History Film / BrokebackMountain

* HomophobicHateCrime: Jack [[spoiler:dies in an "accident"]] that Ennis, Jack's male lover, suspects was actually a hate crime. Also, as a child Ennis's father took him to see the body of a man who was tortured by the townsfolk for being gay.
* IdealizedSex: Jack and Ennis's first time manages to both avert this and play it straight at the same time. It's a messy, awkward, rather painful looking affair...however, since it involves Ennis taking Jack roughly with no preparation and only a little bit of spit to ease the way. Realistically, this would end with bleeding and limping.
* InnocentCohabitation: Jack and Ennis on their first trip to Brokeback Mountain.

* MarriedToTheJob: The men have an argument ([[spoiler:on what turns out to be their last trip]]) because Ennis cannot make the trips as frequently due to his job. While before he was willing to quit jobs to take the trips, now (after the divorce and needing to pay child support) he needs the money too badly to quit. This inspires Jack to name-drop the trope.

* NocturnalEmission: In its original short story, Ennis sometimes dreams of Jack after Jack's death, either leaving him with grief or an "old sense of joy and release" upon waking. It's implied that this trope is in effect when he feels the latter because sometimes the sheets are wet instead of the pillow.

-->'''From the short story''': "Ennis pulled Jack's hand to his mouth, took a hit from the cigarette, exhaled. "Sure as hell seem in one piece to me. You know, I was sittin up here all that time tryin to figure out if I was-? I know I ain't. I mean here we both got wives and kids, right? I like doin' it with women, yeah, but Jesus H., ain't nothin' like this. I never had no thoughts a doin it with another guy except I sure wrang it out a hunderd times thinkin about you. You do it with other guys? Jack?"

However, four years later Jack decides to contact Ennis and the two men re-establish ties, realizing that they both still love each other. Over the next decade-and-a-half, they carry on an affair with each other by way of "fishing trips." No one is completely happy though -- Ennis is unwilling to cut ties with his family and start a fresh life with Jack (in part out of guilt and confusion, in part out of awareness of what could happen to them if the world found out about their relationship), Alma knows what's going on from the moment the men are reunited and suffers in silence for years before divorcing Ennis, and Jack's own marriage becomes lifeless.

* AbusiveParents: In the story, upon visiting Jack's parents [[spoiler:after his death,]] and meeting his father, Ennis remembers one particularly chilling story about how his dad punished him for his inability to get the hang of using the bathroom.

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Del Mar and Twist aren't described as being particularly good-looking in Proulx's short story. They're played by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.

* FixFic: Quite amount of fanfics of this [[spoiler:tries to undo Jack's death and give him and Ennis happy ending]].

* GoodParents: Jack's Mother, as far as we can tell. [[spoiler:When Ennis shows up after Jack's death, they seem pretty clear on what his relationship was with their son, while Jack's father makes it clear he viewed his son as a failure, Jack's mother is clearly devastated at her son's death and welcomes Ennis. She asks him to come back someday and visit and lets him take Jack's shirt - even placing it in a bag for him.]]

* IdealizedSex: Jack and Ennis's first time manages to both avert this and play it straight at the same time. It's a messy, awkward, rather painful looking affair...however, since it involves Ennis taking Jack roughly with no preparation and only a little bit of spit to ease the way, Realistically, this would end with bleeding and limping.

* NocturnalEmission: In its original short story, Ennis sometimes have Jack in his dream after Jack's death, either leaving him with grief or an "old sense of joy and release" upon waking. It's implied that this trope is in effect when he feels the latter because sometimes the sheets are wet instead of the pillow (crying from grief).

* SceneryPorn: Mostly in the first third, chronicling the summer on Brokeback, but shows up from time to time in the remainder (especially their trips together).

* ShoutOut: The poster is one for ''Film/{{Titanic|1997}}''.

* StraightGay: Both main characters have no stereotypical traits of homosexuals. Between the two of them Ennis comes off as slightly more masculine.

* TragicKeepsake[[spoiler:: Jack and Ennis' shirts they last wore in Brokeback Mountain, which Jack kept as a memento in his closet, became this for Ennis after Jack's death.]]

