BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN is much more than a gay cowboy movie, even though many straight folks are fond of describing it as such. And given that I was starting to feel like the only queer dude in the world that had not seen this much talked about (and admired) flick: I finally made myself watch it on DVD recently. And it was the saddest love story I’ve ever seen.

I knew one of the characters died. And I’d also heard about the quite moving scene with the shirt (I won’t say more than that–just in case there still might be another soul out there that has not seen this film yet). But all my friends failed to tell me about the gay bashing scene. I mean, the movie was already a tragic one: Two men painfully coming to terms with the intense love they felt for each other. And how society kept them apart–except for those few times they were able to reunite in the wilderness.

Brokeback Mountain was their home. Only then were they truly happy. And miserable while apart. Society had already harmed them deeply. But that wasn’t enough. Someone had to be killed for being a homosexual. And the survivor left to spend the rest of his days–filled with regret and feelings of guilt and a never-ending kind of sorrow. In truth, homophobia had killed two men–not one. The movie was nothing like I expected it to be.
I knew it was tragic. But I did not know it would turn out to be one of the saddest stories ever told. Both Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal (the “gay cowboys”) are outstanding in their controversial roles. Their characters are tough, sexy, sensitive, and sympathetic. Brokeback Mountain is not just a gay cowboy movie: It is a tragic masterpiece about what happens to a pair of queer lovers in a homophobic society, and how even the threat of death cannot stop us from loving someone of the same sex.

Note: The DVD has a wonderful special feature in which Heath Ledger talks about why he decided to be in the controversial movie, and what it was like playing a queer character.

2005, 134 min

Country: US

Studio: Focus Features

Cast: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Linda Cardellini, Anne Hathaway, Randy Quaid, Anna Faris

Director: Ang Lee

Screenwriter: Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana

Original Author: Annie Proulx

Rating: R