A Modern-Day Tristan and Isolde?

Rating: Null/10 (13 January 2006)

I watched "Brokeback Mountain" after viewing the recently released film version of the tragic love story "Tristan and Isolde." In a curious way, the two films, stories, and characters seemed remarkably similar! In fact, "Brokeback Mountain" included even more visual poetry than "Tristan and Isolde," which is one of the greatest love stories of all time.
I never would have imagined poetry of any kind in the herding of sheep! But that is what director Ang Lee brilliantly provides in this breathtakingly beautiful film. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal also deliver sensitive and completely believable performances as Ennis De Mar and Jack Twist, the young men who fatefully meet on Brokeback Mountain.
One minor quibble: Despite fine performances by Michelle Williams (Alma) and Anne Hathaway (Lureen), the women's roles could have been developed more completely. For example, after watching her husband Ennis kissing Jack Twist on the mouth, would Alma not want to have a frank conversation about what she had witnessed? It was difficult to imagine that Alma would wait until after their divorce was finalized to finally confront her ex-husband about his relationship with Jack. After all, the setting for the film was the 1960s and 70s, a time when people were (finally) talking openly about matters of human sexuality.
This film was still enormously successful in its lyricism and in its message about the power of love. Like Tristan and Isolde, the relationship of Ennis and Jack unfolded secretly and against the will of society. And what better backdrop for a romantic saga than the beautiful landscape of Wyoming, as masterfully filmed by Ang Lee.