A Transcendent Love Story

Rating: 10/10 (17 December 2005)

Setting aside for the moment that "Brokeback Mountain" deals with two gay men, it is first and foremost a love story, told with a very narrow focus on two men and then to a lesser degree the people who populate their very small worlds. The film is beautifully shot, takes its time to build character and plot, and leaves you with a haunting feeling that we must grab every opportunity in life to be who we truly are.
Those who struggle or are bothered by the sexuality of the film are of course saying more about their own sexual hang-ups than they are about the quality of the film. In a very real way, I don't think the film is too interested in whether or not these two men are gay (though they are). It is concerned with the way they develop a deep bond of love but live in a culture that refuses to allow them to fully respond to that connection. So the two men do exactly what society asks of them --they put aside the feelings, repress them, bottle them up and behave themselves by getting married and having children. Of course, this doesn't quench their connection and only brings heartache to their wives and families.
I'm not certain how one could see the final moments of this film and not recognize it for a profound depiction of human connection that transcends culture/time/politics. The last shot of the film is haunting...
Clearly, this film has hit a nerve with movie-going public. It is a love story in a way we have not seen before and the fact that it is generating so much "talk" is a tribute to the fine work of art that it is.