Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > IMDb Remarkable Writings Rewound
Brokeback and the Number Three -- by Meryl_88
TOoP/Bruce:
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by meryl_88 (Fri Apr 7 2006 08:35:34 )
Ooh, lots of great ones, (name removed by request), thanks! (though I did beat you to the 3 offspring one )
Thanks, naun!
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by meryl_88 (Fri Apr 7 2006 22:29:05 )
Lots of good ones. I hadn't thought of Jack's looking for work with Aguirre 3 summers in a row.
Ennis refers to Jack as "Jack *beep* Twist" three times: at the reunion; on one of their fishin' trips (after the scene with Alma on Thanksgiving); and in the scene by the lake.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by jlee-49 (Fri Apr 7 2006 08:39:41 )
In Ennis's first scene holding his little girls, he tells Alma "I would if I had three hands."
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by naun (Fri Apr 7 2006 09:37:36 )
... but curiously, the three thousand dollars that Jack makes rodeoing in the original story gets cut to two thousand in the film.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by starboardlight (Fri Apr 7 2006 11:06:36 )
and let's not forget, 3 gay men (Ennis, Jack, Randall) with 3 wives (Alma, Lureen, Lashawn).
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by rickythecat (Tue Apr 11 2006 10:01:07 )
Jack: "Not 'til he finishes eatin' the meal that his mama spent 3 hours fixin'."
There must be something to using the number three. I know it would of taken at least 5-7 hours to make that big turkey dinner. By time she got up in morning and made the stuffing(and most every body stuffed their turkeys back in the seventies} and made all the "fixen's"that go one the table.
I thought he might say " his mama worked all day on the dinner". So either it was just overlooked how long food takes to prepare or..... the number 3 is a code or symbal of something in this film.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by starboardlight (Tue Apr 11 2006 22:27:52 )
Jack: "Not 'til he finishes eatin' the meal that his mama spent 3 hours fixin'."
There must be something to using the number three. I know it would of taken at least 5-7 hours to make that big turkey dinner. By time she got up in morning and made the stuffing(and most every body stuffed their turkeys back in the seventies} and made all the "fixen's"that go one the table.
I thought he might say " his mama worked all day on the dinner". So either it was just overlooked how long food takes to prepare or..... the number 3 is a code or symbal of something in this film.
that struck me too. Having prepared a Thanksgiving dinner before, I know it takes longer than 3 hours to cook a Turkey that size, let along all the trimmings. so it just came out odd to me. Now that you point it out, the 3 must be significant.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by naun (Sat Apr 8 2006 03:31:37 )
Not totally sure about this one, but I think we see Coke bottles three times. Alma is holding one at the drive-in, Alma Jr picks at one when she talks to Cassie, and Cassie herself walks by a Coke fridge in the "girls don't fall in love with fun" scene.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by naun (Sat Apr 8 2006 08:09:37 )
UPDATED Sat Apr 8 2006 08:19:47
Three weddings take place during the course of the film: Ennis to Alma, Jack to Lureen, Alma to Monroe.
Then Alma Jr announces her engagement to Kurt. So that makes four weddings and a funeral.
But it occurs to me that Jack, like Melquaides Estrada in that other (excellent: highly recommended) cowboy film of the current season, in a sense has three burials too. Half of his ashes are interred at Childress and half in the family plot at Lightning Flat; but as I suggested in another thread, the visual symbol of the shovel outside Ennis' trailer (foreshadowed when Ennis receives the returned postcard) seems to imply a spiritual resting-place for him there too.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by meryl_88 (Sat Apr 8 2006 09:21:05 )
You guys are good.
Love the four weddings and a funeral reference...
Good call on the burials, too. There's also the visual symbol of the shirts being placed in the brown paper bag (earth/Ennis) to convey the idea of Jack's spiritual interment.
(name removed by request), the "Friend" appellation is interesting as a 3-time thing. Three affirmations of their relationship at three significant times.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by cody_4343 (Sat Apr 8 2006 10:24:45 )
Don't forget on the soundtrack there are songs for Brokeback 1, 2 and 3.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by naun (Sat Apr 8 2006 12:21:54 )
There's also the visual symbol of the shirts being placed in the brown paper bag (earth/Ennis) to convey the idea of Jack's spiritual interment.
Three cheers to meryl! And of course this happens at the very moment John Twist is saying, "There's a family plot and he's going in it".
