Brokeback Mountain

Arguably the most awaited and talked about movie of 2005, it's been showered with awards in virtually any country that hands them out. At the moment, it's the front-runner in this year's Oscar race that officially begins tomorrow morning with the announcement of the Academy Award nominations.

Brokeback Mountain, Ang Lee's latest cinematic gem, is the very simple story of two cowboys who meet by chance when they get a gig herding sheep up on the titular mountain. Rough and tough as you'd expect cowboys to be, once up there the two men start knowing each other and end up finding solace in each other's presence. Eventually, a wild, passionate, steamy romance erupts, and the two are surprised but enrapt by the attraction they feel for each other.

Their relationship will always be tormented while the two men try to make the best of what they have, given the society they live in and the beliefs they grew up with.

The movie, from a short story by Annie Proulx, is incredibly well developed. Mr. Lee deserves all the accolades he's receiving for creating an indelible love story painted over achingly beautiful and sorrowful landscapes. The first sexual "explosion" is so powerful, the spectator is shocked and left speechless, and the scene will surely be discussed for years to come in any movie class around the country. It's a masterpiece. Just like any scene involving Ennis and his wife. The performances Mr. Lee is able to coax out of the whole cast, but mainly the lead and supporting actors, are amazing.

Heath Ledger is now my favorite for the Best Actor Oscar, even though Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote was exceptional. Both men took on gay characters and treated them with respect and devotion, but Ledger deserves it more because his physical tour-de-force is just so unexpected and his character's sufferance so heart breaking, he should be rewarded.

Unfortunately (well, maybe not), last year there were a series of excellent performances in all the acting categories, which make a win for any other actor from Brokeback Mountain unlikely, but Jake Gyllenhaal was very good in portraying Jack Twist as a sensitive, frustrated man in love with someone who isn't willing to do all it takes to be together. Anne Hathaway is delicious as Jack's southern wife from money who never really shows her real feelings. Michelle Williams is absolutely extraordinary as the wife betrayed in her heart and in her mind by a man she loves but can love no more. And a special mention goes to Randy Quaid who, as the spiteful rancher who gives the guys their first job, makes his presence so lasting, you wouldn't think he's on the screen for only a handful of minutes.

In the end, Brokeback Mountain is a movie that leaves you with a sense of emptiness, solitude, sorrow, and bitterness so deep you can barely sob. You walk away asking yourself, Why? Why does it have to be like this?

No matter who you sleep with, this movie will touch you deeply, and will make you think, Is it really right or necessary to judge people for what they do in their private lives?

Grade: 9