I love so many scenes; some of them are happy, others sad, but all of them are totally beautiful, like the whole film, precious and marvelous.
Among FNIT, SNIT, Reunion Kiss, Dozy Embrace, Ennis at Jack’s home, I adore one especially: The opening scene.
First time I saw the film I was really shocked seeing that scene. I’ve read that Ennis and Jack met queuing in front of Aguirre office to get a job, so I’ve thought that there was going to be more people waiting for Aguirre, and they were going to talk each other while they were waiting. I’d never have imagined that it was going to be like “THAT”.
Ennis was leaning against Aguirre trailer and I was expecting, wanting so bad to know more about him. But then arrived Jack…and when he turned around to watch Ennis, OMG, I lost it completely. I was stunned, wide open eyes and mouth, my heart racing, my mind spinning. First, what the hell was doing that dark haired man? Looking like “that”, intensely, deeply…..And then, leaning like “that” against his truck, so sexy, so confident, and so mysterious……That was not how things between two unknown men were supposed to be!!! I don’t know…But those minutes, in total silence, where they were speaking only with those powerful glances, were stunning, disconcerting, so different. There was a special atmosphere, never seen before.
And second…..that man…those precious and magic eyes…..the mesmerizing strength of his expression. All of Jack was like a punch in my stomach. I was breathless.
I knew, in that very moment, that it was going to hurt, that my life would never be the same again.
Now, every time I try to see again the film, I cry so bad when Jack turns around and lifts his eyes to meet Ennis’s. In that moment I can see with painfully clarity the entire Ennis and Jack’s life, the first sweet moments shared, those first tender kisses, then those horrible separations, that endless passion, those crude fights, the tire iron, the tears, that dusty trailer….And it hurts so bad, in a so cruel way, that I have to quit watching, close my eyes and put a hand in my heart to prevent from bleeding. Every time I only get to see those first minutes, every time I started to cry with the first chord of the guitar, and when Jack appears I’m already a totally mess and then I really can’t see more.
But in spite of all that pain or precisely cause of it, that’s my favourite scene, the one I love the most. Those are the Ennis and Jack I adore, the ones I see when I think about them, the ones so young, still with hopes and dreams, the ones who remind me of that old cold time in the mountain. It’s beautiful ‘cause there they had all their love to discover and live, 20 years to spend together, but at the same time you know the end, you know those tears, you know the broken dreams, and ‘cause of that you see that scene with different eyes, you can taste the bittersweet truth.
BBM will always be that opening scene: Jack looking for Ennis eyes, and Ennis don’t wanting to meet Jack’s eyes, everything like a metaphor of their lifes, Jack looking for Ennis love and acceptation, Ennis running away from that love. Black resistol, black old truck; blue denim, blue shirt; white hat, paper bag; lack of words; eyes up, eyes down; cigarettes and dust; nice to know you Ennis del Mar. That’s for me BBM.