Incidentally, apropos of Casey's "Ennis/Aeneas" theory, the best-known number from Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas is Dido's lament, "When I am laid in earth".
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by jlilya (Sun Apr 9 2006 19:03:53 )
I hope this hasn't been mentioned but Ennis rejects Jack three times. First when Jack says "it could be like this , just like this always" after the motel scene. The second time is after the divorce and Jack drive 1400 miles for nothing. The third time is when they are camping by the fast moving river and Ennis is paranoid about people looking at him on the street. Jack says that maybe Ennis should move to Texas. Ennis becomes very hostile at this suggestion and they argue.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by gpm497 (Tue Apr 11 2006 05:48:54 )
I believe that we see (various)horse figurines three times during the movie:
1. the crude one Ennis is carving in the tent on Brokeback
2. On the shelve in Laureen's office when Jack and Laureen have the "blue parka" conversation
3. In Jack's childhood bedroom
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by meryl_88 (Tue Apr 11 2006 08:44:56 )
Good one, gpm!
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
And we see the embrace (front to back, with right arm over right shoulder and head over left shoulder) three times.
Alma embraces Ennis in their bedroom.
Jack and Ennis in bed at the Motel scene, in the same embrace position.
And the flash back, Ennis embracing Jack.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by Jessica_Weasfoy (Tue Apr 11 2006 12:00:51 )
omg- you are right Starboardlight! Wow...I never saw it. Ugh. Good one.
*....B.M.T.'s "Fix-A-Flat: Cause when you can't fix it, you've gotta stand it"...*
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by afhickman (Tue Apr 11 2006 13:57:09 )
Somebody started a thread on the number 17 earlier, although it seems now to have been deleted. He came up with the idea that 17 represents the number of letters in Brokeback Mountain. Another poster said his idea wasn't new, and he apparently deleted the thread. Anyway, I've come up with an even stupider idea, but it's kind of neat at the same time. The numbers 1 and 7, when turned upside down, become the letters L and I, which, phonetically, spell Lee! What? Does it have to happen three times in the film before you'll believe it?
"The Mountain Has Wings"
TOoP/Bruce:
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by jlilya (Tue Apr 11 2006 14:42:00 )
UPDATED Tue Apr 11 2006 14:42:46
Wow, I never thought of that. Cool. You made me think. Three front to front embraces by Jack and Ennis.
Jack hugs Ennis when he comes to see him after he hears about the divorce
The guys hug in the reunion scene after the four year abscence.
Jack hugs Ennis, as Ennis crumbles to the ground at the Lake scene before the flashback to brokeback.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by meryl_88 (Tue Apr 11 2006 15:22:05 )
Starboard and jlilya, it does seem that we've got another pair of threes.
As for the front/front embraces, though, there is a fourth "shadow" embrace when Ennis embraces the shirts in Jack's closet.
I thought he might say " his mama worked all day on the dinner". So either it was just overlooked how long food takes to prepare or..... the number 3 is a code or symbal of something in this film.
arad-3 (an appropriate name for this thread ), I think you may have hit on something! In the corresponding Thanksgiving scene at Monroe's, Ennis mentions being on a bronc for 3 seconds. He and Jack were clearly subliminally connected at that moment.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by jlilya (Tue Apr 11 2006 15:29:28 )
So does anyone know what all these threes mean? Anybody familiar with numerology? I know that structures with three legs are the most stable, a table or a stool. So I've heard. Father, son and holy ghost is another, the Holy Trinity. Someone mentioned the sheep also being a Christian symbol.
I would really appreciate some discussion on this.
Oh and another three, when Lureen is barrel racing, the announcer says something like "she's got number 3" , meaning the third barrel and then she heads for the finish.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by gpm497 (Tue Apr 11 2006 15:49:47 )
Ennis mentiones jokingly Jack's harmonica total of three times during the movie:
1. while fixing the tent as Jack is lying in the foreground
("Well if I've got lucky that harmonica would have broken too"
2. After untangling the sheep that got mixed up-riding horses, Jack's playing his harmonica
(You’ll run them sheep off, if you don’t quiet down)
3.At their reunion
-I was just sending up a prayer of thanks.
-For what?
-For you forgettin’ to bring that harmonica!
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by rickythecat (Tue Apr 11 2006 15:43:13 )
could it be the Spirit? AS in the Holy Trinity? which is : THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT. Does anyone know if they were Religious or maybe Catholic? Just trying like you to figure it out.
