Remarkable

Rating: 10/10 (5 February 2006)

Imagine being an individual who is so deeply in love with another individual. Also, take a moment to think about what it would be like to try and deny those feelings for 20 years, but in the end, when the ultimate object of that love is dead to finally realize the true depths and meaning of the feeling.
What I described is basically the meaning of (in my opinion) the greatest movie of 2005/2006, Brokeback Mountain. This movie is about two Young "cowboys" who meet while doing casual work together during the summer of 1963. Their job involves guarding sheep together high up in the mountain. Eventually, in the one place they least suspect it, they find a mutual attraction that quickly develops into love. This is the beginning of a movie that explores the depths of the human soul. As the years pass, they both get married, and have kids, and try to put on the face of the "normal life".
Brokeback mountain is the kind of film that evokes such feelings and passion in the viewer that you are left thinking about its message long after the movie is finished. It is a love story that is really powerful in the sense in that the conflicts involved seem so real and you can also feel along with the characters exactly how they feel. I suppose part of this is due to the fact that it speaks to the deepest parts of each of our souls. We can all relate (to some degree) to the feeling of yearning to find someone to spend our lives with, and who will love us unconditionally.
The "love story" is a theme that is done over and over again in films. To do a "love story" usually means the movie will become an instant "hit" because it involves young and attractive stars who fall in love and eventually have their "happy ever after." Although movies like "Titanic" and "Love Story" appear to be tragic, in the fact that one of the main lovers dies in the end, in the end they are redemptive and "feel good movies" because at least both of the lovers involved are able to acknowledge and accept their love for one another. These movies also have as the covert background "truth" that had fate not taken a tragic turn, they really would have been together forever.
This is what makes "Brokeback Mountain"completely different from any other love story that has ever come out in the modern cinema. Many people compare the relationship between Jack and Ennis to that of Romeo and Juliet, and where I do thee the thematic similarities between the two (the lovers who are doomed to never be together), but to me the greatest parallel is with "Wuthering Heights" because Jack an Ennis (like Cathy and Heathcliff) are never able to really accept their true love for each other. Jack and Ennis are in such gripping passion for one another, and the movie does an excellent job of showing us that, but they(and the audience as well) knows that they will never ever be together.
Really, could a love be more tragic than this? Man, two people who spend years trying to be happy, and trying to find their peace in this world, but who are unable to because of the lives they all have been forced to lead. Truth be told, I went into this movie with preconceived notions about rooting on the two main male characters, but I found that the more I got into it, I really got to sympathize with the wives as well.Every one of the main characters is trying to fulfill social roles while at the same time following their hearts. Its stuff like this that make the final anti-climatic scenes of this movie so much more effective. The way that the ultimate love is discovered and expressed, when it is already too late.
I believe that the one "element"that could make this movie "redemptive" is the most tragic moment of all. The end when Ennis discovers just how deep their bond was, and his ultimate regret is the most heart wrenching part of this whole film. The pain that he experiences is expressed most vividly at the end. This movie leaves you (or at least it left me) wanting more. I did not want this to be the final end. So tragic, to live in a crummy trailer in the middle of nowhere dreaming and longing for a perfect life that could have been, but never could have been. Even though it seems like Ennis is coming to terms with just how deep their bond was, and this could be seen as uplifting, to me it was the final curtain on the most beautiful tragedy I have ever seen on film.
This film is a must see piece of cinematic art that everyone needs to see. It is a true movie experience that bears witness to the pains and sufferings (and also triumphs) of the human soul. One warning though, you will most likely find your heart breaking in sympathy for the main characters. This is not a film for someone looking for a happy film, and you will most likely leave it with sadness, but I believe it is a necessary sadness.