Author Topic: TOTW 13/07: Their last day on the mountain  (Read 9705 times)

Offline jstephens9

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Re: TOTW 13/07: Their last day on the mountain
« Reply #10 on: November 04, 2007, 11:08:55 am »
I am going to watch that scene today so I better answer the question  ;D

Offline brokeplex

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Re: TOTW 13/07: Their last day on the mountain
« Reply #11 on: November 04, 2007, 04:13:06 pm »
Could it be that they are just 19 or 20 years old , and have not fully stepped into the shoes of experienced adult people like ourselves, who are trying to place rational reasons on all of their actions??  Speaking for myself, I did many things at that age that would now seem odd, or impetuous.  I think men, especially under their circumstances and in 1963, might well do and say the things that they did.  I think Ennis was hurt and confused, and I think Jack was using whatever familiar means he knew (lasso), to reach out and grab Ennis.  It was a simple gesture, at first meant to say "I love you and want you to be with me"  or, " Hey, its not so bad, we still have each other", and in the turmoil of youthful innocence, turned into the playful brawl of boys.  Two men, very young, unable to cope with their feelings, expressing adult emotions, but not yet skilled.  Many of us have been through this.   I do not see the  same hidden meanings in these scenes as others suggest.  To me it is very simple.  I feel what they feel.  They express it as boys do.  The simple emotion is still beautiful at this point of the movie.  The shirts are a testament to the this youthful innocent bliss. One of the most powerful statements from beginning to end.
Hi! Welcome to Bettermost! I hope you love it here as much as I do. I think that what you wrote is on target, you know its been quite a while since I was that age....Gerald Ford was still President when I was 19! Way back in the Paleolithic disco era..... I'm glad you reminded me, you are right, young men would behave that way without many rationalizations on their part. I certainly did.

Offline jstephens9

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Re: TOTW 13/07: Their last day on the mountain
« Reply #12 on: November 04, 2007, 05:36:02 pm »
I watched the scene again and as usual watching any part of Brokeback brings back these feelings  :( Anyway, I definitely think that Ennis is not angry about leaving because of the money or anything like that. He is angry and hurt because to him his time with Jack is over and in his mind there is nothing he can do about it. Jack on the other hand almost seems to act as if his time with Ennis is not over. It is almost like he feels things will just continue. It just doesn't seem to strike Jack that leaving the mountain will lead to him being separated from Ennis. Of course, he does take the shirt with him which could be taken as meaning a souvenir to remind him of the times with Ennis on Brokeback. But that does not necessarily mean that he thinks it is the end of he and Ennis. It is very common for people to take some kind of souvenir with them of a special time or place. I don't really feel that it truly hits Jack until when he gets his truck started. It's almost as if he has it in his mind that Ennis might jump in the truck and go with him. It's almost as if that thought goes through Ennis as well during his hesitation after Jack asks him what he is going to do. Of course, the real world Ennis is in takes over almost as if he has to go and marry Alma, not necessarily that he wants to. Those are just the plans and it is almost like Ennis is locked there and can never escape what his life dictates he does. As Jack leaves looking back at Ennis through the side mirror it seems to represent the first time Jack has to leave without Ennis and of course there will be many more times.

I'm really not sure if those scenes were doing one or two days. It makes sense that it would be two days, but Jack is taking the tent down so where did they stay that night. The scene where he lassos Ennis and says "Time to go cowboy" suggests that everything occurred during one day.

Jack

Offline brokeplex

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Re: TOTW 13/07: Their last day on the mountain
« Reply #13 on: November 04, 2007, 09:58:53 pm »

I'm really not sure if those scenes were doing one or two days. It makes sense that it would be two days, but Jack is taking the tent down so where did they stay that night. The scene where he lassos Ennis and says "Time to go cowboy" suggests that everything occurred during one day.

Jack

My ranching buddies that I met up in Montana this summer tell me that "shovedown" off a mountain the size of the one pictured in Brokeback moving 1000 plus sheep down to jumpoff and into the trucks or railcars is probably going to take 1 1/2 to 2 days. In the short story AP mentions that they ate something in Dubois before they go their "separate ways". I think that it is safe to say that the process from Ennis seeing Jack take down the "lovetent" to Jack driving away from Ennis in Signal is definitely at least 2 days. 

Offline jstephens9

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Re: TOTW 13/07: Their last day on the mountain
« Reply #14 on: November 04, 2007, 11:11:16 pm »
That definitely makes sense to me. It seems like that would be way too little time to do all of those things, but the movie kind of makes it look like that.

