just doesn't seem to convey that.

"Steven"

[Guest endure]

Ang Lee's a really interesting director who tries his hands at movies on the complete opposites of the spectrum with masterpieces in their own right such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and The Ice Storm... respect to him.

I am sure Brokeback Mountain is worth seeing too - he has never failed to deliver so far (although The Hulk was not *that* fantastic) .

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They had an interview with Ang Lee on BBC Radio last night. He seemed quite surprised that Brokeback is garnering all the interest that it is. He made it as an arthouse film rather than a major. It'll be quite interesting to see how it goes down in the USA.

[Guest endure]

Shipping News was an *excellent* book

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Cheers. I'll give it a go.

[Steve2UK]

It'll be quite interesting to see how it goes down in the USA.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sadly, on past form for anything with a gay content, the words "lead" and "balloon" come to mind.................

[Guest endure]

It'll be quite interesting to see how it goes down in the USA.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sadly, on past form for anything with a gay content, the words "lead" and "balloon" come to mind.................

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, let's not forget the USA is the place where a film about bloody penguins is used to tout 'family values' even though the penguins are a load of slappers, shagging around every year and some of them are gay as well

[Guest endure]

In today's London Times:

Gay cowboys may be how the West was won

A FILM about two cowboys who ride horses, drive pick-up trucks and fall in love with each other has delighted Hollywood and sent a shiver of horror through America’s religious heartland.

But real-life gay cowboys and Wild West historians say that the plot of Brokeback Mountain — an Oscar favourite after topping the Golden Globes nominations — is nothing new. And in a claim that is likely to outrage many rural conservatives, they say that homosexuality was an unspoken norm on the American frontier, where men were close and women were scarce.

“There they were, a couple of men, alone together in isolated frontier country, for weeks or sometimes months at a time,” said Randy Jones, 53, who was the stetson-wearing, lasso-throwing gay cowboy in the Village People pop group and who was an adviser on the film.

“The thought must have passed through their minds, even if they didn’t act on it, because men are sexy animals. If that wasn’t the case, there wouldn’t be so much homosexual sex in prison.”

There is growing evidence to support the theory of Mr Jones, who grew up in the 1950s on a tobacco plantation in North Carolina. As far back as 1882, the Texas Livestock Journal wrote that “if the inner history of friendship among the rough and perhaps untutored cowboys could be written, it would be quite as unselfish and romantic as that of Damon and Pythias”.

In Greek mythology, Damon offered to be taken hostage by the despot Dionysius I so that his condemned friend, Pythias, could make a final visit home. When Pythias returned to be executed, Dionysius was so impressed by their trust that he spared both their lives.

“There have been gay cowboys for as long as there have been gay people,” said Brian Helander, a 51-year-old nurse from Arizona and president of the International Gay Rodeo Association. “It’s always been a part of the Western frontier lifestyle that wasn’t talked about. It was just there.”

Jim Wilke, the cowboy historian, agrees. “Many circumstances contributed to personal closeness on the ranch and trail,” he wrote in a 1997 article. “Cowboys commonly bedded in pairs, sharing bedrolls with their ‘bunkie’.” Mr Wilke also pointed to the tradition of the all-male stag dance, where cowboys could be found entertaining themselves with polkas, waltzes and quicksteps.

According to Mr Wilke, homosexual acts betweeen young, unmarried cowboys were euphemistically known as “mutual solace” in the 19th century.

In a 1948 study of rural homosexuality by Alfred Kinsey, the zoologist, it was noted that “there is a fair amount of sexual contact among the older males in Western rural areas.” His report added: “It is a type of homosexuality that was probably common among pioneers and outdoor men. Today it is found among ranchmen, cattlemen, prospectors, lumbermen and farming groups in general. These are men who . . . live on realities and on a minimum of theory. Such a background breeds the attitude that sex is sex, irrespective of the nature of the partner.”

He also noted that these homosexual acts rarely interfered with heterosexual relationships and that the cowboys themselves were often deeply homophobic and “quite without the argot, physical manifestations and other affectations often found in urban groups”.

Although anti-sodomy laws were common in the Wild West, they were selectively enforced. In 1896 a man from El Paso called Marcelo Alviar was charged with sodomy and his bond was set at $500, the same as it would have been for murder. And in 1901 an Idaho detective hid in the ceiling above a public lavatory in an attempt to catch homosexuals in the act. Alas, the bowler hats worn by the offenders made identification impossible.

Although the depiction of gay cowboys in popular culture may not be entirely new, times have changed since 1969, when the pop artist Andy Warhol released Lonesome Cowboys, which featured cowhands performing ballet exercises at the hitching post.

During the shooting of the film, Mr Warhol was put on surveillance by the FBI. He was also investigated, but not charged, for transporting obscene material. During a screening in Atlanta, Georgia, the movie reel was seized by authorities after it replaced Gone With the Wind, and the manager of the cinema was arrested.

In spite of these cultural changes, being gay in rural American can still be hazardous. The original story of Brokeback Mountain appeared a year before Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, was beaten and killed by two men. During their trial the assailants used the “gay panic defence”, arguing that they were driven to temporary insanity by the victim’s alleged sexual advances. Both men received double life sentences.

Meanwhile Mr Jones, of the Village People, said that Brokeback Mountain was encouraging “red [Republican] state” gays to come out of the closet. He added that the advice he gave to the actors Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, when they questioned him about the love scenes, was to “keep their hats and boots on in bed. The boots are for traction.”

