At the 59th British Academy Film Awards, Brokeback Mountain was nominated for nine awards, winning Best Film, Best Direction, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Gyllenhaal).īrokeback Mountain was subject to controversies its loss to Crash (2004) for the Academy Award for Best Picture, subsequent censorship, and criticism from conservative media outlets received significant attention.
The sexuality of the main characters has been subject to discussion. Brokeback Mountain has also been regarded as a turning point for the advancement of queer cinema into the mainstream. In 2018, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
In Wyoming in 1963, cowboys Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist are hired by foreman Joe Aguirre to herd his sheep through the summer on grazing pastures on Brokeback Mountain. After a night of heavy drinking, Jack makes a pass at Ennis. While initially reluctant, Ennis becomes receptive, and he and Jack have sex in their tent. Despite Ennis telling Jack that it was a one-time incident, they develop a sexual and emotional relationship. Before parting ways, Ennis and Jack have a brawl that leaves both of them bloodied. Ennis later marries his longtime fiancée Alma Beers and has two daughters with her–Alma Jr. Jack returns the next summer seeking work, but Aguirre, who had observed Jack and Ennis on the mountain, refuses to hire him again. Jack moves to Texas, where he meets wealthy rodeo rider Lureen Newsome they marry and have a son.Īfter four years apart, Jack visits Ennis. Upon meeting, the two passionately kiss, which a stunned Alma inadvertently witnesses. Jack broaches the subject of creating a life with Ennis on a ranch, but Ennis refuses, as he is unwilling to abandon his family and is haunted by a childhood memory of his father showing him the body of a man who was tortured and killed for suspected homosexuality. Ennis and Jack continue to infrequently meet for fishing trips while their respective marriages deteriorate. Lureen abandons the rodeo and goes into business with her father, which causes Jack to work in sales. Upon hearing about the divorce, Jack drives to Wyoming and tells Ennis that they should live together, but Ennis refuses to move away from his children. Upset, Jack finds solace with male prostitutes in Mexico.Īlma takes custody of Alma Jr. and Jenny and marries Monroe, her store manager. She eventually confronts Ennis when he visits about the true nature of his relationship with Jack the two spar, causing Ennis to cease contact with Alma. Ennis has a short-lived romantic relationship with a waitress named Cassie. Jack and Lureen befriend another couple, Randall and Lashawn Malone, and it is implied that Jack and Randall have a brief affair.
At the end of a fishing trip, Ennis tells Jack that he cannot see him again before November due to work demands.