Origins of Wednesday lxv: Acting

I have always liked music,
but I grew to like opera
in my 30s because it told
me a story, and I could
hear dialogue as conver-
sation explained on par-
allel tracks. Except in
Mozart, naturally, where
da Ponte's libretti were
no more than narratives
one no longer needs.

I watched Ang Lee's mov-
ie on the Annie Proulx
story, Brokeback Mountain,
for the first time since
the daytime screening I
saw of it more than ten
years ago. Now, I think
Heath Ledger's portrayal
of Ennis del Mar, widely
praised back then, holds
up honorably well. Ledger
is gone, our Jacks and
our Ennises are gone; but
he put something on the
screen for the generations
to see themselves by. In
the meantime, we all have
Jack's shirt on its hook.
Long after it held there
for anguish, it persists
in place, to warm his kind.











Willy Vanderperre
Clément Chabernaud
undated