Review of Brokeback Mountain (2005) by Hannah M — 22 Oct 2012

Seeing Brokeback Mountain after One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I saw a common theme. Both are about people who have been taught by society to feel guilty about their own feelings, so much so that it kills them. The difference is that Brokeback Mountain is much more observant and sympathetic with the characters. We trace the lives of Jack and Ennis through two decades: we watch them have dinners with their wives and children, we see how hard Ennis had to work to feed his family, and consequently we see the constraints within which Jack and Ennis had to live. And seeing their constraints, we understand how hard it was for Jack and Ennis to avoid a love tragedy of one kind or another.

Like all the drama films that I like, Brokeback Mountain enriches my understanding of human relationships - a subject so vast and complex that it deserves better exploration than by most of the films and soap operas we have on TV and in cinemas right now.