* YourCheatingHeart: They actually cheat on their respective wives with each other when they meet again.

* NocturnalRelease: In its original short story, Ennis sometimes have Jack in his dream after Jack's death, either leaving him with grief or an "old sense of joy and release." It's implied that this trope is in effect when he feels the latter because sometimes the sheets are wet instead of the pillow (crying from grief).

%%* LongDistanceRelationship

* ShoutOut: The poster is one for ''Film/{{Titanic}}''.

* StraightGay: Both main characters have no stereotypical traits of homosexuals.

* StraightGay: Both Ennis and Jack. Between the two of them Ennis comes off as slightly more masculine.

The film adaptation was directed by Creator/AngLee and starred Creator/HeathLedger as Ennis and Creator/JakeGyllenhaal as Jack. It got a lot of attention before it premiered simply for the premise; soon it was widely known as "the gay cowboy movie"[[note]]Even though they were shepherds, not cowboys[[/note]]. Between praise from many film critics and massive controversy thanks to MoralGuardians, the modestly-budgeted film became a profitable box-office success. It evoked some HypeBacklash and inspired '''many''' spoofs, but it also touched a lot of hearts. At the end of the day, the film won Oscars for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score. Arguably it was remembered even more fondly following Heath Ledger's death.

%%* StraightGay

* NoBisexuals: Some people are annoyed that this is referred to as the gay cowboy movie and Jack and Ennis are commonly called gay, when in fact they are actually bisexual, and bisexual activists have used this movie as an example of 'bisexual erasure.' This may well be accidental, however, considering most of the people who refer to the film as "the gay cowboy movie" [[CriticalResearchFailure haven't actually watched it (given that they're not cowboys either).]]

* BuryYourGays: In the final stretch, [[spoiler: Jack is killed in what is said to be an accident, but Ennis suspects otherwise]]. This is somewhat justified due to the setting and time period. A key reason Ennis keeps his feelings close to the chest is because [[spoiler: as a child he saw what became of a gay man who didn't hide his orientation (and doesn't even discount the possibility his own father helped kill the man); thus his suspicions later]].

* AbusiveParents: In the story, upon visiting Jack's parent's [[spoiler:after his death,]] and meeting his father, Ennis remembers one particularly chilling story about how his dad punished him for his inability to get the hang of using the bathroom.
** ''"...He had been about three or four, he said, always late getting to the toilet, struggling with buttons, the seat, the height of the thing and often as not left the surroundings sprinkled down. The old man blew up about it and this one time worked into a crazy rage. “Christ, he licked the stuffin out a me, knocked me down on the bathroom floor, whipped me with his belt. I thought he was killin me. Then he says, ‘You want a know what it’s like with piss all over the place? I’ll learn you,’ and he pulls it out and lets go all over me, soaked me, then he throws a towel at me and makes me mop up the floor, take my clothes off and warsh them in the bathtub, warsh out the towel, I’m bawlin and blubberin. But while he was hosin me down I seen he had some extra material that I was missin. I seen they’d cut me different like you’d crop a ear or scorch a brand. No way to get it right with him after that."''

* [[Main/{{Cowboy}} Cowboys]]: The job they took was sheep herding, of course, but they do fit the trope in that Ennis is a working cowboy and Jack is a rodeo rider.
* ClintSquint: Ennis's departing scene with Jack. ''"Now you listen here Jack-[[PrecisionFStrike fuckin']]-Twist..."''

* {{Gay Cowboy}}s: one of the most famous examples. [[YouKeepUsingThatWord Except that they're shepherds.]]

** I ain't queer.

* ReunionKiss: After seeing each other for the first time in four years, they try to stick to a simple ManHug - and then Ennis proceeds to slam Jack up against the wall and kiss him like he'd die the second he stopped. It's just a little heartwarming... *sniff*

* StraightGay[=/=]ManlyGay: Both Ennis and Jack. Between the two of them Ennis comes off as slightly more masculine.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brokeback_mountain.jpg]]

'''''Brokeback Mountain''''' originated as a 1997 short story by Annie Proulx but became a household name by way of a faithful 2005 film adaptation.

