Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
Brokeback's filmic structure a palindrome ?
miniangel:
It took me a while to get back to this. Here's some observations about the first scene and the "last" scene at the Twists (the final bit with Junior feeling more like a coda to the main story.)
truck crosses landscape right to left
Ennis walks from truck, carrying paper bag, looks back at truck
Ennis shakes paper bag (after Aguirre slams door in his face)
Aguirre sits at table
Aguirre mentions Brokeback Mountain for the first time
His speech is interrupted by the phone
Jack waits for Ennis at bottom of steps
Mrs Twist waits for Ennis at top of steps
Mr Twist sits at table
His speech is interrupted by Ennis going upstairs
Mr Twist mentions Brokeback Mountain for the last time
Ennis shakes paper bag (as he says "Thank you for this" to Mrs Twist)
Ennis walks to truck, carrying paper bag, looks back at house
truck crosses landscape left to right
The scenes are linked in the story also but not visually, obviously.
serious crayons:
Wow, really good, miniangel! I've seen the trucks and paper bag connected, of course. But I've never seen anyone point out the bag shaking, the mention of Brokeback, the waiting at the bottom of the stairs, the interruption, the looking back.
Good ones! Thanks! :)
Meryl:
Very well observed, miniangel! Thanks! 8)
brokeplex:
excellent observations, when I first saw the film I noticed Ennis's truck going from left to right screen after he visits the Twists and I remembered at that time that at the start of the film Ennis arrives in a truck traveling from right to left screen. after reading this thread I'll watch the movie again for the nth time and look for the parallel structures mentioned
brokeplex:
Skipping thru the movie the other day I noticed Ennis's truck heading from left to right across the screen after his visit to the Twist ranch. I remembered that in the first scene in the movie, he arrives in Signal in a cattle truck which heads from right to left across the screen. I immediately thought palindrome, a film that is constructed like a palindrome. We all remember palindromes from high school English class, right?
Able was I ere I saw Elba. read the sentence forward or backwards and it reads the same.
Has anyone else noticed that visuals in the film seem to constructed like a palindrome? I have since noticed other evidence of palindromic filming here, I won't share yet, I'm curious if anyone else has noticed this.
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