; oly
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by jlilya (Tue Apr 11 2006 15:57:05 )
I like that!! The third entity is the Holy Spirit. And remember the scene about the Pentecost, someone actually said that the Pentecost is when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles. Maybe we're on to something here?
That's so weird because I was just on another thread called "hot things in the tent to look for" or something and someone said that Jack was an angel sent down to help Ennis get over the traumas in his life. I thought this was beautiful, and it put me in metaphysical frame of mind, and now this. Syncronicity?
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by rickythecat (Tue Apr 11 2006 16:09:58 )
Then again have you ever heard the expression "Death comes in Threes" and when there is one plane crash there are usally 2 more, which would be three. And another one, you dont ever want to be the third on a match. Its bad luck. Maybe it was a sign of Jacks demise.
"And remember the scene about the Pentecost, someone actually said that the Pentecost is when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles". Wow it is getting weird...Do you think there is some underlying warning to gays by the Director? Just a thought.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by rickythecat (Tue Apr 11 2006 16:58:20 )
And the theres ..."third time is the charm" Three's a crowd. And there's the TRIPLE CROWN HORSE RACE. Three could represent alot of things. Even the pyramids have three sides. And they represent energy. I'm goona ruin my first thought which was pretty good if I dont stop! I guess that's why Im Arad 3 I know too much about 3s. lol
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by binbinc (Mon Apr 24 2006 04:30:08 )
WOW!!!
I love this thread!
TOoP/Bruce:
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by naun (Wed Apr 12 2006 06:57:13 )
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UPDATED Wed Apr 12 2006 07:04:32
could it be the Spirit? AS in the Holy Trinity? which is : THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT.
I always thought that was part of the significance of the number three in this movie. But now that you mention it, a lot of this movie really is about fathers and sons, so it is very fitting that you should invoke the Holy Spirit.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by naun (Wed Apr 12 2006 06:54:09 )
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As for the front/front embraces, though, there is a fourth "shadow" embrace when Ennis embraces the shirts in Jack's closet
Meryl, maybe we're thinking along the same lines here. In another thread I mentioned the shadow that Ennis casts in the closet and suggested another possible interpretation of it -- that it may represent the shade of Jack himself.
Also in another thread, we were talking about skulls. There's one in the bar where Jack and Ennis strike up their first conversation, and another that you spotted in Aguirre's trailer. Well, did you notice the white pickup truck "carapace" thing (must be a word for it, but I don't know what it is) behind Ennis' trailer at the end? To me it looks rather like a skull too.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by jlilya (Wed Apr 12 2006 10:31:48 )
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UPDATED Wed Apr 12 2006 10:34:21
This probably has no meaning whatsoever, but did anyone notice the Jack-alope in Aguirre's office. If you don't know a Jackalope is a fictional animal, a sort of joke somebody dreamed up back in the 50's, 60's ( i think ). It is supposed to be a cross between an antelope and a jack-rabbit. It has the rabbit head with supposed small antelope horns. Its just kind conincidental that there is also a character name of Jack. Is this the skull you were talking about or is there another?
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by amandazehnder (Wed Apr 12 2006 11:01:33 )
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I don't think this has been mentioned yet... But, doesn't Jack pound his fist 3 times during the first tent scene?
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by fernly (Wed Apr 12 2006 11:00:14 )
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In another thread I mentioned the shadow that Ennis casts in the closet and suggested another possible interpretation of it -- that it may represent the shade of Jack himself.
naun, That shadow has always struck me the same way. I doubt that the lighting Prieto used to create it was by chance. Also, the camera looking from the closet at Ennis when he is at the window, as other threads have discussed, certainly support the idea that Jack's spirit is watching him, and this shadow that we see when Ennis is in the closet, is the manifestation. Once again, forever, Jack is there to hold Ennis.
"on the mountain, flying in the euphoric, bitter air"
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by naun (Wed Apr 12 2006 18:39:34 )
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That shadow has always struck me the same way.
Thank you, fernly. I've always been intrigued by that shadow but it took me an awfully long time to realize that it might mean something. As you say, the idea that it's Jack is consistent with a number of other visual elements in the film, including the dark colours that Jack tends to wear in later scenes.
Jlilya, my DVD hasn't arrived yet (I got by on a rented copy for a while) but I will be very curious to see what a jackalope looks like.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by amandazehnder (Wed Apr 12 2006 19:00:26 )
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The idea of "shade"- as in shadow and/or ghost has been discussed in the Classical Allusions thread and elsewhere.
