eh, not terrible

Rating: 5/10 (28 January 2006)

Yesterday I saw Brokeback Mountain, the infamous movie that amalgamates the classic hegemonic masculinity of the American western with the feminine sensitivity of a gay Romance. Commenting on this movie is a difficult task, because it raises questions about what exactly makes a good movie good. First of all, Ang lee is generally considered one of the better directors out of Asia. His style was birthed in the hongkong cinema and eventually we came to know him in North America through such movies as 'the hulk.' But after watching his North American movies I have to ask, "where is the Chinese side of Ang Lee?" His film-making is highly Americanized. Now, because he makes American style movies doesn't make his movies bad. The American style in some cases is the best, citing Hitchcock and Hawks as examples. But they were Auteur, letting their personal style shine through the Hollywood formula. Here resides my central criticism of Brokeback; it lacks personal style. The movie has a sound screen play with great cinematography and pretty good acting. It is a story about two lovers separated by fate, that fate being the obligations they must fulfill to society at large. But if this was not about gay lovers it would essentially be like Romeo and Juliet shot in the Alberta Rockies. The movie lacks any specific social commentary, and is totally devoid of artistic integrity. It is a well-made move, but not a great movie. Not one that deserves recognition as a work of art. The movie is representational, presenting a story that is easy to fall into, but presenting little about what the writer or director actually thinks the problem or solution is. There is little ideological basis for the movie, and foremost I think people are fooled into thinking the movie has intense ideology because it deals with gay subject matter. But as I read earlier, because a movie deals with controversial subject matter, that doesn't make it a deep or good movie. So watch it, and keep in mind that you are watching a literal and uninspired interpretation of Romeo and Juliet with a hook, they are gay.