More than the Heart can bear

Rating: 10/10 (27 August 2006)

Throughout art, there have been countless stories and books, plays and movies about unrequited love. Some of the greatest stories and greatest works of art are about this very subject. And Brokeback Mountain enters this Pantheon of enduring love stories told with heart and beauty. The contrasts in Ang Lee's film are almost painful to have to deal with. The beauty of the scenery - skies so blue as to be dazzling in their intensity, mountain landscapes that are breathtaking in their grandeur - contrast with the heartbreaking poignancy of this sad, sad tale. The film consists of layer upon layer upon layer of emotion and meaning. The backdrop is beautiful. The pathetic nature of the lives of characters we grow to care so much about during the course of the film, are sometimes painful to watch. But then in the middle of these tragic story lines, there are moments of beauty and peace appearing like flowers suddenly blooming in the desert - Ennis' loving and loved daughters, Jack's humor, the strength of Alma and Lureen desperately trying to make their marriages work, Ennis opening up of his true feelings. The audience watches this life journey and is profoundly touched. We think we know what direction the movie might take at several times during the film, but then like life itself, the film veers off unexpectedly as fate and circumstance suddenly appear and the characters are forced to continually deal with life in all of its complexity - complexity of feelings, of situations, of inevitability, of both happiness and tragedy. The ending is genuinely emotionally charged. The culminating scene between Jack and Ennis where anger gives way to heartbreaking declarations of helplessness, and ruefulness at wasted time and wasted lives is simply devastating. The final scene with Ennis toasting his lovely, precious daughter, followed by that unbelievably tender final tableaux of Ennis, tears flooding his eyes, gently adjusting the photo of Brokeback Mountain is one of the most powerful scenes in recent American Cinema. For the audience, it is a moment that is almost more than the heart can bear. This is a classic film, and it will long endure as one of the most touching and profound films exploring the deepest recesses of our hearts.