"Brokeback Moutain" may well be the film of 2006.

There may be better blockbusters in the summer but I defy anyone not to come away seriously moved by this film. For this isn't a "gay cowboy film", or a "weepie" this is about so many themes it is difficult to know where to begin - alienation, duty, ignorance, the tyranny of distance and best of all the strength of a relationship over time. I would recommend this movie to adults,not because of the sexual content but because of the continual subtext and intelligent writing littered around this film - which makes it a minor masterpiece.

I have no patience with those who squirm about "homosexual" material, we're all adults on this website and its part of life whether you like it or not. "Homophobia" internalised or otherwise is the major part of this film.But it is about something else, something much stronger - its about two men who found each other but society and the morals of the time pushed them apart. They were indoctrinated so much in the structures that society had taught them, that they themselves pushed each other away and that was the main tragedy of the film.

For if Jack Twist had not married his wife then he probably would still be alive at the age of 39. Society in the guise of "the good old boys" who killed him would not have noticed him if he had not been married to his wife (and although it is not referred to in the film you can but guess it was his father-in-laws doing). If he had gone off with Ennis, then maybe the same would have happened to him - the sequence earlier in the story of Ennis' painful recollection of what happened to a same-sex couple - but he would have made less of a target. And Ennis may have looked after him. There are so many lives screwed up by a rural society that doesn't tolerate anything different that it is hard to know where to begin.

And a major protagonist is Wyoming itself. The camera catches beautifully the sweeping majestic mountains. The razor sharp peaks and endless forests. This mixed with the Rufus Wainwright and Willie Nelson soundtrack creates a highly atmospheric moody film. But as beautiful as these shots are they are instrumental in the movie. It is this wild wilderness which protects Ennis and Jack as they fall in love up on "Brokeback Mountain" but this sparsely populated wilderness is also their undoing. The population is low, its hard enough for heterosexuals to find partners let alone homosexuals. There are no other homosexuals, there is no pond to dip into find a mate like there is in major cities. There are no cultural references to refer to, homosexuality is a "hidden subject" - more then that the macho culture of the frontier makes it a "taboo" subject. Jack and Ennis have no other reference points except themselves.

As I have picked up from the above, the script is first rate. There are so many contexts and good character moments. The characters are utterly three-dimensional and truly mesmerising. Jake Gythenthal and Heath Ledger get roles of a lifetime. It is highly unlikely they will ever again be offered parts as good as these and its such a rarity for Hollywood. The character of Ennis at the end isn't a sad one, he still has "his Jack" and always will have. Whenever he opens his wardrobe you can imagine him smiling as he sees Jacks shirt there. The audience can imagine his heart breaking a little each year as he contemplates "the fishing expeditions" and Jack won't be around with him. Its that thought which nearly brought tears to my eyes in this film. The thought of Ennis hurting that his "best friend" won't be around. He hashad a happy life, he loved to the full - even though at times he didn't recognise it - and was loved back. His memories will sustain him to the end of his days.

Its a powerful film and everyone involved comes out well - director Ang Lee, writer Stuart McMurty, the actresses Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway. Its a unique film and highly original. Heath Ledger as Ennis Del Mar is one of the cinemas more memorable characters. His mumbling performance is highly convincing as the man of little words but big feelings. The scene where they come off the mountain and say goodbye, his upbringing and persona means when Jack is there he is there he will mumble and shrug his goodbyes. But when he is alone the pain is so great that his crying is so powerful it brings on a fit of nausea. As life progresses women pick him to be their partner but the ability is continue a relationship is not there. All through the twenty year marriage to Alma the highlights of his life were his girls and his time spent with Jack, which only happened a couple of times a year. The tragedy of the film is that many lives were made miserable because he could not act on his feelings and live with Jack. Society made him conform against his biology.

But if this film has any lessons then it has to be the fate of any rural minority, especially one which has been persecuted in culture for so long. I do believe that everyone should go see this film and get a better idea what gay men or woman, especially in rural settings, have to go through. Many of us have had our own "Brokeback Mountain". This is a story that has waited generations to be told. It is still going on today. Recently I have made friends with a guy called Surguy, he lives in a city called Maly-Oty about 900 miles east of Moscow in the Russian wilderness. He is gay, but there is no gay references in his city, no way to meet other soulmates, no way to get on with the life he was destined to have. His options are marriage to a woman or movement to a big city. And fear keeps him in the closet. Fear of what his rural compatriots will do. The story of Jack and Ennis is going on all over the world as we speak. That is why this is such an important film.

EM Forster dedicated "Maurice" to a better time. A better time is 2006 where this film gets the accolades it deserves. Unfortunately the "better time" did not coincide with the lives of Ennis and Jack. And thats the real tragedy of "Brokeback Mountain"

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age