Director Ang Lee receives the Golden Lion at the Cinema Palace in Venice September 10, 2005. Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain", a tale of homosexual love in the wilds of Wyoming, won Venice's Golden Lion on Saturday, beating film festival favourite George Clooney in the race to take the top prize.
The latest movie by the director of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hulk" is adapted from a story by Annie Proulx and stars Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as love-struck cowboys whose forbidden affair begins in 1963 and ends 20 years later.
"After two big movies, I decided to make a small movie that really moved me," said Lee, who flew back from the Toronto Film Festival to take the award. "I have the impression this is the most auteur-specialist of all film festivals and I never thought I would come here. I can't tell you how proud I am."
Brokeback Mountain" starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal (pictured) has sweeping vistas, lonesome men, bucking broncos and smouldering campfires. It also has some steamy sex scenes between the two men whose lives are changed, disturbed and entwined after being hired to tend sheep for a summer in Wyoming in the early 1960s.
"The love story has good vibes. I hope it will penetrate prejudices,'' Lee told reporters a few hours before the premiere of the movie at the Venice Festival.
He said setting the story in the 1960s in the conservative West "helped set up the obstacles, especially to gay love, affection.''
More difficult than interpreting a love story between men - cowboys at that - was getting beyond clichéd perceptions about the American west, he said.
"My biggest enemy was the (western) movie genre which was invented,'' said the director, whose films include Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hulk, The Ice Storm and Sense and Sensibility.
Ledger called the film the best love story he's done in his career.
Lee, maker of Oscar-winner "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is also noted for "The Hulk" and "Sense and Sensibility".
"Brokeback Mountain" will get its North American debut at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend, but it is not in competition there.
Unfortunately the only Chinese movie<<长恨歌>>directed by 关锦鹏 starring 郑秀文，梁家辉and吴彦祖，failed to get a hold of any of the trophies. However, there are a couple of Asian latents recognised in Venice - 宫崎骏在威尼斯影展接受终身成就奖荣耀 and Korean director Park Chan-wook was seen as a front-runner for his beautifully shot "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance".
I didn't know that George Clooney was that good in directing. Well he did directed a quite well acclaimed Solaris. However I never thought that he would be nominated for his "Good Night. And, Good Luck". Critics had predicted Clooney's black-and-white tale of 1950s broadcasting courage would win the Golden Lion. Clooney, adored in Venice, did not go home empty-handed, winning an award for best screenplay while his star David Strathairn won the best actor prize for his intense portrayal of journalist Edward R. Murrow.
Worth mentioning - Heath Ledger is probably the new sizzlingly hot Cate-Blanchett-Nicole-Kidman-Hugh-Jackman in Hollywood. He had 3 films showing at the film festival, namely Brokeback Mountain, The Brothers Grimm and Lords of Dogtown.
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