Sometimes people laugh because they can't bring themselves to acknowledge how tragic a situation it really is -- it's distancing, especially in a group. (I'm happy to say that the friends I was with were gasping with horror and dismay at the same scene, because at the same time that it's all Grand!Passion, the betrayal that it is also gets shown.)

And it seemed to me like such a fantastic, brutal, heart-wrenching moment -- and then practically the entire theater burst into cheerful, boisterous laughter. Not embarrassed, shocked, uncomfortable laughter, but the art-house movie equivalent of Fuck yeah! It was an utter Bizarro World moment.

This happened both in my theater and in the theater my friend saw it in. And I was laughing myself initially until I realized I wasn't supposed to be finding it funny. Something about the way the scene was played, the fact that it was an "Oops!" moment just struck that comic nerve. I think we were primed for that reaction since we also found the immediate rush to make out surprisingly funny. Everything seemed to be moving so much faster than we anticipated. It's possible it was just one of those releases of tension that you need in a movie like that, and it just happened to occur at an inappropriate time. Because the scene's clearly not meant to be funny at all.

I understand all about the tension-releasing laugh and the oh-shit-that-wasn't-funny nervous laugh, but the thing that creeped me out was that this laughter was cheerful and unapologetic. I've heard people go ha ha oops, but this wasn't that. It was creepily raucous and unembarrassed, like a wacky-marital-discord laugh at the climax of a Preston Sturges film.

By the last twenty minutes, though, practically the entire theater was snurfling and choking back sobs, so I guess I can't be too creeped out and grudge-holding. I bet the theater goes through double its usual supplies of napkins, paper towels and toilet paper during the Brokeback run.

There's an Alatriste Trailer here. . . it has no sound, but looks good.

was Crash discussed in here? if so, can someone Nilly it for me?

I'm trying not to be spoiled for Brokeback Mountain, but I've been glancing through your posts and I just read an article in the NY Times about real-life gay cowboys in which they mentioned that there are two brutal murders in the films. Now, I really, really want to see it - but I have a very hard time with depictions of realistic violence in movies. My question is - how graphic and/or upsetting are these scenes?

Maysa, I have a hard time with death in general (just ask anyone who saw Serenity with me) and with blood, and I was okay. the scenes were upsetting, and there was some blood, but it was only shown very briefly rather than graphically. The first one was described in some detail though, so that might be an issue. It wasn't for me, but I can see it being so for others.

Thanks, Perkins. I think I could handle that.

I think so. The scenes were upsetting, especially the second one, but imuch more emotionally so than visually.

I was about to post the exact same thing, Perkin. You don't see much, but you definitely feel the impact.