I would definitely have to agree with you on this, Steven.

A lot of people are judging this film based on what they perceive to be its "representation of gay relationships," but I think they are placing way too much importance on the sexuality of the characters.

Brokeback Mountain is not a "gay love story." It's merely a film about two men who fall in love with each other, one of whom is clearly not "gay" in the modern sense, and one of whom -- it is suggested -- has a bit of a history with being with other men. I actually think it's much more powerful for the film to present the love story this way, as one that actually depicts "situational homosexuality" over biological homosexuality. I think there's something absolutely remarkable in that representation, something much more bold than pedantic discussions of gay rights. What the film does is simply say, "Doesn't it suck that the world tells these men that they should not be able to love each other freely? Doesn't it suck that this is how the world is?"

Of couse, your self-righteous little sycophants are going to get their panties all up in a wad b/cuz the film isn't "gay enough" or b/cuz it doesn't have a happy ending (God forbid a film depict REAL life over trumped-up Hollywood-ized happy endings) or b/cuz the actors playing the roles are straight. To me, this shows how deeply the gay community has sunk into a pattern of victimization in which we over-analyze everything and are always looking for ways in which we are being attacked and/or degraded. Brokeback is simply a gorgeously realized, emotionally devastating depiction of love between two men who had no concept of a "gay identity" or Stonewall or the AIDS epidemic or ACT-Up or gay pride parades.

It shows us, in a very restrained, almost understated way, how love is often just something that happens when you are free from societal forces. And then it shows how, once you enter back into society, that very love can become tainted and corrupted by forces outside your control. It demonstrates with remarkable, sobering clarity just how infallible and fragile true love really is, but it also shows us how beautiful such devotion can be.

To look at Brokeback as the "gay cowboy love story" is to place far too many limitations and categories upon a movie that shows us how love, in its absolute purest form, transcends the very limitations and categories that threaten to suffocate it. That these men were not able to fully commit to their love for each other and live "happily ever after" is not the point; that they were able to find it in themselves to love at all is the true miracle on display. That, despite all the forces attempting to keep them down, they still found their way back into each other's arms year after year, time after time.

For me, this is what Brokeback Mountain represents. And it gives me hope that one day I may find that kind of love. This is why I recommend the movie to anyone who wants to live in a world where love is cherished and respected, not trivialized and spat upon.