Beautiful and important movie

Rating: 8/10 (19 March 2006)

I admit that I walked into the cinema with a few prejudices. Firstly, I was turned off by all the hype around this movie and by all the nay-sayers who begrudged "Crash"'s Best Motion Picture Of The Year-Oscar. Secondly, because I thought that "Brokeback Mountain" was praised more for the delicate subject it deals with than for its actual execution. Well, roughly two hours later I left the theatre disabused.
"Brokeback Mountain" avoids all the traps it could easily have fallen into. It's neither affectedly dramatic, nor is it a sweetened romance à la "Titanic". Instead it's a genuinely tragic story of two men who have to suppress their feelings for each other, because they can't escape the conventions of their time and their milieu. Not every bit of the story is pointed out, certain plot points are only hinted at, which underlines once again that this movie is for thinking people.
Ang Lee's direction is candid and unobtrusive. It's admirable that an Asian director can portray primal-American culture so well. Lee definitely deserved his Oscar (although I still think Woody Allen should at least have gotten a nomination for his direction in "Match Point").
Ledger and Gyllenhall were very convincing and natural in their roles and - just on a side note - I thought the make-up artists did an incredible job letting Ennis and Jack age.
So, yes, it's true. "Brokeback Mountain" was the most important movie in 2005. Not just because of its message, but also because of the compelling way it was conveyed.