brokeback mountain

last night a friend and i went into manhattan to see Brokeback Mountain.

based on the 1997 short story by annie proulx, this is one of the most intense and moving love stories i've ever seen on film.



the fated love shared by ennis and jack is set against a backdrop of stifling, culturally repressed, religiously ADD western USA from the early 1960s thru 1980s. ang lee's wyoming is breathtakingly beautiful, which is the environment inwhich ennis and jack carry on their 20 yr relationship. this is a paradox to the ghetto, messy, visually displeasing realities both live out with wives they marry to satisfy our culture's gender expectations. their children are average, and relations with inlaws is unspectacular, and in jack's case, demeaning, which i think anyone who has been married can relate to.

jack is the impulsive one, led by his heart to embrace ennis in a moment of raw passion during a cold night on brokeback mountain. jack's heart is worn on his sleeve throughout the movie. he can't help but allow it to rule his life despite his culture's expectations of what a Man Should Be.

ennis is the opposite of jack. product of a tragically truncated family, he's stuffed his feelings inside himself, only to escape during times of overboiling rage against those who would test him. ang lee's poetic scene at the july 4th fireworks elloquently expresses visually the churning, powerful emotions that traverse ennis's inner landscape.



as with most romeo&juliet love stories, the movie ends sadly and tragically. jake gyllenhaal and heath ledger infuse their characters with deep emotional texture that adds weight to brokeback's ending. alot of weight. the film lingered in my mind long after leaving the theatre.



although in limited release, i think brokeback mountain should be nominated for the academy awards, and should win. this movie's ability to traverse a relationship landscape where few dare to go, and to accomplish this so well, makes it the best picture of 2005 for me.

if you're still undecided about seeing this due to its subject matter, get over it. stop catering to people who's ignorance proceeds from the blinders they wear to reality. grow up, leave judgment at the theatre door and enjoy the film for what it is: a truly powerful and tragic love story.