A beautiful, melancholy statement on relationships. It will haunt you for days.

Rating: 10/10 (19 January 2006)

I've never cried at any movie. Ever. This one had me fighting the tears back the first, second, and third time at the theatre.
From the first few plucks of the guitar and the pre-dawn landscape in the opening I knew I could sink into this film. I've been anticipating--longing--for this movie to arrive after seeing the trailer several months ago. Being an emotional dude who loves works about loneliness and relationships, with a beautifully stark landscape to boot, I couldn't miss it.
I still can't believe that something as bold as this has been created and distributed to the masses. Is this country ready? For the most part, yes, but judging by some hateful, negative reviews, including a few surprisingly posted here, there are some people who sadly are not.
It's really too bad that some people are missing the point, calling this movie an "agenda" simply because it has a story between two gay men. It's such a sad movie (a wonderfully sad movie) that hardly glorifies the relationship between Jack and Ennis. The only "agenda" I could take away from the movie is that if you're not true to yourself you end up hurting those you love most.
The melancholy starkness to the movie--little dialogue in the beginning, shots of wide lonely vistas, the acoustic guitar (Gustavo Santaollala should have gotten an award)--will pull you in and makes you feel their pangs of loneliness. Hearing the music from the film now is still a punch in the emotional gut and tear jerking.
Go see this film. It gets inside of you and you'll never forget it. Anyone who is a die-hard romantic, has loved and lost, or has loved someone "forbidden," will be able to relate and you won't be able to see it enough.