BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005)

"Jack, I swear..."

Wyoming, 1963. Two young cowboys are hired to take care of some sheep way off in the wilderness for a few months. They fall in love and then spend the next 20+ years living a lie. Both get married and have kids, but their hearts belong to each other and their entire existence revolves around the infrequent visits where they can be together.

Honestly, it was hard to simply write out that brief synopsis without crying.  BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN is such a great movie.  A masterpiece of human emotions, regret and lost love.  When Heath Ledger says "Jack, I swear..." all I could think about was how we're only blessed with one trip around this racetrack and it's so easy to waste that time and get caught up in life and dumb shit and unintentionally neglect the ones you love or to simple lose them for other reasons that are completely out of your control. Relationships (and humans) are such a fragile thing sometimes.  Treat every day like it is your last.

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN isn't just a masterpiece of emotions, but also a masterpiece of filmmaking.  Perfect direction by Ang Lee, breathtaking cinematography, heartbreaking story, great pace, masterful acting and the music is a joy.  Highly recommended.

MOONLIGHT (2016)

"At some point, you gotta decide for yourself who you gonna be. Can't let nobody make that decision for you."

One fateful day, drug dealer, Juan (Mahershala Ali) is out on the street checking in with one of his sellers.  As he's walking back to his car, he sees a group a young boys chasing a smaller lone boy.  They say some extremely hateful stuff as they run by.  Most people wouldn't think too much of it, but Juan follows the boys and finds the lone boy, Chiron Harris, hiding in an old boarded up crackhouse.  He takes Chiron under his wing.  That doesn't turn out too well, but it does set into motion a safe place for Chiron to go when things get too bad at home or at school.  Which seems to be most of the time.

I don't want to get too much into the story of MOONLIGHT since the story itself and the way the story is presented is one of the many, many great things about this film.  Honestly, the best thing I can recommend, is don't read up on the movie...just watch it.  Put your goddamn phone down and pay attention to the film.  Think about the story, put yourself in Chiron's (and/or any of the other characters) shoes and then, afterward, simply reflect on it.  It's an extremely rewarding experience.  MOONLIGHT is one of those rare films that opens up so many different thoughts in your head.  I cannot identify with Chiron physically, but some of his mental scars really, really hit home with me.  As painful as it was to acknowledge and think about, just knowing that there's a beautifully made movie that reflects some of my own internal issues was very comforting.

Highly recommended. MOONLIGHT is one of the best films that I've seen in a very long time.