‘JAKE GYLLENHAAL DOESN'T EVEN LOOK LIKE A COWBOY'
Mil west
ANG LEE tells Tom Dawson how making Brokeback Mountain rescued him from
hopeless exhaustion.
n the surface the 'l‘aiwanese-born Ang Lee appears to be something of a magpie director. flitting between genres and eras. as comfortable making an linglish costume drama (Sans-c and .S'wisibilitv) as handling a mythical wuxia extravagan/a ((‘roiu'liing 'I'igi't: Hidden Dragon). Yet as the critic B Ruby Rich has observed. one recurrent
theme connects his diverse films —- ‘the suffering of
the human heart‘ And nowhere is this better illustrated than in his magnificent new film Broke/Hick Mountain. a tragic love story between two young ranch hands linnis Del Mar and Jack Twist (superbly played by Heath Ledger and Jake (iyllenhaal). who. in the early l‘)(i()s rural West.
embark on a closeted affair that will affect the rest of
their lives.
The modestly budgeted BI”()/\'(‘l)(l(‘/\' Mountain has already received seven (iolden (ilobe awards and is being fancied as an Oscar frontrunner. but Lee reveals that. after completing his previous lilm The Hulk. he considered quitting the movie business. ‘That was my second big movie in a row after Crouching Tiger. Hidden Dragon. and I was just wrecked. physically and mentally and I had to readjust tny nerves. The Hulk was a huge undertaking that went very deep and was very detailed: people assume that independent productions give you tnore freedom than bigger movies. but it can be the opposite. ()n a blockbuster. you‘re given so much money and nobody knows how to control you. and everybody is trying to please you.'
lincouragement to get back in the directorial saddle catnc from an unlikely source. namely Lee‘s father. who had hitherto never approved of his son's career. Two weeks before his death. however. he told Lee: 'You can‘t go on like this — you‘ve got to go and make another movie.‘ The son remembered a
screenplay from several years earlier. written by Larry McMurtry and Diana ()ssana. which he had passed on in favour of The Hqu. and which was based on a Annie l’roulx short story that had captured his imagination. ‘The writing was both terse and elegiac — somehow you could feel the cloud and the wind. I also loved the idea of Brokeback Mountain. It‘s an existential place. something that’s so elusive. that you keep wanting to go back to but probably never will.~
Much has already been written on both sides of the Atlantic about the subversive manner in which Broke/melt“ Mountain takes a quintessential American genre and fills it with a sense of homosexual desire. even if the protagonists don‘t perceive themselves as being gay. But Lee himself doesn‘t perceive his film as being a traditional Western. and in preparation for the shoot. the only movie he re-watched was The Last Picture Show. which was also written by McMurtry. ‘l.arry will tell you that not a lot of movies have been made about the real West.‘ he says. ‘That world of cowboys and Indians and gunslingers is something that was imagined by people like John liord.’
And what. I ask. did he see in Ledger and (iyllenhaal that would make them such a compelling screen couple‘.’ ‘I don‘t think Jake looks particularly cowboyish — he looks as though he doean really belong in the West.” replies Lee. ‘He takes the lead in the chemistry of the romance and he complements Heath's character. Heath had to carry the atmosphere of the West. and the fear. which erupts into violence. He‘s the new Hqu so to speak.’
Brokeback Mountain is on general release from Fri 6 Jan. See feature, page 14, and review, page 40.
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THE BEST FILM & DVD RELEASES
It Brokeback Mountain Ang Lee’s beautifully pitched adaptation of Annie Proulx’s short story. See feature, page 14, interview, left and review, page 40. General release from Fri 6 Jan.
II! Lower City Deeply sordid manage a trios drama (pictured) set in and around the very untouristy slums of the Brazilian port of Salvador de Bahia. See review, page 41. Cameo, Edinburgh; GFT, Glasgow (Fri 6—Mon 9 Jan only).
’3 Le Grand Voyage Lovely. understated road movie which focuses on the relationship between a pious man and his non-believer son. Highly recommended. Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh (Fri 6—Thu 12 Jan only).
* Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul Superb documentary about the Turkish music scene from the director of last year’s brilliant drama Head On. Part of Making Music Season see Surface Noise, page 63. Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh (Fri 6 Jan only) and GF7: Glasgow (Sun 8 Jan only). 1' Frankenstein James Whale’s brilliant 1931 creature feature gets a big screen airing as part of a Monster Movies season. Filmhouse, Edinburgh (Thu 5 Jan only).
* Innocence Perplexing but beautiful French girls boarding school mystery. Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh (from Fri 29 Dec). Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh (Thu 5 Jan only) GFT, Glasgow Fri 6-Mon 9 Jan only.
* Russ Meyer’s Vixens Trilogy Box Set Yeah, we know this has been out since October but we say there is no better start to any year than spending some time with the King of Leer. Out now (Arrow).
3- 17 Nov 200.“) THE LIST 39