TOP 10 WELL MADE MOVIES THAT PORTRAY QUEERNESS IN THE RIGHT LIGHT

From the late 19th century, cinema has been an outstanding source of entertainment to people around the globe. Although it extended its popularity to more parts of the world, later on, it would still be an understatement to say that cinema doesn’t influence our lives.

Society is reflected in movies and in turn, movies influence society by providing changes in representations, challenging audience's morals, opening up new prospects of viewing something and eventually transforming the audience’s opinions. In one way or another, cinema has the power to impact our minds whether positively or negatively.

So today, let’s take a look at 10 well-made movies from around the world that portray the LGBTQIA+ community rightly and avoid going back to the heterosexual POV of the queer community.

The queer community is often stereotyped and caricaturized in movies, which is why it is important to recognize films that do try to bring about change in portrayal.

Sadly there aren’t any movies that represent the lives of asexual people.

10. And Then We Danced (2019)

Director: Levan Akin

Language: Georgian

And Then We Danced is a charming story of dance and discoveries. The lead finds himself trapped in a complex want to fight and desire the same man. This graceful movie is a soft, beautiful take on sexuality and liberation set against a conservative Georgian landscape and dance scene. Bursting colors and gorgeous costumes.

9. Moonlight (2016)

Director: Barry Jenkins

Language: English

This movie, starring Trevante Rhodes and Mahershala Ali didn’t just bag a ton of awards for its fantastic story or acting but is much deeper and hard-hitting when it comes to stories that define the life of BIPOC in the U.S. The movie explores the life of Chiron, a young boy in Miami, and the mentor-like figure in his life whose words later become something to ponder upon for the protagonist. This powerful drama also features an all-Black cast.

8. Lady Bird (2017)

Director: Greta Gerwig

Language: English

Although this wonderfully crafted movie centres its focus on Lady Bird, a gay character’s role in the movie lends significance and nuance to the plot. This movie is unlike others on the list because it’s not centric on queerness. However, it succeeds in effectively portraying the struggle to cover up one’s sexual identity. The character breaks free from the traditional role of a flamboyant sidekick in teen movies and liberates itself by rightly portraying the struggle to come out.

7. Sancharram (2004)

Director: Ligy J. Pullapally

Language: Malayalam

This lesbian love story hits home and hits home hard. Two childhood besties who grow up to realize that their love for each other may be more than friendship. The realness of this film is captivating and allows for the viewer to not look deeply into its cinematic qualities and rather enjoy the simple movie. Sparked by the then-recent suicides of lesbian couples in India, Sancharram was one of the first Malayalam movies to tell the tale of two lesbian lovers.

6. Happy together (1997)

Director: Wong Kar-Wai

Language: Chinese

Happy together is a Chinese slice of life drama that chronicles the fluctuating relationship of Fai and Po-wing in Argentina. Highly regarded and well deserved, this colourful movie isn’t all love but instead shows a gay relationship just like any other - with emotions, fights and ego clashes. Acclaimed director Wong Kar Wai succeeds in capturing the toxicity of on and off relationships while normalizing the queer aspect of this film.

5. Lingua Franca (2019)

Director: Isabel Sandoval

Language: English

This 2019 film, written, directed, and starred by Isabel Sandoval, talks about the plight and life of an undocumented Filipina in the U.S. The story does not heavily focus itself on the fact that the lead is a transwoman but rather on her journey and how normal things go by, something different from traditional movies based on trans characters. This film is refreshing, given that the movie is about a trans woman told from the perspective of her own self.

4. Carol (2015)

Director: Todd Haynes

Language: English

Carol is a delightful movie about a department store clerk who falls for a married woman. What is so good about a movie like this is that it prioritizes the romance and passion the two leads share for each other, over the struggle for acceptance, while touching on issues that surround the dissolvement of marriage. The fact that the leads have a happy ending also makes the movie stand out from traditional forbidden love stories. A true romantic, female pleasure centric, sensitive movie about love.

3. Nagarkirtan (2017)

Director: Kaushik Ganguly

Language: Bengali

In this beautiful Bengali drama, Parimal is a woman trapped in a man’s body who has to run away from societal prejudices. This praiseworthy film is heartbreakingly honest in its portrayal of a transwoman in India and manages to capture her journey with excellent cinematography and an aching background score. This is a movie that will grow on you for days if not months after watching it.

One of my (writer’s) favorite movies of all time.

2. Paris is Burning (1990)

Director: Jennie Livingston

Language: English

Paris Is Burning is an outstanding 1990 documentary focusing on the lives of drag queens living in New York City. The movie centers around “ball culture” and how it has been a sense of hope and support for Black Latino LGBTQIA+ members. This 1hr 17mins long documentary also sheds light on aspects such as poverty and racism. The film features interviews with a number of renowned drag queens, including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija and Venus Xtravaganza. An important examination of socially relevant issues.

1. Portrait of A lady on Fire (2019)

Director: Céline Sciamma

Language: French

A beautiful masterpiece of a movie. This French film set in the 1700s is visually and emotionally captivating, with impeccable cinematography and direction. While everything about this movie seems perfect, it is the way the plot is executed that stands out. An 18th-century painter only allowed forbidden glances of her subject. The tension, yearning, and eventual breathlessness that surround their story makes for a must-watch.

Honourable mentions: (Series)

1. Euphoria (2019)

Director: Augustine Frizzell, Sam Levinson, Jennifer Morrison, Pippa Bianco

Language: English

Jules, one of the major characters in Euphoria is a transwoman on the show as well as in real life. It is not just the authenticity of the show that we appreciate, but the fact that Jules’ story is presented as just anybody else’s without much attention to her transition or her coming to terms with the society. We love that Jules was just as normal as everyone else in the show is (not so normal though;)

2. Love, Victor (2020)

Director: Isaac Aptaker, Elizabeth Berger.

Language: English

Love, Victor is set in the same universe as Love, Simon the hit movie from three years ago.

This show explores how everyone has a different experience in the LGBTQ+ community and how everyone has a different story to tell. Unlike Simon who was brought up in a white liberal household, our main character Victor Salazar belongs to a religious family of Puerto Rican and Colombian-American descent. The show displays how their traditions and beliefs may clash when Victor finally comes out to them, but it never paints them as homophobic or monsters. Moreover, it's refreshing to see a character questioning his sexual preference, but still having the room to explore and experiment. Though Victor is confused at times, he's allowed to form bonds with people that are healthy and based on mutual respect and admiration.

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By Judith Mary

Content writer at But Society Says