BROKEBACK Mountain failed to capture the Best Picture award in the recently concluded Oscar Awards. But for the gay and lesbian community it is the best picture there is for the year. This as it was nominated in the "gayiest" Oscars ever. Films like Transamerica and Capote have homosexual themes. Most moviegoers and critics are signifying that movies with gay and lesbian themes are gaining ground in Hollywood. This is partially true. It is maybe because of the promotional distinction that kept the curiosity of the moviegoers burning. Ang Lee who won as Best Film Director for Brokeback Mountain is hero for Asians. However, the award should have been awarded to him when he did the direction for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Though Brokeback Mountain has the depth, Crouching Tiger has the breadth.
Also noteworthy in their performances were Philip Seymour Hoffman who won an Oscar Best Actor for his portrayal of the gay writer Truman Capote and Felicity Huffman who was nominated for her role as a pre-op transsexual in Transamerica. Annie Proulx, in an interview with an AP entertainment writer, said that she never thought her short story "Brokeback Mountain" will be turned into a movie, more likely to be an Oscar material. Her short story "The Trickle-Down Effect", which was published in The New Yorker in 2002, has this quality that makes you admire its construction - the kind that has a linear prosodic appeal. However, it does not really hold you down to your seat. Proulx's story was among those featured along with works of E. L Doctorow (who recently won a National Book Award for his book "The March"), Zadie Smith and Norman Mailer. Proulx has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her fiction "The Shipping News" in 1994. It was made into a movie. In last year's ImageOut Festival in Rochester, New York, some quality films and videos were featured. The Philippines had its share of exposure. Mark V. Reyes' 19-minute video "Last Full Show" was featured under the Flower City Flicks. It was awarded Best Short in the Turin International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. It is the story of "a young high schooler and an older guy who dabble in a game of forbidden love. It highlights the socioeconomic realities in Manila." Also noteworthy was Sigrid Andrea P. Bernardo's 20-minute video entitled "Woman" which was featured after the showing of the award-winning video "Keep Not Silent" by Ilil Alexander. Certainly, films and videos in the gay and lesbian genre have been gaining ground in the past though only that promotion was lacking. Promotion is the biggest factor why certain films or movies break the Hollywood scene. A film that caught my attention was the multi-awarded "Based on a True Story" by Walter Stokman. A film based on the Academy Award winning film "Dog Day Afternoon" which stars Al Pacino. It is about the story of John Wojtowicz who on August 1972 "attempted to rob a Chase bank in south Brooklyn in order to finance a sex change operation for his suicidal boyfriend. Before he and his accomplice could flee the scene, the police had the block surrounded and a 14-hour standoff ensued, with all the bank staff held hostage." That prompted me to research on the incident thru the net. I encourage the readers to search on it in the web and you will be amazed by the story. Brokeback Mountain is an interesting film but it cannot be considered as groundbreaking. It's theme is not original, think of Carlitos Siguion-Reyna's "Ang Lalake sa Buhay ni Selya" (The Man in Her Life). The story is simple. But what makes it appealing is its quality and the psychological and emotional turmoil it imparts to the viewers, considering that it is a film about gay love. In the Philippines, Danton Remoto's short story "Green Rose" gained admiration from critics as it was published in the Philippines FREE PRESS years back. Surely, gay themes in various works have been existent for years. And it is wonderful!
Also noteworthy in their performances were Philip Seymour Hoffman who won an Oscar Best Actor for his portrayal of the gay writer Truman Capote and Felicity Huffman who was nominated for her role as a pre-op transsexual in Transamerica. Annie Proulx, in an interview with an AP entertainment writer, said that she never thought her short story "Brokeback Mountain" will be turned into a movie, more likely to be an Oscar material. Her short story "The Trickle-Down Effect", which was published in The New Yorker in 2002, has this quality that makes you admire its construction - the kind that has a linear prosodic appeal. However, it does not really hold you down to your seat. Proulx's story was among those featured along with works of E. L Doctorow (who recently won a National Book Award for his book "The March"), Zadie Smith and Norman Mailer. Proulx has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her fiction "The Shipping News" in 1994. It was made into a movie. In last year's ImageOut Festival in Rochester, New York, some quality films and videos were featured. The Philippines had its share of exposure. Mark V. Reyes' 19-minute video "Last Full Show" was featured under the Flower City Flicks. It was awarded Best Short in the Turin International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. It is the story of "a young high schooler and an older guy who dabble in a game of forbidden love. It highlights the socioeconomic realities in Manila." Also noteworthy was Sigrid Andrea P. Bernardo's 20-minute video entitled "Woman" which was featured after the showing of the award-winning video "Keep Not Silent" by Ilil Alexander. Certainly, films and videos in the gay and lesbian genre have been gaining ground in the past though only that promotion was lacking. Promotion is the biggest factor why certain films or movies break the Hollywood scene. A film that caught my attention was the multi-awarded "Based on a True Story" by Walter Stokman. A film based on the Academy Award winning film "Dog Day Afternoon" which stars Al Pacino. It is about the story of John Wojtowicz who on August 1972 "attempted to rob a Chase bank in south Brooklyn in order to finance a sex change operation for his suicidal boyfriend. Before he and his accomplice could flee the scene, the police had the block surrounded and a 14-hour standoff ensued, with all the bank staff held hostage." That prompted me to research on the incident thru the net. I encourage the readers to search on it in the web and you will be amazed by the story. Brokeback Mountain is an interesting film but it cannot be considered as groundbreaking. It's theme is not original, think of Carlitos Siguion-Reyna's "Ang Lalake sa Buhay ni Selya" (The Man in Her Life). The story is simple. But what makes it appealing is its quality and the psychological and emotional turmoil it imparts to the viewers, considering that it is a film about gay love. In the Philippines, Danton Remoto's short story "Green Rose" gained admiration from critics as it was published in the Philippines FREE PRESS years back. Surely, gay themes in various works have been existent for years. And it is wonderful!
(Published in Sun.Star Bacolod newspaper, March 08, 2006 under my column, The Mango Generation)
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