BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005): 4 stars out of 4. Starring Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway, Randy Quaid and Linda Cardinelli. Music by Gust Santaolalla. Screenplay by Larry McMurty and Diana Ossana. Based on a short story by Annie Proulx. Directed by Ang Lee. Rated R. Running time: Approx. 134 mins.

Brokeback Mountain is a heartbreaking romantic tragedy. The fact that the love story involves two men is secondary because the movie’s underlying theme is so universal that it relates to any two people who have felt very strongly about each other.

Brilliantly directed by Ang Lee and somberly adapted by Larry McMurty and Diana Ossana from a short story by Annie Proulx, Brokeback Mountain offers a nonjudgmental view of a forbidden love and the emotional cost to keep it a secret from a society that scorns those who breaks its social taboos.

Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal star as Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, two young men hired to spend the summer together protecting a herd of sheep in the shadow of Wyoming’s Brokeback Mountain.

It is a boring, tedious job that, fueled by alcohol, leads to a rough, spontaneous sexual encounter between the two.

But that one moment sparks a passion that the years cannot quench, despite each man marrying, fathering children and carving out lives for themselves.

Lee tells his story at a leisurely pace, giving us time to learn about Ennis and Jack.

Ennis, an itinerant ranch hand, is like a smoldering volcano. He seems to be always on the verge of erupting, and continually fights to hold himself in check. He is introverted and taciturn. He also is the more sensitive of the duo.

Jack, a rodeo cowboy, is more a free spirit; and while he loves Ennis, he finds ways to compensate for their long absences.

Brokeback Mountain is a quiet movie; the silence and landscape are used by Lee as characters to help enforce the isolation and loneliness the two men feel from the outside world and, when apart, from each other.

Their wives bear the brunt of their anguish. Neither Ennis’ wife, Alma (Michelle Williams) nor Jack’s wife, Lureen (Anne Hathaway), are able to forge the same emotional bonds that the men have created.

The most heart-wrenching scene in the movie involves Alma who, when Jack arrives for his first visit, accidentally sees her husband kiss him with a fire and passion that she never felt.

Lureen, too, becomes cynical and jaded over the years.

Ledger gives a magnificent and sensitive performance as the tormented Ennis, a conflicted man who continually denies his true feelings, yet hungers for those times when he can be with Jack. When anticipating spending time with Jack, he becomes as giddy as a schoolgirl on her first date.

Gyllenhaal brings a carefree passion to his Jack, who is more at home with his feelings. He is ready to defy society, continually pressing Ennis to go in with him on a ranch in Texas where they can work and live together.

And while the roles of the two women are not as fully developed as the men, Williams and Hathaway have moments that rip your heart out.

Punctuating the film’s tone is a lyrical score by Gus Santaolalla and a collection of country-western ballads.

Some people may be offended by Brokeback Mountain. They may say it endorses homosexuality. But they would be wrong.

Brokeback Mountain is not a morality tale; Lee has no agenda. He is simply telling a story of the heart, how unpredictable it can be and how empty life can be when individuals don't follow theirs — no matter what the cost.

Bob Bloom is the film critic and DVD reviewer at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, Ind. He can be reached by e-mail at bbloom@journalandcourier.com or at bob@bloomink.com. Bloom's reviews also can be found at the Journal and Courier Web site: www.jconline.com
Other reviews by Bloom can be found at the Rottentomatoes Web site: www.rottentomatoes.com.