Ang Lee's Green Destiny

“Brokeback Mountain” Directed by Ang Lee

Ang Lee’s "Brokeback Mountain", nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, is hailed by many as a breakthrough film. Others find it‘s subject-- a love affair between two cowboys-- tawdry or taboo. Lee says he anticipated controversy, but his concerns weren’t as strong as his passion for the project. “I thought people won’t go to see the film, or object to the gay relationship, particularly in Western characters. Or, might object that it’s not gay enough. People think differently, so objections could come from anywhere, but you can only be honest about your feelings and try to do justice to Annie Proulx’s brilliant story,” says Lee. “Filmmakers or any type of artist should try to tell any story that confirms feelings--and the newest emotional obstacle. That’s something I’ll always try to do.” MERIN: What key elements distinguish Ang Lee films from others?

LEE: Well, I always do my best and by doing so, I show who I am. I am always concerned with repression, meaning the enduring struggle between personal free will and social obligations or wanting to be part of the crowd, seeking comfort or approval. We want to behave with sanity. On the other hand, subconscious internal desires are very hard to define, and hard to rule. I have that struggle I have in my own life, and it shows in my work. And, time changes things. Nothing stands still. That’s important in my movies. People want to believe in something, want to hang on to something to get security and want to trust each other. But things change. Given enough time, nothing stands still. I think seeking for security and lack of security is another thing in my movies.

MERIN: Have you repressed yourself to fit in?

LEE: Of course-- I‘m a nice guy. I think everybody does.

MERIN: Heath Ledger and your other actors say you take them aside before shooting and have private conversations. What do you say to them? How does that influence their performances?

LEE: In my student days, I wanted to find that common method that would work with all actors. But now I know there’s no such thing. To me, every actor is kind of a mountain that I have to climb over. They‘re not just color or clay-- they have tempers, tendencies. They‘re living persons with opinions and feelings. I like to see how they are individually before I put them together. I grope forward and find a way to work with them individually, then blend them together. I have limited verbal skill in English, so one-on-one is easier for me. What I say is different for each. I don’t want anyone else to hear what I say because I want everyone to be surprised by what they get from each other and have fresh responses. One character doesn’t know what’s going on with another-- to have that spontaneous reaction from other actors, it’s better to keep some parts unknown. I think for Heath, I told him that he carries tension, that Western thing the way he poses, chews, leaves space between the lines. I think that’s how he externalized, because the movie has to show his internal feelings where he carries fear and violence and vulnerability.

MERIN: Do you have a personal "Brokeback Mountain", a place you escape to?

LEE: Every movie I make. That’s my hideout, the place I don’t quite understand, but feel most at home.

MERIN: Your projects differ from each other. Do you vary genres to keep Hollywood from pegging you?

LEE: Not purposely. Just different material attracts me. But I did fight early in my career to avoid being nailed down in one category. I made four comedies, then consciously chose “The Ice Storm” to break out-- to get some air.

MERIN: Your films combine epic with intimate. “Hulk” had helicopters, “Crouching Tiger” had armies to establish epic. "Brokeback Mountain" doesn’t have those elements-- how did you conjure its epic feel?

LEE: It’s an epic short story, an accumulation of twenty years of slices of life, big emotions, tragic feelings. Taking Annie Proulx’s story to film was tricky, but the epic feel comes from the landscape. I was conscious of framing the actors in an epic western. The mountains’ openness also serves as a private milieu, a secret place of beauty that’s kind of feminine and moody and private. So it’s a love story but still a western. Blending the two was the interesting part. The western love story needs time, and space is an important element, including acting space. Visually, you see just how much they allow each other to get close and how they shift their weight. Body language is important in that culture.

MERIN: As "Brokeback Mountain" progresses, the actors’ voices deepen. Has your voice deepened over time?

LEE: I think so. In each movie, I peel off something, keep goingdeeper, rip off layers, keep peeling off. Each time it hurts more and at some point you just feel you’re beat, abused and consumed. But to be honest, each time you go deeper. It never stops surprising me to find out more about the world, the audience and myself. I think that’s called aging.

MERIN: (Producer) James Shamus said you felt beat up after “Hulk.“ What attracted you to that project?

LEE: Trying to get to the other side of the moon culturally, I guess. With Chinese martial arts film, sexual repression is the hidden dragon. It takes pulpy material to free that. In “Hulk,” I wanted to a similar thing with American aggression. That green giant really speaks to me and it’s also pulpy. I wanted to take on the challenge of pulling a psychological drama, a psychodrama from that material-- to take on the industry and genre and wrestle with it. So I was in that mode and it got very deep on me because it was indeed a monster, like green destiny.