LGBTQ+ Movies I Watched Recently
Matthias et Maxime (2019)
dir. Xavier Dolan
Short Summary: Lifelong friends, Matthias and Maxime, find their relationship shaken up when they are asked to kiss for a student film.
Why you should watch it: Their friend group is so diverse and so cHAoTiC! If you wanna see a bunch of dumbasses rile each other up and fight over a game of charades, this is for you. The romance part, for me, is a little half-baked but incredibly tender. Also, Harris Dickinson’s entrance will remind you why Xavier Dolan is one of the best contemporary filmmakers of our time.
And Then We Danced (2019)
dir. Levan Akin
Short Summary: Merab, a young dancer, longs to earn a spot on the Georgian National Ensemble. His chances become threatened when a new boy, Irakli, joins the troupe.
Why you should watch it: The premiere of this movie CAUSED A LITERAL RIOT! When it was first screened in Georgia, a group of Catholic traditionalists stormed the area in an attempt to stop the premiere. They failed. If behind-the-scenes drama doesn’t convince you, then maybe the rivals-to-friends-to-lovers trope will. And honestly, the relationship between Merab and his older brother warms my heart.
I Killed My Mother (2009)
dir. Xavier Dolan
Short Summary: A coming-of-age story of sixteen-year-old gay boy, Hubert Minel, and his love-hate relationship with his temperamental mother.
Why you should watch it: Honestly, I don’t even know where to begin. Maybe with the fact that Xavier Dolan was sixteen(!) years old when he wrote this?! It’s such an angsty, poetic, relatable film. I was so moved by this that I came out to my mom after watching it. As with all Dolan films, the cinematography is amazing – it features the most stunning sex scene EVER and you can quote me on that.
The Half of It (2020)
dir. Alice Wu
Short Summary: Straight-A student, Ellie Chu, agrees to help the pure-of-heart but dimwitted Paul Munsky by ghostwriting a letter for his crush, Aster Flores.
Why you should watch it: If you liked Steve and Robin’s friendship in Stranger Things, this movie will do you one better. Paul Munsky radiates such golden retriever energy, and Ellie Chu balances it out with her no-nonsense attitude. All in all, this movie is such a feel-good watch that doesn’t fall short on substance.
Benjamin (2018)
dir. Simon Amstell
Short Summary: An award-winning filmmaker on edge about the screening of his second film meets a young French vocalist. Despite his intimacy issues, he begins a relationship with the singer and soon finds himself falling in love.
Why you should watch it: Colin Morgan’s performance as Benjamin embodies the meaning of a gay disaster™. I have never felt more represented in a film than when Benjamin stammers the most awkward things in the most inappropriate times. The comedy is point (duh? It’s written by British comedian Simon Amstell), but it’s also poignant and incredibly wholesome.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
dir. Celine Sciamma
Short Summary: A painter, Marianne, is commissioned to do the wedding portrait of Heloise, who refuses to pose for it. Instead, Marianne agrees to observe Heloise every day to complete the painting.
Why you should watch it: YOU. JUST. SHOULD! Honestly, this film is perfect. The storyline is so intriguing. The cinematography is flawless (I mean, do you see the colors in the GIF up there?!). The characters are complex and well-written. And the gazes! OH, THE GAZES! Adele Haenel and Noemie Merlant have such beautiful, piercing eyes, and the way they looked at each other made me melt.
Were The World Mine (2008)
dir. Tom Gustafson
Short Summary: A queer retelling of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Timothy discovers how to make a love potion and turns every one in his town gay.
Why you should watch it: It’s so outrageous. I did not think A Midsummer Night’s Dream could be gayer, but then this glam fantasy musical popped up! The soundtrack is to die for! Tanner Cohen has the voice of an angel (I wish he did more films). Ever since the Globe Theatre’s 2013 production of this play, I’ve eaten up all the Midsummer content I can get my hands on. This movie is topnotch Shakesqueer content.
Kanarie (2018)
dir. Christiaan Olwagen
Short Summary: In South Africa (1985), Johan is drafted into the military’s choir and concert group called the Kanaries. Also part of the choir group is the bubbly, outgoing Wolfgang Muller. Romance blossoms in the battlefield.
Why you should watch it: The musical numbers in this movie are so camp, I loved them! Johan’s number one idol is Boy George. That should tell you how camp and outrageous this movie can be. I love musicals and forbidden love, and this movie features both! For a film set in war, it is surprisingly disarming.
Lost and Delirious (2001)
dir. Léa Pool
Short Summary: A newcomer to a posh girls boarding school discovers that her two senior roommates are lovers.
Why you should watch it: Criminally underrated. When I first watched this movie, I did not expect it to cut so deep, but it did. It has the tone and the atmosphere of Dead Poets Society and the romance of a Shakespearean drama. It’s got fencing, poetry, duels, hawks, and love confessions in the library! It’s such an intimate, heartbreaking movie. 10/10 would recommend.
Boy Meets Girl (2014)
dir. Eric Schaeffer
Short Summary: Ricky, a 21-year-old transgender young woman living in Virginia, dreams of becoming a designer in New York.
Why you should watch it: It’s a movie about a transgender woman portrayed by an actual transgender woman! How often do you get to see that in the big screen? Michelle Hendley is one of the most beautiful people I have ever seen, and her performance as Ricky is so brave and honest – I couldn’t believe it was her debut performance! What I love most about this movie is how it demolishes outdated gender roles with such witty, biting dialogue.
Tom a la Ferme (2013)
dir. Xavier Dolan
Short Summary: Tom travels to the countryside to attend his late boyfriend’s funeral. What was supposed to be a brief engagement turns into an extended stay when the deceased’s older brother, Francis, forcefully stops Tom from leaving.
Why you should watch it: Xavier Dolan goes blond in this film! BLOND! I could fangirl about it all day, but back to the movie! So the film is a twisted, tense portrayal of Stockholm Syndrome. I like how it wasn’t heavily romanticized unlike most films that deal with the same topic – although the whole film is taut with sexual tension, sex is only ever hinted at and not shown. That said, it’s still a steamy piece of psychosexual cinema.
A Moment in the Reeds (2017)
dir. Mikko Makela
Short Summary: Leevi, a literature student, returns home to help his father renovate their cabin. His father also hires a handyman, Tareq, a Syrian refugee.
Why you should watch it: This is like a dreamier version of God’s Own Country (which I also loved). The conversations between Leevi and Tareq are so meaningful and deep without veering straight into pretentiousness. This movie tackles beauty, love, war, racism all in the gorgeous backdrop of the Finnish countryside.