August (2011) - August tells the story of two former lovers, Troy and Jonathan, who reunite after a long-ago painful breakup. After spending several years in Spain, Troy returns to Los Angeles and decides to phone Jonathan and meet for coffee. A seemingly innocent rendezvous turns into an attempt to revive passions past. Only this time it’s not that simple, as Jonathan has a new beau, Raul, and is trying to make the right decision a second time around.
Lazy Eye (2016) - Passions re-ignite and secrets revealed when a graphic designer reconnects with the great, lost love of his life for a weekend tryst at a house in the desert near Joshua Tree.
Test (2013) - In 1985, a gay dance understudy hopes for his on-stage chance while fearing the growing AIDS epidemic.
Five Dances (2013) - The coming of age tale of an extraordinarily gifted young dancer recently arrived in New York City. Beautiful soundtrack selections.
Out in the Dark (2012) - A drama centered on the love affair between two men on opposite sides of the Mid-East conflict: Palestinian student Nimer and Roy, an Israeli lawyer.
Weekend (2011) - After a drunken house party with his straight mates, Russell heads out to a gay club. Just before closing time he picks up Glen but what’s expected to be just a one-night stand becomes something else, something special. Beautifully shot and very realistic, reminds me a bit of the Before Sunrise trilogy. Not necessarily a romance but very gorgeous.
Soldier’s Girl (2003) - The true story of the price a young soldier paid for falling in love with a transgender night-club performer. Read the full synopsis for possible trigger warnings.
Freier Fall/Free Fall (2013) - A soon-to-be-father policeman falls for a gay fellow officer and his life starts falling apart. Stars Max Riemelt (Sense8). Talks of a sequel in the works. German subs.
The Vintner’s Luck (aka A Heavenly Vintage) (2009) - One summer night in 1808, Sobran Jodeau sets out to drown his love sorrows in his family’s vineyard when he stumbles on an angel. Once he gets over his shock, Sobran decides that Xas, the male angel, is his guardian sent to counsel him on everything from marriage to wine production. But Xas turns out to be a far more mysterious character. Based on Elizabeth Knox’s book of the same name. (The movie was crap compared to the novel, which I can’t recommend enough.) Stars Gaspard Ulliel and Vera Farmiga; directed by Niki Caro. French subs.
Stranger By the Lake (2013) - Summertime. A cruising spot for men, tucked away on the shores of a lake. Franck falls in love with Michel, an attractive, potent and lethally dangerous man. Franck knows this but wants to live out his passion anyway. French subtitles. Don’t watch this with your momma because it’s basically porn very French. Unless your momma likes that kind of thing.
Edge of Seventeen (1998) - No, the other Edge of Seventeen. A teenager copes with his sexuality on the last day of school in 1984. It shows him coping with being gay and being with friends.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) - (How has no one else added this?) A transgender punk-rock girl from East Berlin tours the U.S. with her band as she tells her life story and follows the former lover/band-mate who stole her songs. Stars John Cameron Mitchell, who wrote and starred in the original musical.
Shortbus (2006) - A group of New Yorkers caught up in their romantic-sexual milieu converge at an underground salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics, and carnality. Also written by John Cameron Mitchell. Experiments with unsimulated sex scene, so probably also not a good choice for family movie night with your nan and gramps.
A Home At the End of the World (2004) - A boy who has experienced many losses in his life grows to manhood and enters into a love triangle with a woman and his boyhood friend. Stars Colin Farrell and Robin Wright. Written by Michael Cunningham, adapted from his book. Bonus tip: Hannibal fans might recognize some of the filming locations.
Mysterious Skin (2004) - A teenage hustler and a young man obsessed with alien abductions cross paths, together discovering a horrible, liberating truth. Stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Read the synopsis for possible trigger warnings.
Angels In America (2003) - Based on one of the greatest plays ever written. Playwright Tony Kushner adapts his political epic about the AIDS crisis during the mid-eighties, around a group of separate but connected individuals. Stars Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Justin Kirk, Emma Thompson, and everyone else you love.
G.B.F. (2013) - What happens after Tanner is outed by his classmates and becomes the title “gay best friend” for three high school queen bees? This movie is way cuter than it has any right to be.
My Summer of Love (2004) - Lesbian dramas that aren’t overtly cheesy (e.g. “And Then Came Lola”) or ridiculously sexualized (e.g. “Room in Rome”) are few and far between. “My Summer of Love,” on the other hand is a believable unsettling romance about romance, trust and betrayal. It also features solid performances from Emily Blunt and Natalie Press.
The Kids Are All Right (2014) - Stars Julianne Moore and Annette Bening as a married lesbian couple with two children. When the two teenage kids decided to find their sperm donor, played by Mark Ruffalo, their entire family unit becomes disrupted. Great portrayal of a relatable lesbian couple with familiar family tensions.
Those People (2015) - On Manhattan’s gilded Upper East Side, a young gay painter is torn between an obsession with his infamous socialite best friend and a promising new romance with an older foreign concert pianist.
The Normal Heart (2014) - Technically an HBO movie. A gay activist attempts to raise H.I.V. and A.I.D.S. awareness during the early 1980s. Stars Mark Ruffalo, Matt Bomer, and Jonathon Groff.
The Way He Looks (2013) - Leonardo is a blind teenager searching for independence. His everyday life, the relationship with his best friend, Giovana, and the way he sees the world change completely with the arrival of Gabriel. One of the sweetest queer movies I’ve ever seen. Portuguese subs.
Christopher and His Kind (2011) - How real-life British-American author Christopher Isherwood and his German boyfriend Heinz met and fell in love during the 1930s and the rise of Nazism. TV movie. Stars Matt Smith.
Yves Saint Laurent (2011) - A look at the life of French designer Yves Saint Laurent from the beginning of his career in 1958 when he met his lover and business partner, Pierre Berge. Stars Gaspard Ulliel.
A Single Man (2009) - An English professor, one year after the sudden death of his boyfriend, is unable to cope with his typical days in 1960s Los Angeles. Stars Colin Firth, Matthew Goode, Nicholas Hoult, and Julianne Moore. Gorgeous cinematography. Directed by Tom Ford, so you’ll want to lick the clothing.
Brideshead Revisited (2008) - A poignant story of forbidden love and the loss of innocence set in England prior to the Second World War. Stars Ben Whishaw, Hayley Atwell, Matthew Goode, and Emma Thompson.
Lilting (2014) - A young man of Chinese-Cambodian descent dies, leaving behind his isolated mother and his partner of four years, who grieve but don’t speak a lick of each other’s language. Stars Ben Whishaw and Pei-Pei Cheng. Beautiful film. You will cry.
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