Happy Pride Month! Love is colorful and diverse. And not just in June, but 365 days a year. That’s why it’s worth immersing yourself in films on the next Movie Night whose plots and protagonists are outside the heteronorm and somewhere on the LGBTQ+ spectrum.
All Of Us Strangers, Andrew Haigh, 2023
Anyone who likes to be really emotionally destroyed by the end of a movie should try this love story with ghost movie elements. Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal shine in their roles as two loners, heavily burdened with trauma and fears, who meet in an anonymous London tower block. A gentle love story develops that you could watch for hours – followed by the aforementioned ending with a brutal twist that you have to work through in your next therapy session.
Photos: © picture alliance pa
Call Me By Your Name, Luca Guadagnino, 2017
Dreamlike Italian scenery? Check. Heartwarming romance? Check. A 21-year-old Timothée Chalamet who breaks all hearts, from ultra-straight to super-gay? Check. How Elio and Oliver live out their romance in the picturesque Italian town of Crema and keep it a secret is best watched on a hot summer night in an open-air movie theater. If the movie wasn’t enough for you, you should definitely treat yourself to the novel by André Aciman. One question remains: Is Armie Hammer actually canceled or not?
Photos: © picture alliance pa
Paris is Burning, Jennie Livingston, 1990
This groundbreaking documentary chronicles the drag and ballroom scene in New York in the 1980s. It focuses on Black and Latin American members of the scene and follows their struggle to resist systematic exclusion from society. Despite the harsh reality, the documentary gives enough space to the pure joie de vivre of its protagonists.
Photos: © picture alliance pa
Bodies Bodies Bodies, Halina Reijn, 2022
Sophie and her new friend Bee are en route to the villa of the parents of her friend David, who is as stupid as he is rich. What follows is a satirically exaggerated battle of murders, mutual accusations and top-class Gen-Z verbal battles. The fact that it feels like half the cast is queer in some way is not the focus here, but rather shows that reality is diverse. Even in an admittedly somewhat stupid, but all the more entertaining slasher horror comedy.
Photos: © A24
Brokeback Mountain, Ang Lee, 2005
The film adaptation of Annie Proulx’s short story is now considered a classic, celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year. Even if we still have to fight for LGBTQ+ rights now, two decades ago the situation was a little worse, especially when it came to the representation of queer love in pop culture. Today, “Brokeback Mountain” feels like a starting shot for other stories that finally came into the spotlight. So it’s always worth rewatching the two cowboys.
Photos: © picture alliance pa
Challengers, Luca Guadagnino, 2024
Two best friends compete not only on the tennis court, but also when it comes to women. More precisely, for one woman: tennis prodigy Tashi, played by Zendaya. The result is a three-way constellation in which it’s hard to know who has feelings for whom. And complicated relationship stories are much more exciting than any tennis match.
Photos:
© picture alliance pa
Love Lies Bleeding, Rose Glass, 2024
USA, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, 1989: Bodybuilder Jackie (Katy O’Brian) meets gym manager Lou (Kristen Stewart) – so far, so romantic. But Lou’s family has a criminal background, so in addition to love, murder and escape are also on the agenda. For hardcore fans of production house A24 with a penchant for the bizarre, this film belongs at the top of the watch list.
Photos: © A24
Close, Lukas Dhont, 2022
Even in the 21st century, being queer is still met with rejection, prejudice and homophobia. A bitter truth that Close explores both sensitively and heartbreakingly. The close friendship between two thirteen-year-old boys is abruptly torn apart when classmates gradually begin to question it. You have to be more or less emotionally stable to enjoy this story – but it is well worth it.
Photos: © A24
I Saw The TV Glow, Jane Schoenbrun, 2024
The journey to one’s own identity and self-acceptance can feel like a horror movie. A fitting genre for a story that can be read as a metaphor for discovering one’s own trans identity. The two protagonists flee from reality by devoting themselves entirely to their obsession with a TV show – but this can only work temporarily, because at some point you have to come to terms with your own self.
Photos: © A24
Queer, Luca Guadagnino, 2024
Luca Guadagnino for the third time! “Every great movie is gay”, the Italian filmmaker once said. And he was right. “Queer” is based on the semi-autobiographical novel by William S. Burroughs, one of the pioneers of the Beat Generation. Anyone who thought David Craig was simply far too heterosexual as James Bond can now discover a new side to him. Constantly drunk and addicted to drugs, his character Lee falls in love with a younger student. Although the story was poorly received by the majority of audiences, it is always worth seeing for yourself.
Photos: © A24
The Inspection, Elegance Bratton, 2022
Joining the Marines as a black and gay man takes courage. The main character Ellis experiences a lot of homophobia and racism in “The Inspection”. What is particularly touching about the story is that director Elegance Bratton is practically filming his own life: He was kicked out by his mother at 16 because he came out as gay, was homeless for ten years and eventually joined the Marines.
Photos: © A24
The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Jim Sharman, 1975
With its campy and genderfluid aesthetic, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” has established itself as an integral part of queer pop culture over the decades. The wild mix of horror, musical and comedy is still fun even after fifty years. The film is not just a film, but an experience – to this day, devout fans of the story turn up in disguise at their favorite cinema to watch the colorful goings-on for the umpteenth time.
Photos: © picture alliance pa
The next movie list is already ready: We’ve put together ten of our favorite feminist films.
Of course, there are many more than this dozen films on our list. You will find 100 queer films in this book.
