Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Secretary (2002)

Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Secretary (2002)

Author: Film Trace January 8, 2023 Duration: 1:00:47

The fifth film in our Risqué Romance cycle is Ang Lee's western romance, Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Special Guest: Amanda Jane Stern - writer, actor, and producer from New York City. She wrote, produced, and starred in the new erotic thriller Perfectly Good Moment, soon to be playing at a film festival near you!

When Brokeback came out in the mid-Aughts, it was supported by effuse buzz and whispered homophonic jokes. This was not unlike the release of The Crying Game in the early 90s. Both films were from smaller studios and gained traction due to their misperceived salaciousness. Looking back on Brokeback, the film's reputation is bizarre and totally ill-fitting. The film is a quiet and slow mediation on how love blossoms quickly but then withers for decades only to constantly reemerge through turned soil, like a perennial bud. Its loss to Crash at the 2006 Oscars for Best Picture feels more and more criminal with every passing year. Brokeback Mountain is one of Ang Lee's enduring masterpieces alongside Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

For our chaser film, we reexamine the 2002 film Secretary, which felt like a slight curiosity on release but plays totally differently now. Very much a hidden gem.


Ever find yourself falling down an internet rabbit hole after the credits roll, clicking from a film’s trivia page to the director’s biography and then to some obscure piece of production history? That’s the exact feeling Film Trace aims to capture and expand upon in audio form. This isn't just another review show. Instead, each episode is a deep, meticulously researched excavation of a single movie’s entire journey. We start with the initial spark of an idea-the script found in a drawer, the chance meeting that got it greenlit-and follow every twist and turn through casting, chaotic production, and post-production. The story continues to the film’s release, its critical and cultural reception, and what legacy it holds now. Think of it as a comprehensive, narrative-driven biography of a film, built on primary sources and genuine curiosity. The hosts at Film Trace use their collective nerd superpowers to do all that obsessive digging for you, weaving together context, history, and behind-the-scenes details into a compelling story about how art gets made. You’ll come away from each installment of this podcast not just with an opinion on a movie, but with a real understanding of its place in the wider world of TV and film. It’s for anyone who believes the story off-screen is just as fascinating as the one projected on it.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 131

Film Trace
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