* NeverWorkWithChildrenOrAnimals: Ang Lee had already sworn off ever making another movie featuring sheep after horrible experiences making ''Film/SenseAndSensibility''... and apparently they were even worse here.

The film adaptation was directed by Creator/AngLee and starred Creator/HeathLedger as Ennis and Creator/JakeGyllenhaal as Jack. It got a lot of attention before it premiered simply for the premise; soon it was widely known as "the gay cowboy movie"[[note]]Even though they were shepherds, not cowboys[[/note]]. Between praise from many film critics and massive controversy thanks to MoralGuardians, the modestly-budgeted film became a profitable box-office success. Fitting many facets of the SupposedlyRebelliousSeries trope, it evoked some HypeBacklash and inspired '''many''' spoofs, but it also touched a lot of hearts. At the end of the day, the film won Oscars for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score. Arguably it was remembered even more fondly following Heath Ledger's death.

%%* {{Gayngst}}

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brokeback_mountain.jpg]]

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brokebackmountain.jpg]]

The film adaptation, directed by Creator/AngLee and starring Creator/HeathLedger and Creator/JakeGyllenhaal as Ennis and Jack, got a lot of attention before it premiered simply for the premise; soon it was widely known as "the gay cowboy movie".[[labelnote:*]]Even though they were shepherds, not cowboys[[/labelnote]] Between praise from many film critics and massive controversy thanks to MoralGuardians, the modestly-budgeted film became a profitable box-office success. Fitting many facets of the SupposedlyRebelliousSeries trope, it evoked some HypeBacklash and inspired '''many''' spoofs, but it also touched a lot of hearts. At the end of the day, the film won Oscars for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score. Arguably it was remembered even more fondly following Heath Ledger's death.

* {{Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder}}: Played with. Since the setting is anything but gay-friendly, Jack and Ennis separate and start new families after leaving Brokeback Mountain; however, they soon return, despite only much later separating (legally and emotionally) from their wives.
* {{Abusive Parents}}: In the story, upon visiting Jack's parent's [[spoiler:after his death,]] and meeting his father, Ennis remembers one particularly chilling story about how his dad punished him for his inability to get the hang of using the bathroom.

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Del Mar and Twist aren't described as being particularly good-looking in Proulx's short story. They're played by HeathLedger and Jake Gyllenhaal.

* StraightGay / ManlyGay: Both Ennis and Jack. Between the two of them Ennis comes off as slightly more masculine.

* DownerEnding: Excuse me... [[SandInMyEyes I have something in my eye]].

* {{Gay Cowboy}}s: one of the most famous examples. Except that they're shepherds.

----

''Brokeback Mountain'' originated as a 1997 short story by Annie Proulx but became a household name by way of a faithful 2005 film adaptation.

* BuryYourGays: [[spoiler:Jack is killed in what is said to be an accident, but Ennis suspects otherwise. Somewhat justified due to the setting and time period. A key reason Ennis keeps his feelings close to the chest is because as a child he saw what became of a gay man who didn't hide his orientation (and doesn't even discount the possibility his own father helped kill the man); this is why when he is told of the accident that killed Jack, he sees in his mind a similar killing as what really happened.]]

* ButNotTooGay: A common complaint is how little screen time the intimacy between the men got compared to the relationships to their wives.
** Though the main sex scene between them was relatively explicit.
* TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch: [[spoiler: Jack dies while "fixing a flat."]]

* {{Flashback}}: Two -- [[spoiler:Ennis' childhood memory of being taken to see the remains of a murdered gay man, and Jack's memory of Ennis holding him during their summer on Brokeback]].

* TransparentCloset: They're ''so'' not subtle when they're together.
** And by the end of the movie, [[spoiler:it seems like Jack's parents and wife knew.]]

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* NoBisexuals: Some people are annoyed that this is referred to as the gay cowboy movie and Jack and Ennis are commonly called gay, when in fact they are actually bisexual, and bisexual activists have used this movie as an example of 'bisexual erasure.' This may well be accidental, however, considering most of the people who refer to the film as "the gay cowboy movie" [[CriticalResearchFailure haven't actually watched it.]]