Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
That zany Uncle Harold
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: jpwagoneer1964 on August 08, 2006, 01:33:27 am ---Jack is wearing the solid dark grey shirt he is seen in several of the Brokeback scenes. His only other one is 'the' blue denimn.
--- End quote ---
Oh, OK. Thanks for the clarification, JP. :)
Penthesilea:
--- Quote ---Here's what I notice: The scene where Aguirre announces Uncle Harold's illness mirrors the post-divorce scene, in several ways. In both, someone -- Aguirre in the first and Jack in the latter -- shows up unexpectedly and says, "So here I am." In both, Jack is wearing uncharacteristically dark clothes (going from memory, I think his shirt is blue in the Aguirre scene, but it's a darker, grayer blue than usual, and in post-divorce it's black and gray, colors that elsewhere in the movie seem associated with death or murder). In both, someone has been doing some investigating beforehand -- Aguirre with the binoculars, Jack by asking 10 people where Ennis lives. In the first, Aguirre peers at Ennis through his binoculars and Jack follows his gaze, perhaps realizing what Aguirre is thinking. In the second, Ennis peers at the white truck and Jack follows his gaze, perhaps realizing what Ennis is thinking.
--- End quote ---
Great observations, Katherine :)
"So here I am" said by Aguirre always makes me chuckle. I don't know exactly why, but I find it pretty funny how he delivers this line: not grumbling like he mostly speaks, but somehow... I don't know, can't find the right expression for it. But it's definately different.
And this applies for both versions I've seen: the original and the German dubbed version. Something is definately in Aguirre's tone and it's outstanding enough that the dubbing people noticed it and incorporated it.
I've never seen someone mention that this sentence by Aguirre is funny. Am I the only one who thinks so? Or is it so obvious that nobody mentions it?
Thinking about it, the whole conversation is funny, or at least strange.
Paraphrasing here:
Jack: Nothing I can do about it up here
Aguirre: Nothing you can do down there neither. Unless you can cure pneumonia.
Aguirre answers as if Jack would have considered to go down the mountain to rush to Uncle Harold's sickbed. And as if Aguirre would assure him to stay up the mountain, because it wouldn't make any difference.
But Jack's tone isn't concerned or at least upset, Jack is rather indifferent about it. Jack surely did not consider running down the mountain because of Uncle Harold. Or did he (NO!)? Or did he think his mother expectates him to?
More questions than answers, as usual.
For the OP question: I always thought the purpuse this scene serves is to show us (and Jack) that they are not invisible on the mountain, as they believed.
I just checked the story about it and noticed a difference to the movie: in the story Aguirre comes by two times only to give Jack news about Uncle Harold. The first time is the scene we see in the movie. The second time is only shortly mentioned: "Though he [U.Harold] did[survive] and Aguirre came up again to say so, fixing Jack with his bold stare, not bothering to dismount." The bold stare and not dismounting is included in the scene in the movie.
But in the story Aguirre's second visit up the mountain is not the day when he says to bring them down. The second time Aguirre comes by is even before the hailstorm (the one which courses the mixed sheep). When Aguirre wants our boys to bring the sheep dowm, he doesn't come himself, he sends word.
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: Penthesilea on August 08, 2006, 07:18:24 am ---Great observations, Katherine :)
--- End quote ---
Thanks, Chrissi!
--- Quote ---"So here I am" said by Aguirre always makes me chuckle. I don't know exactly why, but I find it pretty funny how he delivers this line: not grumbling like he mostly speaks, but somehow... I don't know, can't find the right expression for it. But it's definately different.
--- End quote ---
I know what you mean, and it IS hard to articulate. There's something light, or even flip, about it, something slightly ironic. Maybe because Aguirre wouldn't normally consent to run an errand for someone else, but under these circumstances he's doing it, so his tone acknowledges that in this one instance he's grudgingly being uncharacteristically nice.
And maybe, too, it sounds funny after you've seen the movie more than once, because it echoes Jack saying the same line, under such different circumstances.
--- Quote ---Aguirre: ... Unless you can cure pneumonia.
--- End quote ---
I've often thought that line seems significant, too. From time to time people have mentioned Jack's savior-like qualities -- first there's mention of him controlling the weather, here it's about curing disease.
