Author Topic: Importance of the sad ending  (Read 2570 times)

Offline Brown Eyes

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Importance of the sad ending
« on: August 01, 2007, 11:26:59 pm »
I've been thinking a lot recently about all the different ways that BBM is constructed and works as an unbelievably effective movie... and especially in the realm of forging emotional connections or responses in audience members.  It occurs to me that (as much as we all want a happy ending for Ennis and Jack) the fact that the film and story are tragedies is really important to it's status as a serious love story.  I've found myself (more than once) calling BBM a new type of Romeo and Juliet (to non-Brokies who want a brief synopsis of the movie or a brief synopsis of my understanding of the movie).  And, it seems true to me that the tragedy of Jack and Ennis raises their story to the level of a classic, tragic love story.  And, our cowboys seem to be "moon-crossed" lovers in the same tragic way that Romeo and Juliet with "star-crossed" lovers.  I don't really know what my question or topic of discussion is in relation to this observation.  But, I think it's really exciting to think of BBM as being on par and in the same league as some of the most classic and enduring tragic love stories.
 :'(

 
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moremojo

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Re: Importance of the sad ending
« Reply #1 on: August 02, 2007, 05:15:37 pm »
Certainly the story would be quite different without the element of tragedy. Critic Jonathan Rosenbaum argued, in countering comments he heard that the story's heartache reflected the reality of life, that the film would have been just as realistic if Ennis and Jack had found lasting happiness together (I'm not sure about his familiarity with the original story), but however that may be, this was not the story that the artists wished to tell.

Some gay viewers took umbrage at the tragic dimension to the film (critic David Ehrenstein, for example), suggesting that this factor reflected a pessimistic, old-fashioned view of homosexuality that insulted modern gay aspirations. I simply saw it as symptomatic of the truth of many gay lives throughout history, and the fact that the film was about homophobia did not itself make the film (or the people behind it) homophobic.

Indeed, the sympathy with which Jack and Ennis are observed (despite their deeply flawed characters), and the integrity with which their passion and love are invested, convey the deeply humanistic concerns of the artists behind this story. This was the first film I saw in which gay men were treated as rounded and complex human beings, and whose lives were honored as worthy and important. And part of being a rounded and complex person is enduring sorrow as well as fun and joy (the two elements that seem to predominate in so many contemporary gay-themed films and shows).

I think you are right, Amanda, to cite the film as a classic, and to suggest that its tragedy is an important element in making it so. A classic is something that we remember, that becomes part of the fabric of our lives and our culture, and nothing makes us remember so keenly as deeply felt emotion. The recognition of love found and lost is as profound an emotion as any in the human repertoire, and this is what Brokeback Mountain reveals to us, tenderly, passionately, and unforgettably.

Offline brokeplex

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Re: Importance of the sad ending
« Reply #2 on: August 18, 2007, 12:30:25 pm »
Certainly the story would be quite different without the element of tragedy. Critic Jonathan Rosenbaum argued, in countering comments he heard that the story's heartache reflected the reality of life, that the film would have been just as realistic if Ennis and Jack had found lasting happiness together (I'm not sure about his familiarity with the original story), but however that may be, this was not the story that the artists wished to tell.

Some gay viewers took umbrage at the tragic dimension to the film (critic David Ehrenstein, for example), suggesting that this factor reflected a pessimistic, old-fashioned view of homosexuality that insulted modern gay aspirations. I simply saw it as symptomatic of the truth of many gay lives throughout history, and the fact that the film was about homophobia did not itself make the film (or the people behind it) homophobic.

Indeed, the sympathy with which Jack and Ennis are observed (despite their deeply flawed characters), and the integrity with which their passion and love are invested, convey the deeply humanistic concerns of the artists behind this story. This was the first film I saw in which gay men were treated as rounded and complex human beings, and whose lives were honored as worthy and important. And part of being a rounded and complex person is enduring sorrow as well as fun and joy (the two elements that seem to predominate in so many contemporary gay-themed films and shows).

I think you are right, Amanda, to cite the film as a classic, and to suggest that its tragedy is an important element in making it so. A classic is something that we remember, that becomes part of the fabric of our lives and our culture, and nothing makes us remember so keenly as deeply felt emotion. The recognition of love found and lost is as profound an emotion as any in the human repertoire, and this is what Brokeback Mountain reveals to us, tenderly, passionately, and unforgettably.

very well put... I share in your observation that this is the first feature film that I have seen which treats Gay Men as "rounded and complex human beings". we, all of us wanted it to work out for Jack and Ennis, but it couldn't given what they had to overcome, from others, and more importantly in themselves.