Brokeback sweeps film awards
2005-12-13 15:11
New York - Taiwanese director Ang Lee's gay cowboy movie Brokeback Mountain swept the New York Film Critics Circle on Monday, increasing the Oscar buzz surrounding the recent release.
The film was voted best picture of 2005, while Lee took the best director prize and Heath Ledger was named best actor.
The best actress award went to Reese Witherspoon for her portrayal of the wife of Johnny Cash in the biopic of the legendary singer's life, Walk The Line.
Based on a short story by novelist Annie Proulx, Brokeback Mountain chronicles the gay romance between cowboys - played by Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal - who meet while working on a ranch in 1963.
The film has emerged as the critics' Oscar favourite with the Los Angeles Film Critics Association voting it best picture at the weekend, with another best director nod for Lee.
The movie is sure to feature when nominations are announced on Tuesday for the Golden Globes, which are seen as a potential bellwether for films which could dominate the Academy Awards.
The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures named Good Night and Good Luck its best film of the year, but also gave Brokeback Mountain a nod by naming Lee best director.