And, as Mel says, the fact that pneumonia is a disease of the lungs (wind) may be important.
But how?!? ???
Mikaela:
Couple of thoughts on this:
I've half-way considered poor uncle Harold a means to tie the boys to the outside world, reminding them (and us) that the real world off the mountain is waiting, - the world they are soon going to have to live in. A place where they have family and family-related obligations. A place where people are ill and even dying. A place where supporting the family, being part of a family, illnesses and births and deaths and the implications of such events take on a much greater importance relative to the emotions the boys are grappling with on the mountain. Yes; a far cry from their isolated heaven on the Mountain.
Aguirre being the messenger between those two worlds just seems to fit, somehow.
I've pondered how little we get to see and hear about the familiy members. Especially about Ennis's family, perhaps. There are his brother and his sister, both of whom are married, so I assume as time goes by there are nephews and nieces as well. Before he's divorced, there are the in-laws, Alma's sister, her mother (and father and grandmother) - probably further family members on Alma's side. Through their connection to his girls Alma's family in a way remain his family even after the divorce. Yet we never get to meet all these people (apart from a tiny glimpse in the wedding - I suppose that's Ennis's brother and Alma's sister we see left and right of bride and groom?) We never get to know them. Judging from the film narrative, they meant little in Ennis's grown-up life. Ennis must have kept in contact, though - there must have been Christmases, Thanksgivings, christenings, weddings, other events and just family meet-ups.
Apparently, apart from the untimely death of his parents, none of that made a significant impression in his life, neither as one-time specific watershed events, nor as representative of the direction his life is going in. While many of the meetings with Jack did take on such importance. I suppose it's all showing us how much family took back stage in Ennis's mind to his relationship with Jack.
Nevertheless, when seeing Jack's uncle Harold in that light, he's useful simply as an early reminder that the boys *have* family connections and obligations, beyond what we get to see in the film itself.
Perhaps he's also an indication that family ties and obligations are stronger and mean more on the Twist side of affairs than on the Del Mar side - also considering Jack's going back to help his folks out in later years.
Perhaps the total picture of family relations in the film is showing us that Ennis, having experienced the shock and trauma of his parents' death, consciously or subconsciously made sure to keep family at arms length thereafter - simply to avoid another such painful grief.
Perhaps uncle Harold *not* dying after all contrasts the Del Mars' too-early death - or rather contrasts the impact on Ennis and Jack, respectively: Of losing family members - or of keeping them. Of experiencing the grief of abandonment through death, or of having it pass you by......
Lots of thoughts here, brought on by the elusive uncle Harold! :)
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I've somehow gotten the impression that Aguirre knows Jack's mother. I just think he speaks relatively respectfully there - as if he knows who Jack's ma *is*, and feels especially obliged to do her a service and convey a message himself after having talked with her. It's not entirely impossible that they knew each other once upon a time, is it? As we later learn, Jack's mother *is* a woman who inspires respect and kindness even in quite gruff guys (unless they're her hubby). Aguirre knowing Mrs. Twist from before might be one reason why Jack was hired on the first year. Might even be the reason why Aguirre holds back from letting Ennis and Jack have it after he discovers them in flagranti.
Mikaela:
Oops - did I scare everyone away with my stream-of-consciousnesss ramblings about uncle Harold? Hope not. Because here are some further random thoughts.
I forgot the most obvious of all, I think - that uncle Harold serves to point out that Jack, specifically, has close family beyond his parents. From the rest of the tale that's not apparent. We don't get to see Jack's and Lureen's wedding (which must have been a very quiet affair, anyway - not even their picture taken) and we don't hear about any other of Jack's family members as far as I can recall. Neither is there exactly an abundance of family pics on the Twist farmstead's walls. ::) The existence of Harold makes the contrast to Ennis less stark - both Ennis and Jack *do* have a family - however much or little they're seen to be in contact with that family.
We don't know the first thing about uncle Harold, but when did that stop *me* from speculating? ::) Suppose he was the positive male role model to Jack that his father certainly was not.... even though we never hear about it, Jack *may* have had other supportive adults to relate to, growing up, in addition to his mother. I like that thought. :)
I wonder if the "ain't much I can do about it up here" /Ain't much you can do about it down there neither" exchange is simply their way of saying: "I think I may have to leave/No you don't, there's no call for that."
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