985. Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Running Time: 135 minutes
Directed By: Ang Lee
Written By: Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana, from the short story Brokeback Mountain by E. Annie Proulx
Main Cast: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway, Randy Quaid

ANG LEE WEEK: THE FINAL STAGE

Reaching closer and closer to that golden number 201 and finishing off "Ang Lee Week" in the process, "Brokeback Mountain" was the next film I tackled. I'd seen it a couple of times before and always thought it was a pretty solid film. I think I may have liked it just a little bit more this go around.

When Ennis del Mar (Ledger) and Jack Twist (Gyllenhaal) go looking for work from Joe Aguirre (Quaid), they are assigned to work on Brokeback Mountain, keeping an eye on the sheep and protecting the from coyotes for an entire summer. Into the mountains they head, going in strangers, but coming out much more than that. While working together in the mountains, Jack and Ennis strike up a love relationship (which some people will argue gets started a little too fast and without much reasoning). When the summer comes to an end, Jack and Ennis go their separate ways, Jack back to riding bulls in the rodeo and Ennis to marry Alma and start a family. Four years go by and Jack and Ennis see nothing of each other. Jack ends up marrying a little, rich country girl by the name of Lureen and Ennis and Alma go to work popping out two babies and trying to make ends meet. One day Ennis receives a postcard from Jack, requesting a meeting and Ennis is more than anxious to oblige, replying with a simple "You bet". They are caught right away by Alma, who doesn't say anything and instead swallows the pain and realization that her husband is cheating on her and with another man. The two go away for a weekend and then are forced to get back to their regular lives. This keeps up for the better part of twenty years, with Jack continuously urging Ennis to move to Texas with him and start something together and Ennis always adamantly refusing for fear of what society will think of them and do to them.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!

To me, this film is less about the fact that two cowboys are having a homosexual love affair and more about companionship between two men who just happen to be sexually attracted to each other. There are two key points to this film, in my opinion, one much less obvious that the other. Right around the twenty minute mark of the movie, there is a scene where a naked Ennis del Mar takes a shower, while Jack Twist sits in the foreground and peels a potato, while sucking on a cigarette. To me, this is a key scene, because Jack doesn't turn to look at Ennis and his naked body. I think this is a clear indicator that their relationship isn't purely animal attraction and lust, but more about friendship with the added sexual element. The other key element to "Brokeback Mountain" is the fact that Ennis represents the quiet man and Jack represents the flamboyant man. Jack is ready to flaunt his love for Ennis and doesn't really seem to care, just so he and Ennis are happy. He constantly hounds Ennis to come and live with him, so that their secret "hunting/fishing" trips can come to an end and they can be with one another all the time. Ennis doesn't want this, as he seems much more content with the secret trips and doesn't want a soul to know about his relationship with Jack. This is evident immediately following the first sexual encounter between Ennis and Jack, as Ennis stands outside the tent, not saying a word and riding off to tend to his work, almost in shame.

This is a sad story, not just because of what happens to the characters, but because of what the characters are forced to do, because society says it is what they should do. If you think about it, the lives that Jack and Ennis lead, really don't mean a whole lot to them. They both get married to fill the lonely time between their secret trips, they both have families and in the case of Ennis, he's forced to work dead end jobs just to make ends meet. These lives mean nothing to these characters and because of the imaginary restrictions that society puts on the homosexual community, condemning them for falling in love with a member of, what is deemed as, the wrong sex, they are forced to lead dead end lives, never being able to just go and do what makes them happy. Instead, their love is condemned, only to flourish on Brokeback Mountain, for several lone weeks out of the year.

As far as the technicalities go, Ledger is the standout star of the picture and it really makes you miss seeing the guy on the big screen. He was a great actor and I'm sure, like River Phoenix and James Dean, he'll be talked about for years, as people wonder how much greater he could've gotten. Gyllenhaal was fine too and really there wasn't a bad cast member in the bunch. Ang lee bangs out another good movie and hammers home the fact that he is indeed a fairly versatile director, making westerns, martial arts films, dramas about real families and light hearted comedies. The cinematography here is also gorgeous, really capturing the nature that is essential to any western. The score was also great, and kind of put a modern spin on the classic guitar of the old western movie.

RATING: 8.5/10 Well that wraps up another director and once I watch two more movies, I'll be all set to make my TOP 20: #102 - #201.

MOVIES WATCHED: 199
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 802

November 22, 2010 2:03am

955. Wo hu cang long/Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

Running Time: 120 minutes
Directed By: Ang Lee
Written By: Hui-Ling Wang, James Schamus, Kuo Jung Tsai, from book by Du Lu Wang
Main Cast: Chow Yun-fat, Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh, Cheng Pei-pei, Sihung Lung

ANG LEE WEEK: STAGE 3

The third installment of "Ang Lee Week" comes in with "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", a movie that I've failed to see until now and that's not a decision I'm regretting too much at the moment.

