'Brokeback' opens hearts, minds

Sitting back after watching "Brokeback Mountain" again since seeing it in the theater, I contemplated whether or not all that can be said about the film has already been said. Since its initial record-breaking theatrical release, "Brokeback" has become a cultural phenomenon and targeted by close-minded masses that reduce the film to three words: gay cowboy movie. I can take the simple three-word route too: cowboy love story. \nFor the span of 20 years we watch as fellow sheep herders Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) become friends, fall in love, marry women and have children, but continue falling harder for each other as the years pass between them. Their relationship bearing the spontaneity of love at first sight all the way up to a solid foundation that must remain in the shadows of Brokeback Mountain's tall trees, away from the disapproving world these two men were born into. \nWhile these men suffer from being so distant from each other, they in turn suffer the marriages they took on. Alma Del Mar (Michelle Williams) knows after Jack's first visit that the passionate kiss she spies her husband partaking in contains more love in those few seconds than the four years she's been married. Lureen Newsome Twist (Anne Hathaway), on the other hand, never really catches on to her husband's affair even though he is making regular trips from Texas to Wyoming to be with his lover.\nIf I had to choose just one thing that makes the film the triumph that it most certainly is, then I would point to the aura that surrounds everything. There are scenes of such natural beauty you'd swear no place in the world were skies so blue and filled with clouds as long as freight trains. There are moments of such emotional intensity that one must hold their breath before taking a hit so hard you'd swear you just been thrown from a raging rodeo bull.\nFor being such a widely acclaimed film, one must wonder why the DVD features so little supplemental material. The much-needed commentary by Oscar-winning director Ang Lee is absent although we are treated to a seven-minute piece regarding his thoughts on why "Brokeback" is so important to him. All the remarks he makes are moving, even more reason to wish they'd bump those seven-minutes up to 135. \nWe're also treated to a making-of segment where everyone has something to say about the cinematic achievement they're all so proud to be a part of, an "On Being a Cowboy" featurette good for a few laughs and a 10-minute interview with screenwriters Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry who fill in for an absent Annie Proulx who penned the famous "New Yorker" short story. One can only suspect that down the road a double-dip special edition is in the works. The film alone merits the grade and purchase, but a Lee commentary could border on perfection. \n"Brokeback Mountain" has already earned itself a place in the history of cinema, one sure to continue gathering appreciation and remembrance for many years to come. Open not only your mind but also your heart and let "Brokeback" speak for itself.