Brokeback Mountain wins ...

... in so many ways even if it's shut out of the Oscars.

It has done every thing it was meant to do. First and foremost it has made money. It has made more money than expected. It was also given the same marketing push from its distributors as if it were a mainstream film and remained in the top ten for over two months.

It was created with great care and given a noteworthy cinematographic treatment. It is Ang Lee's paean to American Culture in its struggle to become accepting and multi-dimensional. It is the story of star crossed lovers portrayed with bravura.

Heath Ledger proved his mettle. Michele Williams' acting is full of nuance and crescendo. Jake Gyllenhaal is every man looking for freedom. Ann Hathaway's final scene in so many ways tells precisely the story of what the wife experiences.

It portrays men loving men in all their attributes as sensual beings which is where it breaks ground for real.

It is already a classic. It is already noteworthy.

This is a great year for the Academy all around. Among the nominees there are no exceptions that prove the rule. Every nominee for Best Picture paints a revealing picture of an aspect of the Culture that it comes from. Two of them go back to the 60s and one to the 50s to do so, emphasizing perhaps a demographic that helped make Lee's film a moneymaker or perhaps pointing out that for many those decades are a watershed period. One of the films is definitely required viewing thanks to George Clooney who has achieved status as a cinematic jack of all trades.

Awards being what they are -- very often arbitrary according to the whim of the academy members or the antics of the potential nominee or winner. Just ask Russell Crowe. Very often it depends on the past achievements of the winner. Should Paul Giamatti make it across the winner's line tonight last year's Sideways will be the reason according to many. Some will say it because he is verily talented. The truth is he is very talented and his good fortune comes form the fact that he is a working actor.

The oft quoted dictum about it being an honour just to be nominated is quite true, because for a huge percentage of actors it would be an honour merely to be working.

Tonight will be a memorable award ceremony for a lot of people. Many are hoping that acceptance and tolerance will be the winners. Of course, many will be watching as if it's Cinema's Super Bowl.

Jon Stewart, always a comedic giant, will be the one of the reasons to watch from the very beginning.