Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum

Still Lifes

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Front-Ranger:
Someone mentioned that domestic scenes in the movie are a lot like paintings by Vermeer and the other Dutch Impressionists who, for the first time, painted intimate scenes of family life set not in churches or landscapes but in private homes. The first scene like this that I noticed in the movie was where Ennis came home to the little apartment above the laundromat, where Jack's post card was waiting for him. The cluttered kitchen features many items, most notably many with handles, such as a skillet on the stove, a teakettle above the fridge, a teacup on the drainboard, and another teacup on the windowsill. Another notable thing is the many pairs seen: there is a big 2 on the wall as Ennis comes in the door, there are two cans on the counter, without labels, and we spy salt and pepper shakers next to Alma. Alma and Jr. are a pair, both cooking together, side by side (Jr using a toy stove).

Penthesilea:
On my way to bed. Just wanted to add a pic that immediately came to my mind. Someone posted a much better version of the same pic lately, but I can't find it right now. Anyway, here it is:

Front-Ranger:
They even have the same expression, LOL!! Thanks for posting that!

BTW, these still lifes are also present on the mountain. The placement of items in the camp, as well as the placement of the horses, adds to the action going on in the scenes.

Front-Ranger:
Here's an example of what I mean:



Notice how the axe is coming right out of Jack's head,  :-\

Front-Ranger:
Another example that has already been mentioned is how, on the morning after the reunion, Alma is sitting at the kitchen table between the sugar shaker and a cup of bitter coffee. Another thing I just noticed is the ashtray immediately in front of her (do we have a thread about ashes? Surely we do). She is sitting in front of a sickly green wall wearing a housecoat patterned with roses, and a soft light is coming in from a window we can't see to her left.

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