Brokeback Mountain

I could write about how love transcends socially stagnated ideas about sexual orientation and that Brokeback Mountain makes that clear, but either you understand that and are interested in seeing the movie, or you don't and aren't. Ang Lee has made an excellent film. It is filled with sweeping, beautiful cinematography, honest and believable characters, and a deeply tragic and sad story. The story focuses on Ennis (Heath Ledger) but at times details the life of Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal).

I found Ennis to be the most interesting character and enjoyed very much his continuing story throughout the film. His struggle is interesting because he recognizes the reality of being discovered to be gay since he saw the gruesome aftermath of a similar event as a child. He strives to live the accepted life by marrying and having children. Even after the break up of his marriage, he for a time has another relationship with a woman. It is actually quite bittersweet to recognize the pain, Ennis is still in by the end of the movie.

Unfortunately, not all aspects of Ennis' life are exploited to full affect. I was intrigued by the relationship he had with his daughter. I wanted to know more about it. I wanted to know how they had developed such a close connection. I wanted to know why the other daughter seemed to disappear entirely from the film. By contrast, Jack's standing up to his father-in-law was predictable and uninteresting.

Overall the film was very good. It had its flaws, and I'm not sure it deserves to win awards over other films but it was definitely one of the best films of the year.