Brokeback Mountain

The slew of dismissive "gay cowboy" and "quit you" jokes that inundated the airwaves and the internet after the release of this movie could easily have made the experience of watching it feel like nothing more than an extended joke, but in fact it’s still as powerful as ever. You’d be hard-pressed to find a screen kiss more powerful than the one a reunited Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Ennis (Heath Ledger) share in Ennis’ stairwell, or an ending more subtly, silently heart-breaking. Despite — or perhaps, because of — the insurmountable obstacles Jack and Ennis face, this movie makes a love that strong seem worth fighting for.