I can't resist copying this here...
>"On a very different note, here's something else that I've found in my minor researches into this movie/ story. Parts of it seem to be based on the myth of Aeneas and Dido. Some people hear a similarity between Aeneas and Ennis (I guess his name also means 'island').
Ennis's final words of "Jack, I swear" echo those of Aeneas when confronted with the ghost of Dido who committed suicide after he abandoned her. Aeneas says to Dido's ghost, "I swear by every oath that hell can muster, I swear I left you against my will. The law of God--the law that sends me now through darkness, bramble, rot and profound night--unyielding drove me; nor could I have dreamed that in my leaving I would hurt you so"."<
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by Jessica_Weasfoy (Thu Apr 13 2006 06:46:23 )
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Amanda that's very nice. The names do have some similarities. And I feel that Ennis was thinking more than "I swear" in his head. I posted something a little similar to Jack meaning more than he actually said. When he holds Ennis and says "Damn you Ennis" I really felt like he wanted to say more so I wnet ahead and elabortated what he wanted to say. And I'll post it in here- just for kicks.
*>>>Jack has to give up his pride AGAIN to go catch him. "Damn you Ennis" means so many things. Damn him for being scared. Damn him for holding back. Damn Ennis for making Jack love him so much. Damn his stubborness. Damn his sweet-ass. Damn him for all the heartbreak over the 20 years. And damn him for Jack never letting go and go on hoping that he would finally be able to be with the Man he loves. Ugh...I'm gonna go cry now. <<<*
*....B.M.T.'s "Fix-A-Flat: Cause when you can't fix it, you've gotta stand it"...*
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by amandazehnder (Thu Apr 13 2006 08:24:53 )
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I like your ideas about the "Damn you..." line Jessica. I've always sort of worried about that. It's a little sad to me that that's the last thing we hear Jack saying to Ennis. But, your interpretations of it make it seem quite interesting and complicated.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by meryl_88 (Fri Apr 14 2006 13:05:57 )
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I've been offline for two days, so it was nice to come back and see so many more interesting replies.
Meryl, maybe we're thinking along the same lines here. In another thread I mentioned the shadow that Ennis casts in the closet and suggested another possible interpretation of it -- that it may represent the shade of Jack himself.
Also in another thread, we were talking about skulls. There's one in the bar where Jack and Ennis strike up their first conversation, and another that you spotted in Aguirre's trailer. Well, did you notice the white pickup truck "carapace" thing (must be a word for it, but I don't know what it is) behind Ennis' trailer at the end? To me it looks rather like a skull too.
naun, as usual you have great observations. I just re-watched the closet scene, and I think your interpretation of Ennis's shadow as Jack's shade is very pertinent to the "shadow" embrace. Even better, I wouldn't have noticed the light bulb above Ennis's head if I hadn't watched it again. Could it also represent a "shadow" image of the full moon that had always been present in the scenes where they made love?
The castoff truck hood as a skull is also a great idea. And again, in re-watching that scene I noticed a piece of what seems to be weathered wood in the bushes to the left of the steps that is very similar to an old cattle skull.
(name removed by request0, I'm in awe of all of those three's! You are the three-meister. Who knew we would find so many?
TOoP/Bruce:
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by retropian (Wed Apr 12 2006 07:09:25 )
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This I posted on another thread, but I'll put it here too.
3 times Ennis is near or at an open window. Waiting for Jack at their 1st reunion. At Jack's parents home just before finding the shirts. 3rd at the closing scene, the small trailer window overlooking the field.
3? scenes camped by moving water. (I may be wrong here) As far as i can recollect 1st scene at the occasion of their reunion. 2nd when Ennis shows up with horses as Jack is setting up a fire. 3rd when Ennis is cleaning a pot in the stream and it slips away from him (another chance he let go). the last scene together, the confrontation scene, the "I wish I knew how to quit you." scene is by a still lake. The lack of moving water seems to mean their time is up.
There are only 3 fade to black scenes.
[Post deleted]
UPDATED Thu Jun 1 2006 04:51:04
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Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by jmmgallagher (Fri Apr 14 2006 13:10:21 )
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Bump to find this thread of genius later....
"He's trying really hard, that's who Jack Twist is to me." --Jake Gyllenhaal
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by meryl_88 (Fri Apr 14 2006 14:35:22 )
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Hello, jmm!
