watch and open your minds......

Rating: 10/10 (16 January 2006)

I saw "Brokeback Mountain" Saturday evening. Unbelievably well crafted, the integrated control of narrative, acting, scene, technique, and thematic insight are beyond stunning. Immensely impressive. It unfolds the intensity of affection between Ennis and Jack, how they try to do right in and for society, yet thereby are further distanced from what is most right for them. That is the nature of classical tragedy: to know your situation, overcome it by the best means you have, and thereby be defeated.... The catharsis of tragedy wrenches us with the insight of a mighty truth and the horror of a finalized reality. I, like so many who have seen it, was so moved by it because it recalled the many loves that were repressed and lost in a sterile and corrosive environment of fear and hate against love and intimacy. Who cares what awards it get. Its rewards are with everyone who saw it and understood themselves better. The movie echoes many things, "The Last Picture Show," the photography of Ansel Adams, "American Gothic" by Grant Woods....