Brokeback Mountain (2005)

We got to admit it: Ang Lee fouled up in his ambitious adaptation of the marvel superhero Hulk into the big screen. A long boring story involving a raging green CGI-monster didn't real count as a good enough movie. And we thought that Lee had ran out of luck but redemption came sweet and swift to this Taiwan-born director. Now with another adaptation (this time of E. Annie Proulx's short-story) and directing trophies and a possible Oscar nod come March, Ang Lee is back in his elements.

With the same poignancy sans special effects that he gave us in Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon (nominated for Best Foreign Language Film) Lee delivers in Brokeback a very understated yet moving drama. Brokeback stars Heath Ledger as Ennis del Mar and Jake Gyllenhaal as Jack Twist; two cowboys whose unconventional and illicit love affair brings them together and tears their loved ones apart.

While stationed as hire hands to oversee sheep at Brokeback Mountain, jolly and noisome Jack befriended and drew close the silent and reserved Ennis. One bitterly cold night the two cowboys had a passionate encounter and they were forever change. Discovering that they have more than physical attraction between them and yet realizing that they can't live together , they decided to part ways. But four years of separation was simply too unbearable for either of them and soon they found themselves, having had wives and children of their own, helplessly in love with one another.

It all seemed like a simple love story. But this was in the 1960's. They were living in a tightly-knit Christian communities that never heard of gay relationships. And they were cowboys: the iconic image of the American male. With superb acting delivered by both actors (especially commendation goes to Ledger, though) and their able support (Anne Hathaway and Michelle Williams), Brokeback definitely restores Ang Lee reputation and hauls for the director loads of cash and numerous awards.

Filmed in Signal, Wyoming by the virtuouso cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (21 Grams, Amores Perros) who apparently did not know how to shoot a single ugly scene, Brokeback provides an Eden-like set for the "Adam and Eve" of the story. The background sets are too beautiful and serene that they are sometimes a distraction. However they are necessary to contrast the anguish and pains felt by the main characters as they struggled to express what they truly felt in a world that would not let them do so.

The verdict fanatic: For this film, and hopefully no more of Hulk-sy stuff, hats-off for Mr. Lee!