Another little one: There are three swings on the swing set that Alma, Jr., and Jenny use in the scene where Ennis and Alma argue.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by jmmgallagher (Sat Apr 15 2006 11:57:16 )
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Howdy Meryl!
Not clever enough to come up with a group of three (was gonna mention the full moons, but of course I see Casey has that covered very early in the thread), so I'll just duck my head in to say 'Hi!' and Happy Easter, Meryl--hope all is well! Nice to see some sensible discussion on the Old Board....
See ya soon!
John
"He's trying really hard, that's who Jack Twist is to me." --Jake Gyllenhaal
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by meryl_88 (Sat Apr 15 2006 15:07:00 )
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Thanks so much, John, and a very Happy Easter to you, too!
TOoP/Bruce:
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by sand_lizard_man (Sun Apr 16 2006 01:00:48 )
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Nice observations..
There are way to many comments to check, but "The Wings", the song that plays throughout the movie AND in the final trailer scene, is a Waltz. Which means, the beat goes "One, Two, Three, One Two Three." and it basically plays three notes in the begining.
Stella D'Oro breakfast treats. Snack Time anytime.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by meryl_88 (Sun Apr 16 2006 09:55:50 )
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That's a very good point, sand lizard man. Thanks!
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by sand_lizard_man (Sun Apr 16 2006 12:00:13 )
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The only reason I noticed is because I have this massive playlist on my Lappy that I had running, and it was done at random by the computer. "The Wings" came on, so i went to the BBM forum, where I say this thread, and then realized the music was the same......weird, no?
Stella D'Oro breakfast treats. Snack Time anytime.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by Jessica_Weasfoy (Tue Apr 18 2006 11:22:33 )
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Oh, I just love thie thread but I seriously think everything was named...hmm.
*Tracy, our skin may be white, but our souls are black*
*I wish I was at a hootenanny in Harlem*
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Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by naun (Sun Apr 16 2006 12:44:06 )
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"The Wings", the song that plays throughout the movie AND in the final trailer scene, is a Waltz. Which means, the beat goes "One, Two, Three, One Two Three."
Very good, sand lizard man! And a waltz is, of course, a dance with romantic overtones for two people.
Meryl, about that light bulb -- I'm starting to think that the various full moons, lamps, fires and other points of light are all related motifs. Initially I thought the "point of light" imagery was associated specifically with Ennis, but someone suggested that it was more general and I'm coming round to that view myself. As to what the significance of this imagery may be, I can't be sure, but I did suggest elsewhere a possible connection with the torch in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde and its association with the day/night imagery that is to be found in that opera, and also perhaps not coincidentally in Lee's film as well.
(Incidental detail: has anyone commented on the "anchor" shape of the lamp in Ennis and Alma's bedroom at the ranch and its similarity to the lamp over Jack's bed at Lightning Flat?)
Re the skulls: my DVD still hasn't arrived after more than two weeks! So I haven't been able to check the details you mentioned. But as I recall, there are several other objects in and around Ennis' trailer that link to earlier scenes in the film: the fan, the shirts and postcard of course, the shovel, the battered trash can (or, as we prefer to say where I come from, rubbish bin) that recalls the various pots and buckets that Ennis has stumbled over during the course of the film, and I think there may have been a hose as well (water imagery again?). Any others?
Bonus question for extra points: why does Ennis have so many knives?
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by sand_lizard_man (Sun Apr 16 2006 21:31:52 )
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"why does Ennis have so many knives?"
Because it cuts like a knife....but it feels so right!
Yeah
Na na na na na na na na na na
damn you, Bryan Adams....!
Stella D'Oro breakfast treats. Snack Time anytime.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by nonon99_99 (Mon Apr 17 2006 08:42:32 )
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Only in recent viewings of Tarkovsky's Nostalgia, I start to realize the importance and potential of using light in a film. I think it won't be less significant in BBM.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by chefjudy (Mon Apr 17 2006 09:19:00 )
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I would like to ask what may be an unanswerable question - do you think all of this is on purpose or just an accidental finding after putting this movie under a microscope - if it is intentional, then Ang Lee is clearly a genius and knew this movie inside and out before he started shooting it - who could remember all of this stuff - he had to make story boards and lists to keep track of it all
does anyone know how to save or archive this thread? would like to save it for future reference??
