‘Brokeback Mountain’ is simply one of the year’s best

Despite what you may have heard, “Brokeback Mountain” isn’t just about gay cowboys. That type of description is too simplified and really destroys the essence of a beautiful film.

Instead, “Brokeback Mountain” is a love story and not just between the two main characters, which indeed happen to be cowboys. It’s a story of unrequited love and forbidden love.

Have you ever really desired someone that you couldn’t be with? If so, did you feel an aching in your heart that just wouldn’t go away? If you can relate to this then you now know what is truly at the heart of this film.

“Brokeback Mountain” is the story of Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal), two young cowboys spending the summer herding sheep on Brokeback Mountain. After an awkward beginning to their work relationship, they form a bond, finding friendship and something more. As their work contract ends, they part and go on with their lives: marrying sweethearts and having children. Still, they lack something in their lives. When they reunite years later, old, buried feelings resurface and their impossible love story begins. Director Ang Lee proves that he’s the most successful art house filmmaker working today. Whether his films are dramas or even action films, the emphasis is always on character and this movie is no exception. The two, gay cowboys are wonderfully portrayed by Gyllenhaal and Ledger in award-deserving performances.

The story is stark, realistic, heartfelt and never exploitive. The subject is taboo, but the yearning and feelings these men share are universal. Love knows no boundaries, even in the wind-swept, desolate mountain ranges of Wyoming.

One of the major themes is isolation, not only in the physical setting of the film, but also in the characters’ emotions. The men know their passion is doomed to secrecy and failure, but it maintains. Their spouses also feel the isolation and loss and this brings long-lasting effects to their home lives.

Some viewers might find the entire subject shocking, morally corrupt or at the very least controversial. You must approach the subject material on your own terms and yes, there are scenes of homosexual intimacy. But it’s no more graphic than in most R-rated films.

The film makes no moral judgment on whether homosexuality is right or wrong. It only portrays it in real terms in which the viewer can relate. Love, passion and loss are feelings in which we can all relate. Homosexuality is just window dressing. The main characters could easily have been lovers of different ethnicities, cultures, or those belonging to a different economic status.

“Brokeback Mountain” is a film sure to stir up controversy. If you can leave preconceived notions at the door, you’ll find a gem. The performances are top notch and the writing and direction are equally good. It’s a film that deserves to be seen and discussed, not for its controversial story, but for what it is; art.

Brokeback Mountain
Rated R

KATU Movie Critics Tony Robinson and Phil Badowski are regular contributors to katu.com.

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