Never Quitting ‘Brokeback Mountain'

New York Times

20-06-2025

'I wish I knew how to quit you,' says a frustrated Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) to his secret lover Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) in a now emblematic scene from Ang Lee's 'Brokeback Mountain,' the celebrated gay-themed drama based on Annie Proulx's 1997 short story.
The film was originally released in December 2005, but is back in theaters this June for a 20th-annivesary Pride Month reissue.
Jack's sorrowful line came to synthesize the doomed love affair between the two rugged men for whom the majestic landscapes of Wyoming became a sacred romantic hide-out — the only place they were free to express desire and tenderness for each other.
But that line, and the notion of two men who embody an archetype of American masculinity falling for each other, was both parodied and memed in pop culture — often reduced to 'the gay cowboy movie' — even while the film received critical raves and Oscar nominations (eight, including best picture, a prize it lost to the movie 'Crash'). Arriving at a political turning point in the United States, 'Brokeback Mountain' struck a chord far beyond cinephile circles.
For the film critic and author Alonso Duralde, who wrote a book about queer cinema history called 'Hollywood Pride,' the film was a watershed moment for representation in mainstream Hollywood. It was distributed by Focus Features, the indie outfit of Universal Pictures, with a revered director and up-and-coming stars, which meant it could potentially have a wider reach and impact.
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