THEthe Pride Month it’s the perfect opportunity to catch up on all those films they helped popularize and enlighten LGBTQ+ stories through cinema. But beyond the anniversaries, these works continue to speak to the present through tales of love, identity, discrimination, courage and self-determination. From masterpieces that have now entered the history of cinema to more recent films that have won over critics and audiences, here we go ten LGBTQ+ titles to watch (or review) every month of the year.
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
When Ang Lee brings the love story between to the screen Ennis Del Mar And Jack Twist, two cowboys in Wyoming in the 1960smainstream cinema takes a decisive step towards a deeper and more complex representation of human relationships, in this case homosexual ones. Played by Heath Ledger And Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain it tells of a passion lived in secret and suffocated by social conventions. Over twenty years after its release, it remains one of the most influential queer films of all time.
Philadelphia (1993)
With an extraordinary performance awarded theOscar, Tom Hanks takes on the role of Andrew Becketta brilliant lawyer fired after his employers discover he is gay and HIV-positive. Directed by Jonathan Demme, Philadelphia it was one one of the first major Hollywood films to openly address the issues of HIV and homophobiahelping to raise awareness among the general public at a crucial time.
Milk (2008)
Sean Pennawarded theOscar as best actor, he plays Harvey MilkThe first openly gay politician elected to public office in California. Directed by Gus Van SantMilk traces his battle for civil rights up to the tragic assassination of 1978. A political and human story that reminds us how much today’s conquests are the result of courageous struggles.
Boys Don’t Cry (1999)
Among the most important films for the representation of transgender people in cinema, Boys Don’t Cry tells the real story of Brandon Teenayoung trans man victim of brutal hate crime in Nebraska. Hilary Swank offers an intense and painful interpretation that earned her theOscar. A difficult film to watch, but essential for understanding the weight of discrimination and transphobic violence.
Carol (2015)
In the New York in the 1950sa sophisticated high society woman and a young shop assistant fall in love, defying conventions and prejudices. Directed by Todd Haynes and played by Cate Blanchett And Rooney Mara, Carol it’s a refined melodrama which tells the female desire with rare visual sensitivity. A melancholy and luminous love story at the same time.
My Own Private Idaho (1991)
Gus Van Sant he signs one of the symbolic films of American independent cinema of the nineties. River Phoenix And Keanu Reeves they play two young people who live on the margins of society, between friendship, desire and the search for belonging. Visionary and poetic, My Own Private Idaho he helped bring queer themes into arthouse cinema long before they became central to cultural debate.
Pariah (2011)
Less known than other titles on this list, Pariah is one of the most intense works of recent years on the path of identity construction. Directed by Dee Reestells the story of Alike, an African-American lesbian teenager who tries to assert herself between family expectations and the desire for freedom. A delicate, authentic and still surprisingly current film.
120 beats per minute (2017)
Awarded with the Grand Prix al Cannes Film Festivalthe film by Robin Campillo recounts the battles of Act Up Paris against the inertia of the institutions during the hardest years of the AIDS epidemic. But 120 beats per minute it is also a story of love, friendship and loss. A powerful work that conveys all the urgency and anger of a generation forced to fight to survive.
God’s Own Country – In God’s Land (2017)
Often referred to as the “British Brokeback Mountain“, the film by Francis Lee tells the emotional transformation of Johnny, a young farmer from Yorkshire, through his meeting with Gheorghe, Romanian seasonal worker. Far from stereotypes, God’s Own Country builds a love story made of silences, gestures and mutual trust, immersed in harsh and evocative landscapes.
Close (2022)
Directed by Belgian director Lukas Dhont and winner of Grand Prix to Cannes, Close explores the deepest bond between two thirteen-year-old boys whose friendship is put to the test by the looks and expectations of others. While it doesn’t explicitly define itself as an LGBTQ+ film, it tackles the issues with extraordinary sensitivity of masculinity, affection and social pressure. A delicate and devastating story that leaves its mark.
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