Climbing Brokeback Mountain with Strange de Jim

Sunday night, December 11, my roomie Stephen and I drive to San Francisco's Embarcadero Center, whose buildings are outlined in white lights.
We're going to see Brokeback Mountain, the story of a twenty year love affair between Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal), which is playing on three screens at the Embarcadero Cinema in ....

Embarcadero 1.

Here's Stephen inside the lobby as we make our way to the multiplex for the 10 p.m. showing.

THE PHOTO I DIDN'T
GET I should have taken a picture of the sheet of yellow paper, taped to the window, on which was handwritten: "ALL SUNDAY SHOWINGS OF BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN SOLD OUT."
Stephen and I see George Clooney's Good Night and Good Luck instead. It's about Edward R. Murrow of CBS vs. Sen. Joseph McCarthy and is quite good.

Monday morning's Chronicle says Brokeback had a super opening weekend, raking in $544,549 in only 5 theaters, before opening wide. The L.A. critics have voted it best film, Ang Lee best director, and Heath Ledger runner-up for best actor.
Monday afternoon Stephen and I order Brokeback tickets online and ride Muni downtown. Emerging from underground, we pass the marble court at Market and Sansome.

We arrive at Embarcadero 1. Today, Stephen, as you see, is much clearer.

On the way up the escalator we enjoy this wreath.

The movie is stark and simple and true and moves both Stephen and me, and, seemingly, the whole audience. Jake Gyllenhaal and the female characters are excellent, and ...

Heath Ledger is positively amazing. (The New York Times says his performance is "as good as the best of Marlon Brando and Sean Penn.") Besides his love affair, Heath's close relationship with one of his daughters, who has an uncanny physical and emotional resemblance to him, is a thing of pure beauty.
(I'm interested to note in the credits that one of Heath's daughters at 4 is played by a young lady whose last name is Proulx, presumably related to Annie Proulx, who wrote the 1997 story on which the movie is based.)

Afterwards we head toward the Embarcadero Muni station.

Yes, the world is a wonderland.

Tuesday morning's Chronicle reports that all 33 weekend showings of Brokeback on three screens at the Embarcadero were sold out. The San Francisco critics have awarded it best picture, best director and best actor. Best of all, Brokeback has received seven Golden Globe nominations: best picture, director, actor, supporting actress, screenwriter, original song and original score. Wow!

San Francisco's leading literary agents, Elizabeth Pomada and Michael Larsen (shown here in a photo in the 12/11/05 S.F. Examiner) tell me they couldn't get into Brokeback Tuesday and also went to see George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck.

After pondering a little I'm staggered at what I suspect is going to happen. All the hoopla is going to draw general audiences. They're going to experience two men they really like having a real lifelong love affair. Audiences will leave understanding we're all the same, all just people, on a deep feeling level. Brokeback Mountain will produce change no rational argument ever could. Again, wow!

And now, of course, I'm haunted by speculation about The Lone Ranger and Tonto, The Cisco Kid and Pancho, and, needless to say, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans and the immortal Gabby Hayes.

Dame Edna called and told me she hiked up Brokeback Mountain. "I crept out on Ledger Knob, Strangepossums. The view is lovely from the very tip. And then I slid all the way to the bottom of Gyllenhaal Ravine."
Dame Edna was on The Tonight Show Dec. 23 wearing a dress that looked like a Christmas tree. "And there may be a present under here for you, Jay Leno!"

If you'd like to read the original Annie Proulx New Yorker story on which the Brokeback Mountain movie is based, click here:

Original Brokeback Mountain short story

Castro photos 1880s to present

Click on the icon below to see San Francisco's Castro on Amazon.com