But not even Brokeback Mountain is entirely true to gay cowboy life. “It’s a Hollywood movie, y’know?” Mr Jones said, laughing. “I mean, they’re not really cowboys anyway, they’re sheep herders.”

I must get myself a bowler hat

[Guest endure]

Don't forget, boys! The boots are for traction!

Meanwhile Mr Jones, of the Village People, said that Brokeback Mountain was encouraging “red [Republican]state” gays to come out of the closet. He added that the advice he gave to the actors Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, when they questioned him about the love scenes, was to “keep their hats and boots on in bed. The boots are for traction

[Guest endure]

Just seem a 20 minute TV programme on the making of Brokeback Mountain. Definitely a must-see. Perhaps a good idea to take some tissues too (to cry into of course...)

[Fraktalkid]

I've just read that the official UK release date is the 6th of Jan.

I feel lucky that I'm in London until the 15th before I return back to Chiang Mai and will definately go and see it when it comes out...

I'd like to take my Thai friends to see it so hopefully they'll release it at one of the cinemas in Chiang Mai!! If anyone finds out more info regarding if/when it'll be shown in Chiang Mai I'd also be interested to hear!

Happy Christmas everyone!

[Guest endure]

Yes, I've seen that date mentioned too. I don't leave for CM until the 8th so I'm hoping the cniema in my one horse town decides to show it before I leave.

[Ijustwannateach]

Anyone have the dates for Bangkok? I'd like to see it now, myself... there was a review about it on the BBC with some interviews with "real" cowboys who were talking about boycotting it... hilarious, actually...

"Steven"

[PeaceBlondie]

Most of the 'Major' cineplexes in Chiang Mai, that do show maybe one Hollywood movie per day with English sound, wouldn't show something as arts-filmy as that. Just major action movies, blockbusters, etc. Unless, of course, the film takes off and sells real big. The major ones are upstairs at Central Kad Kaew, across street at Vista, and at Airport Plaza.

[Guest endure]

Fortunately it starts showing at my local movie house tomorrow (Friday) so I'll be able to watch it before I depart for the LoS

[Guest endure]

It made me cry

[noctiluca]

I think it will be premiered in Bangkok on Valentine's Day. Most appropriate, don't you think? Not exactly sure it will be shown in Chiangmai, but mostly likely depends on how popular it will be in Bangkok. I doubt it will be a huge success in Thailand, but who knows. If they brand it as the movie that is likely to win an Oscar, then it might garner some audience.

[orchis]

February 16. (Thai Day today p.7)

Cheers.

[RonanTheBarbarian]

Just back in from seeing Brokeback Mountain in Dublin tonight

When i heard some people talking about being in tears at the end of the film I was a bit sceptical that I would be so affected, as i tend to be slow to be moved to tears.

But the tears were rolling down my face at the end of this film.

Most people who watched it exited the cinema in a daze, almost.

It was an almost entirely gay or lesbian audience and i think they were all hugely affected by what they saw.

It really is a must-see film if you are gay. I have never seen a film that treats a gay relationship like this, never mind one with major stars in it.

The Ennis character was frustrating to watch for most of the film due to his inability to show his feelings fully, and act on his genuine feelings, and the fact that he was so imprisoned by straight society.

But I think gay men (particularly older ones), will identify with that issue so well, and so much. Because even if we are pretty 'out' ourselves we all know people who are as much in their own prison of the closet as Ennis Del Mar.

And the film shows so well the pain that that situation causes for the men themselves, the men that love them, like Jack Twist, and also the women that might find themselves in the position of being married to them.

Do not miss the opportunity to see this film.

[Guest endure]

Just back in from seeing Brokeback Mountain in Dublin tonight

When i heard some people talking about being in tears at the end of the film I was a bit sceptical that I would be so affected, as i tend to be slow to be moved to tears.

But the tears were rolling down my face at the end of this film.

Most people who watched it exited the cinema in a daze, almost.

It was an almost entirely gay or lesbian audience and i think they were all hugely affected by what they saw.

When I saw it the audience seemed to be mainly straight. The first shag got a bit of a snigger but after that the place was completely silent. I've never been in a movie house that was soooo quiet before. It truly is a wonderful movie. I've known plenty of Ennis Del Mars in my time. If Heath Ledger doesn't get an Oscar there's simply no justice .

[Eman]

Anyone know when/if 'Brokeback Mountain' will be showing in Chiang Mai? I think it's being released in the UK while I'm on my hols in CNX and I don't want to miss it

I was in Bangkok last weekend and it was being adverstised as a "coming attraction" in the theaters for sometime in Feb or March....

Asked, but couldn't find it anywhere on DVD yet.

[Fraktalkid]

Will certainly keep an eye out and report back if it's gonna be shown in Chiang Mai.. *fingers crossed*

I went with my friends to see in London at the UGC Haymarket - played interestingly to a predominantly gay audience (well I guess with the relative proximity to Soho.. )

Hope to take my friends to see it, it's a very important film.. Ang Lee once again has really pulled it off and created something that is poignant and with meaning :-)

For anyone who hasn't seen the film, it's worth making the time to see if even if you're not gay..

fk xx

Edited January 15, 2006 by Fraktalkid

[Buki]

Yeppey! on the 16th of Feb. My partner will be here by that time, so we can watch and cry together inside the theaters.

I never had the chance to finish reading Annie Proulx's Shipping News, though it was really a sad story from the beginning, I wonder what happened to him in the later chapters of the story. Sadly, I left my book in the Philippines.

[orchis]

4 golden globes

Film Drama

Screenplay

Director

Song

[Buki]

Love is not measured by any preference. In fact, it is immeasurable.