Love is a Force of Nature

I've always bristled at describing Brokeback Mountain as a gay cowboy movie, but I've struggled to find a succinct description for it. Last week the high definition DVD of it arrived magically in my mailbox. I had it on preorder at amazon.com. Unlike the sorely lacking regular definition version, the HD DVD has a few extras. I watched them this weekend. In an interview, one of the producers refers to it as a gay Dr. Zhivago, which I find a much more satisfying description. Both movies are about a passion forbidden by the society of the time, set against a larger than life backdrop, and lack a happily ever after ending. The scene with Omar Sharif on the bus and the scene with Heath Ledger on the payphone both move me to tears every time.