Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > IMDb Remarkable Writings Rewound
BBM Analysis: Ang Lee's Camera -- by vikramas1109
TrollHammer:
Re: BBM Analysis: Ang Lee's Camera
by dcij47a (Sat Apr 8 2006 17:39:58)
Well.....he said it himself...... he gets very exhausted after every film he made. Guess that's the reason why: Getting every single frame in its place.
Jack: Tell you what. The truth is... sometimes I miss you so much I can hardly stand it.
Re: BBM Analysis: Ang Lee's Camera
by monimm18 (Tue Jun 6 2006 22:03:29)
UPDATED Tue Jun 6 2006 22:39:53
Fantastic thread.
I think that, what makes Ang Lee such an exceptional director are not only his, indeed, great filming or editing techniques, or his capacity of drawing out the best from his actors.
I believe Lee has great insight into the spectators' minds - he knows in which manner to address his viewers to achieve the desired effect, be it thought or emotion, without manipulating them. He sort of builds the path and nudges the viewers in its direction, then lets them find it themselves and follow it at their own pace.
In the December Newsweek interview, he said (paraphrasing) "When the film stops talking, the viewers take over with their thoughts". I think that statement defines Ang Lee's directing style: he always knows when to stop talking and leave room for the viewers to process and take the film where he wants it to be. Which, in a way, is a compliment to the viewers - he has enough confidence in their intellect to not do the thinking for them and bring the point home by beating them over their heads with messages.
Take, for example, the scene of Ennis discovering the shirts and his epiphany about the depth of Jack's love. There are no flshback scenes to the wrestling on Brokeback 20 years ago, to explain the provenance of the shirts, no dramatic mimic on Ennis' face to depict his train of thoughts - nothing is explained, no emotions are bluntly depicted; as Ennis discovers the shirts and figures out what they mean, so do we; as his anguish and regret for an unfulfilled love and life build, so do ours. The dramatism of that scene is not on the images on the screen, but in what those images evoke in our hearts and minds. Instead of watching a man crumbling under his sorrows and regrets we live that turmoil with him - for that moment we are Ennis.
In my opinion, many directors can surprise, provoque, shock or delight us with their work, but few have the creative clarity and artistic subtlety to produce a rich body of work that affects our perceptions and thinking, without being redundant, overbearing or blunt, but by eliciting complex, profound reactions that make a film simply unforgettable.
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."
Oscar Wilde
Re: BBM Analysis: Ang Lee's Camera
by iamlaron (Thu Jan 25 2007 09:37:31)
Great thread,
bump for later.
Re: BBM Analysis: Ang Lee's Camera
by Jack_Doherty (Tue Feb 27 2007 12:53:39)
I'm no proffessional cinematographer but I know it was beautiful in this film. I mean the shot in the car mirror was just beautiful, I'm thankful for this thread!!!!
Re: BBM Analysis: Ang Lee's Camera
by franklin68 (Tue Feb 27 2007 13:10:48)
Okay, so what exactly were the directorial flaws in BBM?
Re: BBM Analysis: Ang Lee's Camera
by vaporize (Wed Feb 28 2007 22:37:44)
UPDATED Wed Feb 28 2007 22:38:33
--- Quote ---and slightly edgier cutting could have worked wonders.
--- End quote ---
This may be so for a film like Sin City, but for a film showcasing the organic atmosphere of rural Wyoming? I don't think so. Brokeback Mountain does have a very slow pace, but it works for this particular film because we are meant to have an overall feel of the surroundings. Some shots are stagnant and allow us to take in vivid images. And once we start to see the slow-paced lives of the characters, we have a better understanding of their situations.
--- Quote ---The second half is too fractured slowing down the narrative and the film lost a bit of its grip or 'sting' if you want.
--- End quote ---
It seems to me that having factured scenes would actually cause a narrative to have a quicker pace, which is the desired effect. The second half of the film has much more going on in terms of plot as the times fly much quicker. I think this change in pace causes us to feel that although times have changed, their relationship has remained stagnant for the most part.
The audience begins to see the fractured relationship take a toll on the characters. The last few scenes are fairly emotional, but are cut short so we never get to fully grieve the last time they met or when Jack dies or when Ennis comes to visit the Twist family. But when the credits start rolling, we are smacked across the face with an emotional bomb of utmost sorrow.
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Let's go the the beach tonight
with a bottle of wine
Re: BBM Analysis: Ang Lee's Camera
by vaporize (Thu Mar 1 2007 19:13:03)
--- Quote ---No, because in the second half the development is hurt by the 'episodic style'
--- End quote ---
I disagree. As I said earlier, this "epidosidic style" litereally makes the times fly by. In such a short period in film length, the story covers several years. We feel this sense of urgency and towards the second half of the film, the primary focus is on Ennis. And in order for us to have a strong connection with his character, we see the events that unfold in a very quick pace showing only certain aspects as if we are reliving distant memories. After all, at the end of the film, we have just witnessed twenty years of this man's life, and it sure feels like we lived those years with Ennis during his most intimate moments.
I disagree about this film being too long. Almost every scene serves a purpose in either guiding the plot at varying pace or providing character development. Several people argue that we don't get to see much from the wives, but Brokeback Mountain is meant to be a very narrow depiction of two men's lives (one moreso than the other) and how how rural homophobia affects they way they think, feel, and act. We get a glimpse of the supporting characters, just enough to see how they affect the leading characters. Of course these secondary characters could have had more character development, but this would only be straying from the main purpose of the film in trying to understand the main characters.
I don't think Brokeback Mountain is a step down from 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.' They are both very subtle films with beautiful visuals, but they are so different. It just goes to show how versatile Ang Lee is as a director even if you include his work for 'Hulk.'
The reference to Sin City is my way of saying how preposterous it is to have an "edgier cutting" for this type of film. It wouldn't do justice to the pace and the atmosphere of this film at all.
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Let's go the the beach tonight
with a bottle of wine
Re: BBM Analysis: Ang Lee's Camera
by vaporize (Sat Mar 3 2007 15:49:10)
UPDATED Sun Mar 4 2007 15:20:15
--- Quote ---Sin City comparing to BBM is as comparing 'Days of Thunder' with 'Driving Miss Daisy' to make a point
--- End quote ---
My point was that Brokeback Mountain didn't have an edgier cutting--something that Sin City does have. Both films did wonders by employing different techniques.
--- Quote ---a slighty tighter editing in the first half and a more coherent second half would have done wonders
--- End quote ---
I can't really respond much to this unless you give specific examples as I have, or at least go in more detail.
--- Quote ---with the more down to earth material of BBM his style is a touch overbearing.
--- End quote ---
How so? The scenes were shot with such reservation. If anything, Lee's touch was restrained--nowhere near overbearing. In fact, I gave a specific example about how each emotional scene was cut short for a stronger lingering effect.
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Let's go the the beach tonight
with a bottle of wine
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