Chow Yun-fat is Li Mu Bai, an accomplished Wudan swordsman. Li Mu Bai is good friends with Yu Shu Lien (Yeoh) and the two make plans to visit another friend, Sir Te (Lung) and deliver to him as a gift, the Green Destiny, a very powerful sword in the possession of Li Mu Bai. Once the sword is delivered to Sir Te by Yu Shu Lien, it is soon stolen and the main suspect is Jade Fox (Pei-pei), a warrior who killed the master of Li Mu Bai. When Li Mu Bai arrives at the palace of Sir Te, he and Yu Shu Lien begin to put together clues on where the sword may be. It is believed that the sword may lie in the palace of Governor Yu, possibly a potential setup to frame him. Governor Yu's daughter, Jen (Zhang) becomes infatuated with Yu Shu Lien and seems to envy her warrior lifestyle. Soon after it is revealed that the masked warrior who broke into Sir Te's palace and stole the sword was actually Jen and that her master is actually Jade Fox. Then they story jumps back in time a little bit to tell us about the relationship between Jen and Lo, who met when Lo stole Jen's comb during a desert raid. Jen chases Lo, trying to regain her property and ends up being held captive by Lo, until the two fall in love. Lo returns, in present day, and asks for Jen to return to him and be his lover. She tells him to leave. The Green Destiny is returned, but later recaptured by Jen and Jade Fox.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!

Sorry if that plot synopsis was a bit shaky, I just didn't have the energy to put very much more thought into the happenings of this movie. I really didn't like this one at all and outside of the fighting scenes, it was a total loss, from a personal standpoint. Even the fighting scenes were unrealistic, with people flying through the air and waving swords at each other while standing on treetops and skipping across water. But the fight scenes at least provided a little bit of entertainment in an otherwise un-entertaining film. The entire plot hinges on the location of the sword and at times it's stolen and then it's back in the possession of its owners. Then we take a sidetrack and delve into this long story between Lo and Jen, which all starts because Lo steals Jen's comb and it all just gets very boring and very uninteresting as we make our way to the anticlimactic ending.

Ang Lee should've stuck to dealing with real people in real, everyday situations instead of delving into the mystical world of imaginary, treetop sword fighting. Although, when it boils down to it, I think this one just fell into the unfortunate category of, "not for me". The cinematography was nice, although that really only takes you so far and the score, despite it's Oscar win, wasn't anything to write home about either. And while we're on the subject of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" at the Oscars, I'm really not sure how this film managed to wrestle away even a Best Picture nomination from films like "Cast Away", "Almost Famous" and "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" which are all far superior to this. In fact, I'm not sure why "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is even in the book, over any of those films. But I digress and I'll stop picking on this movie, which clearly just wasn't for me.

RATING: 3/10 Too bad, as Ang Lee was on a roll with me and this really put that roll to a halt. Next up: "Brokeback Mountain".

MOVIES WATCHED: 196
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 805

November 20, 2010 6:39pm

918. The Ice Storm (1997)

Running Time: 114 minutes
Directed By: Ang Lee
Written By: James Schamus, from novel by Rick Moody
Main Cast: Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Christina Ricci, Tobey Maguire

ANG LEE WEEK: STAGE 2

Ang Lee Week continues on with "The Ice Storm", a film that I saw once, several years ago and totally forgot that a portion of it was set during Thanksgiving, which is less than a week away. I didn't remember the film as being anything particularly special and once again my memory did me a great disservice.

The film is set in New Canaan, Connecticut, in the 1970s and follows two families throughout, primarily the Hood Family. The Hood Family is headed up by the father, Benjamin (Kline), a very dissatisfied father, both with his marriage and his career, who turns to suburban seductress Janey (Weaver) to have an affair with. Ben and his wife Elena (Allen) have given up on couples therapy, despite the fact that the roses have not returned to their relationship. While Elena suspects Ben of infidelity, she can never coax a confession out of him, despite her bad moods and short temper with him. The Hood's have two children, 14-year old Wendy and 16-year old Paul. Wendy is a curious young teenager who is interested in sex and Watergate, possibly trying to act more adult and Paul is the most level-headed character of the film, lusting after schoolmate Libbets Casey (Katie Holmes) and reading Fantastic Four comics. The other central family in "The Ice Storm" is the Carver Family, headed up by father Jim (Jamey Sheridan), his wife Janey Carver (Weaver) and their two sons, Mikey (Elijah Wood) and Sandy (Adam Hann-Byrd). As the two families tail-spin out of control and deeper and deeper into loneliness and infidelity, it all comes to a head on the night of the big ice storm.

The film is a depressing one, unlike my previous "1001" Lee experience, "The Wedding Banquet", which ended with the theme of happiness. This film goes for the depressing effect and the pale color of the film, with the backdrop of a winter ice storm, hammers home that mood. An amazing cast was assembled to bring author Rick Moody's tale to life, with great performances from Kevin Kline, Joan Allen and Christina Ricci. No one on the cast does a bad job and all the actors play a vital, yet sometimes small, role in the story. The music is phenomenal too and I am realizing the greatness that is Mychael Danna, the film's composer.

