Masterpiece!

Rating: 10/10 (12 January 2006)

I don't know if anyone will ever be able to top this film in the gay genre. It managed to do the hardest thing imaginable and that is portray two main characters as believable, truly homosexual men, and yet have you quickly disregard this fact as secondary in importance throughout the film.
I think that is what got me in the gut more than anything else in the film and that is not cheap praise because the scenery, the talent of the two leads, the supporting cast, the tightness of the plot and the mastery of skirting relatively sparse locations and simplistic scenes while keeping them riveting are also excellent accomplishments of this movie.
It's been haunting me for days and I may have to go back and see it again in the theater and hopefully release its hold on me. You know those movies that just made you believe the characters were real and you can't stop thinking about their "life"? This managed to do it.
I humbly bow to the director, Ang Lee. You have truly wowed me. If I never see another film of yours I'll have seen the best you can achieve because you couldn't have improved on this in any way. Perfection.