An Everlasting Gift for those who "get it".

Rating: 10/10 (24 April 2006)

I saw this movie 3 months ago. Admittedly, I'm not really into these romantic/drama type movies. I'm a straight male and was persuaded to go by my girlfriend. I tend to think that I'm open-minded and the subject matter did not bother me too much.
What I experienced from this movie is well beyond the romantic storyline. Now, 3 months later, I am still in awe of this amazing work of film-making and storytelling. I am also happy to see that there are millions of others out there who have had the good fortune to have been transformed by this masterpiece. The movie has made me wonder about my own life and choices......this really has nothing to do with the "gay" issue, but rather, how I've chosen my career path, past relationships, what my future holds. Will I find myself at a point, like Ennis, where happiness has slipped by due to my own fears and caution? Am I doomed to a life of misery, just because I was afraid to take that one chance? Truth is, I'm terrified, absolutely TERRIFIED, that I may end up one day like Ennis at the end, looking out of that lonely window, trapped in a wasted life full of regrets, only because I missed out on my chance for happiness.
I've read some great reviews on this site, but I continue to be baffled by the level of ignorance of some of the reviews I've seen. I am not talking about the negative reviews...I can not expect everyone to like this movie. I'm talking about the reviews from people who have NOT even seen the movie.....I mean, what could you be possibly thinking to comment negatively on a movie you have not even seen, nor intend to see? I've read with great amusement those who have called this movie a "gay agenda", an attempt to "homosexualize" America, a travesty against the image of the "American cowboy". If you can just open up your feeble minds just one second to see that it is none of that at all.
This movie is based on a short story by a mature woman; adapted screenplay by a great American writer who wrote great westerns; and directed by a Chinese family man and master filmmaker. Exactly where do you see a "gay agenda" in there? What possible reason would any of these people have to "promote" homosexuality? Are you so out of touch with reality and paranoid that you would think that all the studios in Hollywood got together for a secret meeting one day, and decided that it was time to spread a gay agenda across the US and world, and that this was the movie to do it? And do you think that there were some marketing geniuses who created all the "hype" falsely, and therefore that is why there has been so much talk about the movie? I'm just frustrated with all the stupidity and sheer ignorance and intolerance that I have seen and read about this movie. It is a story, a great story, and an amazing act of STORYTELLING......that is all you need to know about it; no politics, no sacrilege, JUST A STORY, about two men, at this one time, in this one place. Can you understand that very simple premise?
I have a good friend who I used to consider "sensitive". She would cry when hearing a certain Mozart symphony, or be in tears when she saw a Botticelli painting for the first time. I mean, WTF, crying over music or a painting? I used to tease her about that, but instead of being embarrassed, she would look at me, really in pity,..."your loss".
It was later that I came to realize that there was really something wrong with me, not her. She had the capacity and "gift" to feel the power of such masterpieces, and because of that, her life is more enriched. While I appreciate the mastery of classical composers or artists, I just did not "get it".
That's how it goes with this movie, and I'm happy to say I "get it". There are those who "get it", and those who don't. And those who do will have an impossible time explaining why to those who don't. It's not really your fault that you may not get it...you just don't, no worries. But I think it's funny if you are frustrated or poke fun at those who do. Because, in essence, we're not the ones with the problem.
I feel my life and outlook have been made better, and I'm a better person, because of this one movie, a masterpiece. Can a movie really do that? Crazy stuff, huh? And if you have a problem with that, do you really think I care? It's your loss, you know? I have nothing to prove to you; it's not my job to convince you. For those who "get it", we're the lucky ones, and it'll be our little secret. For the rest of you, I hope you find the inspiration for your life in some other form, before it's way too late; or else, like Ennis, you may quickly find yourself metaphorically shuffling around all alone in an old trailer....forever doomed to wonder what could have been.