While the entire mood of the movie is dark and dreary, it's still a mood that appeals to me, as I'm always interested in the downfall of humans. This film is about that downfall and while I haven't yet figured out the relevance of the actual ice storm, I'm sure it somehow correlates to the behavior of the characters. There are some key scenes here that I feel compelled to mention, which include a scene where Ben catches Wendy experimenting sexually with Mikey Carver. When they walk home, he tells her that he's really not that mad and that he just wants her to make the right choices. He asks her if her toes are cold and when she nods in agreement to his question, he offers to carry her the rest of the way home. A very sweet scene, that felt a bit rushed and had me really feeling for these poor, pitiful characters. The ending is, of course, a great scene and I'll hesitate from ruining it for people who have yet to see it, but it is a very powerful ending. I don't know what else to say about "The Ice Storm". It's a really good film, that uses mood, atmosphere and interesting, yet sometimes unlikable characters, to give it that greatness and make it a definite for the "1001" book.

RATING: 8/10 Ang Lee is two films in, with two films remaining and with a '10' and an '8' rating, he's off to a great start. Next up: "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

MOVIES WATCHED: 194
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 807

November 19, 2010 9:55pm

864. Hsi yen/The Wedding Banquet (1993)

Running Time: 106 minutes
Directed By: Ang Lee
Written By: Ang Lee, Neil Peng, James Schamus
Main Cast: Winston Chao, Mitchell Lichtenstein, May Chin, Sihung Lung, Ah-Leh Gua

ANG LEE WEEK: STAGE 1

Popped in "The Wedding Banquet" tonight in an effort to get things rolling on "Ang Lee Week" and was pleasantly surprised by a very simple, yet very good film. Let's dive right in.

Our main character is Wai-Tung Gao (Chao), a gay man living in Manhattan with his physical therapist boyfriend Simon (Lichtenstein). Wai-Tung regularly corresponds with his "Ma" and "Pa" who still live in Taiwan and is constantly hounded (mostly from Ma) about settling down and getting married. You see, Wai-Tung has yet to tell his parents that he is a gay man and is shacking up with a white boyfriend and doesn't plan to. Wai-Tung owns an apartment building, where he tries to collect rent from one of his few tenants, Wei Wei (Chin). When Wei Wei is in need of a green card, Simon convinces Wai-Tung to marry her, so that they can get his parents off his back, help Wei Wei out and get a little tax break. Wai-Tung gives in, announces the news to his parents, who fly to the United States and moves Wei Wei into house, where she begins to study Wai-Tung's behavior for her immigration exam. When Wai-Tung and Wei Wei announce that they plan to marry at city hall, this upsets his parents, who hoped for a big wedding banquet. Wai-Tung, wanting to please his parents, especially his ill father, gives into the plans for a wedding banquet and the Gao family goes all out to celebrate the union of Wai-Tung and Wei Wei. When Wei Wei becomes pregnant on the night of the wedding banquet, complications occur and the pot is stirred up even more vigorously, adding to the madcap nature of this really fun comedy.

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!

I wasn't looking forward, not not looking forward to my first Ang Lee film, "The Wedding Banquet", but that proves my theory: When one doesn't look forward to a movie, the possibilities are endless. I loved this movie! It was nice to get a little break from the serious, artsy films, some of which resemble doing homework and have a little fun with a very light hearted little comedy. I thought it was great how they threw in so many different little elements and just let everything play out. First off we have a gay couple living in New York, then you add in a woman/friend of theirs who needs a green card. Then you add in the fact that Wai-Tung's parents are traditionalists and want him to have a formal wedding and settle down with a nice girl. You throw those things together and that's really enough to get you through an entire film. But then you also get some bonus story lines, ie. the pregnancy of Wei Wei, the possible lust that Wai-Tung holds for Wei Wei and the ever growing combustible nature of the Wai-Tung/Simon relationship.

I also liked the ending, how no one really knew what was really going on, but happiness still prevailed and the aging parents of Wai-Tung got to experience one last journey in their long lives and get some joy out of it. I think the ultimate message of the film (or at least one of them) is that life has a way of throwing you a curve ball and while things may not work out the way you planned them, they'll always work out. I think the film also says that plans are never concrete and no matter how you plan for a situation, things can go astray. With a good script, good acting and a few brief images of great cinematography, it's easy to see that we're not just dealing with any other film maker and that Ang Lee was headed for great things.

RATING: 10/10 Maybe I'm being too generous or maybe the film just put me in a really good mood, but I'm going the distance on this one and leaving it at that. Next up: "The Ice Storm".

MOVIES WATCHED: 192
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 809

November 18, 2010 1:07am