Blogger's Comment:
It has been two weeks since it's release, the film seem to have gained traction both among the critics and the audience. The film has landed on the top 10 ten grossing movies, of note this one distributed in less than 1000 screens (WashBlade). Friends who've seen it, tell me go. Will do so when wider distribution/decreasing interest provides for budget conscious film goers.
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Ang Lee on What Asians, Gays and Cowboys Share
Asian Week, Q & A, Joy Guan, Dec 17, 2005
Director Ang Lee has a history of being a trailblazer, and his new film, Brokeback Mountain, is no exception, both in subject matter and cinematic style. He made his directorial debut with Pushing Hands (1992), followed by The Wedding Banquet in 1993, which garnered film festival awards as well as Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations.Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) is considered one of Lee’s greatest works and is America’s highest-grossing foreign-language film. Lee is also one of the first Chinese-born directors to cross cultures telling stories with no Asian content or actors, including Sense and Sensibility (1995), The Ice Storm (1997), Ride with the Devil (1999), and The Incredible Hulk (2003)
AW: How do you select the films that you work on, and what characterizes a signature Ang Lee film?
At heart, I am a dramatist, and love dramatic elements and conflict. A signature Ang Lee film addresses the conflict between personal free will, and social pressures or obligation. Nice guys always struggle, and I like to peel the comfortable covers off and explore that uncomfortable zone, which is revealed when common codes of behavior are violated. A subcurrent of repression always runs through my films. … If a project is not scary and sensitive, then it’s probably less interesting to me.My upbringing in Taiwan makes my interest in these stories extremely personal. Growing up, my artistic leanings were always repressed because there was always pressure to do something “useful” like be a doctor.
AW: Part of what makes your films so powerful is your unwavering attention to detail and authenticity. How do you immerse yourself in cultures completely different from yours?Various stories require different genres, and I like the genre-hopping very much, as I get the opportunity to work with vastly different societies and film crews.In terms of creating authenticity in order to portray a [different] culture — I just try my best to survive because the material possesses me. I am attracted to the unfamiliar and am curious to find out why I am so moved when I find a compelling story. When I’m possessed, I tend to forget about the danger ground. You feel very dumb when you don’t know about something and there will always be an awkward learning curve.Creating authenticity is not that hard compared to evoking the intended reaction from audiences.
AW: Many Asian directors and actors seem to be typecast and work in only one genre or culture. Have you ever felt limited by people’s expectations?
It’s easy to be pigeonholed. I am more free from that because I generate and choose my own material. Since release of The Wedding Banquet, I have developed relationships with international distributors, giving me more freedom and control over how my films are released. I don’t do big Hollywood movies [The Incredible Hulk is an exception], so the trade-off is we don’t have huge budgets and need to be budget-conscious. My cross-cultural body of work does seem to be unique amongst Asian filmmakers.I’m like a rolling stone; I don’t like to gather moss and always need to keep fresh. Many directors are not comfortable with the trade-offs of doing that. For instance, John Woo may want to do something different, but won’t get the budget, creating a barrier for him to branch out from the genre and style that people seek him out for.AW: What is the anticipated reaction for this film from both critics and the general public, and how does the feedback affect you?So far the reaction to Brokeback Mountain has been very positive, and it’s a story with lots of deep emotion. I’m not sure what to expect, although some denial is expected — some people will claim that there are no gays in Wyoming, although of course there are. At the same time, the subject matter of this film is different because it addresses universal feelings — above all, it is a romantic love story, and probably won’t be mislabeled as merely a gay film.
AW: ‘The Wedding Banquet’ was a story of cultural and generational differences between a gay New Yorker and his Taiwanese parents; does ‘Brokeback Mountain’ feel similar? To me, these two stories are very different. The Wedding Banquet is a family drama, originally made for a mainstream Taiwanese audience. It is a comedy of mannerisms and a social commentary. Brokeback Mountain deals with the secrecy of a homosexual lifestyle and is fundamentally a story about romance.
AW: Your love seems to be for drama and storytelling –– do you see yourself producing anything other than films?
The infrastructure that supports my filmmaking is my sense of social obligation –– the feeling that there are stories to be told. I am a filmmaker at heart, and am happy to make one movie after another. For me, this is the best medium for me to communicate and reveal the drama of the human condition.
AW: Cowboys are not known for openly expressing their emotions. Asians share a similar stereotype. Do you see any parallels between Asians and cowboys in how they deal with taboo sexual subjects such as homosexuality?
I see the themes of repression in Brokeback Mountain as being universal regardless of culture. However, it is true that Eastern culture and the nature of cowboys share a certain indirectness, quiet nature, and use of body language to communicate that are quite similar. There are similarities in the art of the two cultures as well –– they both emphasize feelings of sadness, melancholy, and expansive space through various media.The difference is that Western culture is more macho, whereas Eastern culture is –– more lunar and feminine in nature. Thus, when it comes to attitudes about homosexuality, my personal theory is that Eastern culture is more relaxed than in the West. This stems from a difference in why a culture perceives homosexuality to be wrong –– in Western culture, it stems from religion, and you are condemned if you are gay. Eastern culture seems more, flexible –– and being gay is more of a social issue than a religious one; there is no deity to offend. The West also seems to tolerate lesbians more than gays because it’s a very macho culture; homosexuality is not okay because it threatens this culture. Of course, this is my observation in general –– I am sure that there are happy gay ranch hands in Wyoming with very sensitive neighbors as well.
Dec 19, 2005
Ang Lee on What Asians, Gays and Cowboys Share
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