Offline Penthesilea

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Re: TOTW 13/07: Their last day on the mountain
« Reply #15 on: November 05, 2007, 07:22:04 am »
According to Annie, the angry tussle, ending with the punch, took place in the afternoon. It's in the last few pages of the story, when Ennis discovers the shirts in Jack's closet and remembers the scene:

"Jack's old shirt from Brokeback days. The dried blood on the sleeve was his own blood, a gushing nosebleed on the last afternoon on the mountain when Jack, in their contortionistic grappling and wrestling, had slammed Ennis's nose hard with his knee."

I guess they wouldn't have started taking the sheep down in the afternoon, but maybe they had broken the camp (except for the most necessary things) one day and started their way down with the sheep the next morning. Or maybe the angry tussle+punch did not take place where their camp had been, but they were already on their way downwards to meet to trucks and other men.

Offline Luvlylittlewing

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Re: TOTW 13/07: Their last day on the mountain
« Reply #16 on: November 07, 2007, 12:17:03 am »
Could it be that they are just 19 or 20 years old , and have not fully stepped into the shoes of experienced adult people like ourselves, who are trying to place rational reasons on all of their actions??  Speaking for myself, I did many things at that age that would now seem odd, or impetuous.  I think men, especially under their circumstances and in 1963, might well do and say the things that they did.  I think Ennis was hurt and confused, and I think Jack was using whatever familiar means he knew (lasso), to reach out and grab Ennis.  It was a simple gesture, at first meant to say "I love you and want you to be with me"  or, " Hey, its not so bad, we still have each other", and in the turmoil of youthful innocence, turned into the playful brawl of boys.  Two men, very young, unable to cope with their feelings, expressing adult emotions, but not yet skilled.  Many of us have been through this.   I do not see the  same hidden meanings in these scenes as others suggest.  To me it is very simple.  I feel what they feel.  They express it as boys do.  The simple emotion is still beautiful at this point of the movie.  The shirts are a testament to the this youthful innocent bliss. One of the most powerful statements from beginning to end.

What a heart achingly beautiful post, tenn man!  I'm crying, I swear I am!

Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: TOTW 13/07: Their last day on the mountain
« Reply #17 on: August 19, 2010, 10:26:50 pm »
It suddenly struck me today: What happened to the pup tent when Joe Aguirre said to "bring 'em down"?? Did it stay up there on the mountain all winter? No wonder it smelled like cat piss or worse!!
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Offline Marina

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Re: TOTW 13/07: Their last day on the mountain
« Reply #18 on: August 19, 2010, 11:08:26 pm »
Quote
Could it be that they are just 19 or 20 years old , and have not fully stepped into the shoes of experienced adult people like ourselves, who are trying to place rational reasons on all of their actions??  Speaking for myself, I did many things at that age that would now seem odd, or impetuous.  I think men, especially under their circumstances and in 1963, might well do and say the things that they did.  I think Ennis was hurt and confused, and I think Jack was using whatever familiar means he knew (lasso), to reach out and grab Ennis.  It was a simple gesture, at first meant to say "I love you and want you to be with me"  or, " Hey, its not so bad, we still have each other", and in the turmoil of youthful innocence, turned into the playful brawl of boys.  Two men, very young, unable to cope with their feelings, expressing adult emotions, but not yet skilled.  Many of us have been through this.   I do not see the  same hidden meanings in these scenes as others suggest.  To me it is very simple.  I feel what they feel.  They express it as boys do.  The simple emotion is still beautiful at this point of the movie.  The shirts are a testament to the this youthful innocent bliss. One of the most powerful statements from beginning to end.

ITA, I saw it exactly this way, and I can totally identify as well.   

There are so many powerful scenes in this movie, and the leaving scene is one of them.  I haven't watched Brokeback in awhile now, so I hope I remember correctly.   So many emotions are expressed on Jacks face, and when he finally leaves in the truck, I can see him take a breath as if to bear it and accept it.   Jack had so much strength, even helping Ennis to stand it at times.  Ennis has more trouble - for all his stoic behavior - he really had a lot of passion under the suface, and sometimes he just couldn't hide it.
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Offline Sason

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Re: TOTW 13/07: Their last day on the mountain
« Reply #19 on: August 20, 2010, 05:52:58 pm »
It suddenly struck me today: What happened to the pup tent when Joe Aguirre said to "bring 'em down"?? Did it stay up there on the mountain all winter? No wonder it smelled like cat piss or worse!!

Didn't Aguirre tell them to not leave the tent behind?

I'm guessing Ennis brought it down with him.

(i'm too tired now to check the movie)

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