"...it could be like this, just like this, always..." Jack Twist
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by nonon99_99 (Mon Apr 17 2006 12:44:05 )
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UPDATED Mon Apr 17 2006 12:54:28
Ang Lee will have a certain plan, but it won't be so detailed as the result of the film.
I image making a film is a very dynamic process, he can't control some many things in clear mind.
Often the creator himself doesn't know more about his work than us do. Artist who has sufficient traning just creates automatically in a way he feels comfortable with, as Ang Lee said 'I do it from my heart'. But that the artist isn't conscious doesn't mean systematic things in a work do not exist. This phenomena always happenes in classical music. Academic music analysist will figure out the structure, harmornic system, etc of a piece of music in a very meticulous way while the composer himself is more guided by his ears. This is a mystery of all great arts.
To save the tread...
by Jessica_Weasfoy (Mon Apr 17 2006 20:51:03 )
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Your commenting on this thread already is saving it. But if you want to save it further click on the very first poster and click your favorites file and dave it in there. If you ever go back to it it will just go to that first poaster but you can click anywhere once you have opened the page to find the coments you are looking for. Bla.
*....B.M.T.'s "Fix-A-Flat: Cause when you can't fix it, you've gotta stand it"...*
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by meryl_88 (Tue Apr 18 2006 19:30:57 )
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Naun, I hope your DVD has arrived by now and that you are happily noting even more symbology with every rewind.
I'm starting to think that the various full moons, lamps, fires and other points of light are all related motifs.
This topic could be enormous, and it really deserves its own thread. There are the actual "points of light" generated by lamps, fires and the moon, and there is also the larger subject of the use of light and dark in the movie (night and day, colors of hats, horses, trucks, etc.). I would be glad to see you start a new discussion on this.
I've wondered also about why Ennis has so many knives in his trailer. Has someone answered this in another thread? My only "stab" at an answer would be that they symbolize all the wounds, both self-inflicted and delivered by others, that Ennis (and possibly Jack, too) suffered over the years. Though Ennis certainly never uses the knives (they would most likely be leftovers from a former tenant), they are a mute reminder of pain, both past and present.
Often the creator himself doesn't know more about his work than us do. Artist who has sufficient traning just creates automatically in a way he feels comfortable with, as Ang Lee said 'I do it from my heart'. But that the artist isn't conscious doesn't mean systematic things in a work do not exist. This phenomena always happenes in classical music. Academic music analysist will figure out the structure, harmornic system, etc of a piece of music in a very meticulous way while the composer himself is more guided by his ears. This is a mystery of all great arts.
nonon99, that is a great way to describe what is happening with all of these many, many details coming into play. It doesn't seem humanly possible to plan every single one of them. I like to think that when the artistry is great, at some point the Universe just steps in and lends a hand.
Jessica and chefjudy, regarding saving the thread, I've been saving it to Word. I'm not sure that saving it to Favorites saves any more than the actual link to the thread. If it were deleted, you might get back to the thread, but there would be no posts left to read.
(name removed by request), O great ThreeMeister, if there are indeed many more, then post on!
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by nonon99_99 (Wed Apr 19 2006 17:48:38 )
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UPDATED Wed Apr 19 2006 17:49:19
I suspect the almost unhumanly precise symmetry structuralism with its imploding is the cause of Brokeback Mountain's nearly physical hurting emotional affectability. Everything there is Ennis, then Jack, then again Ennis, then again Jack, etc.. Suddently at one moment, Jack is no more, the grand structure is destroyed, BROKEN. We audiences suddently woke up from a dream and faced the reality that a part of our viscera is being taken out by violence. In viewing the last twenty minutes of this movie, I would say if some scenes last two seconds more I need to call emergency. But then the unbelievable structural balance works again, those scenes last right to what you can barely bear and the structure gradually rebuilt/extened itself (Jack's Mother, Ennis's daughter, 'I swear').
Hence I think the title, Brokeback, is a precise description of the film in an abstract way.
Re: Brokeback and the Number Three
by meryl_88 (Wed Apr 19 2006 19:41:26 )
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What a beautiful description, nonon, and all the more impressive since it seems that English is not your first language. You're right about how we are "broken" by Jack's violent exit, and the scenes that follow are indeed a slow, painful mending of that break, a coming "back." There's something deeply moving, too, about the Mother and Daughter figures being so important to that healing. They love Jack and Ennis unconditionally, and we can do the same through them. Thank you for that insight.
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