In Honor of LGBTQ+ History Month: 13 Best LGBTQ+ Movies

The urgency for more LGBTQ+ characters is necessary, especially now more than ever. Fortunately, we’re seeing more LGBTQ+-identifying creators, and cinema’s been essential in queer artistic expression. However, the film industry hasn’t always portrayed these characters accurately.
Often stereotyped with trite tropes that seem like caricature-like parodies of LGBTQ+ people.

Therefore honest representation in film is crucial, and why we put together a list of the 13 best LGBTQ movies you should watch — or perhaps, watch again.

Moonlight (2016)

Based on the play In Moonlight, Black Boys Look Blue by Tarell Alvin McCraney; Barry Jenkins brought the film to life.
Moonlight follows Chiron in three definitive acts as he navigates the dangers of drugs and violence in an area barely recognizable on film as part of Miami (Liberty City).
Chiron is at risk of becoming a statistic of another black man destroyed by the system.
Bullied at school and beaten down by a harsh home, Chiron weaves through heartbreaking relationships with parental figures and complicated friendships as well as his internal battle of reckoning, a complex love for his best friend, Kevin.

Without a doubt, the way the film showcases the external/internal crisis of what masculine “should be” and its toxicity is brilliant. Moonlight solidifies Barry Jenkins’ status as a genius filmmaker and a tour de force.
Furthermore, many cinematographers either play it safe or use harsh lights when filming darker skin tones. Jenkins and cinematographer James Laxton can show opulent, gorgeous colors on the actors’ faces, properly executing one of the most daring lighting designs.
There’s a reason why Moonlight won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Frida (2002)

The Julie Taymore biopic was a seven-year struggle for its star, Salma Hayek, to get made.
Luckily for us, the film was created against all odds and even rivals, including Jennifer Lopez/Francis Ford Coppola and Madonna.
Hayek’s determination to secure access to famed Mexican surrealist painter Frida Kahlo proved to be the right fit despite being looked over because of her most then-famous role as a vampire in Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk to Dawn.
Hayek was able to secure the rights from Dolores Olmedo Patino, a former lover and patron of Rivera, who administered the rights to much of the couple’s work and even set about putting together the cast.

Frida‘s a visually striking look into one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. The film is no exception (I still remember when I first watched this movie, as a Mexican-American and a huge fan of Frida, I was in awe).
The film revolves around Kahlo’s life experiences of trauma, romance, politics, and of course, art while refusing to gloss over or erase the artist’s queer identity. Plenty of stunning visuals of Mexico and paintings pair well with the graphic realities of living with a disability.
Frida’s impact is undeniable, and so is this luxuriously vibrant film.

Paris is Burning (1990)

Jennie Livingston’s debut documentary transports viewers to the 1980’s New York’s queer culture. It focuses on black, Latinx, trans women, and drag queens that compete in New York’s glamorous balls (if you haven’t seen this iconic film or are not familiar, ball culture is a subculture within the LGBTQ community).

Participants are candid about shoplifting, racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexuality, gender, poverty, and the AIDS epidemic. They also speak out on being thrown out of their homes for being who they are or becoming sex workers as they struggle to survive in “a rich, white world.”

On the flip side, some have accused Livingston of voyeurism and fetishizing and encouraging cultural appropriation of LGBTQ people and their jargon. It’s completely understandable considering how many people accept and use the lingo without a modicum of understanding LGBTQ+ history.
Although their stories are captivating, they’re also devastating. Several passed away young- Venus Xtravaganza was murdered during filming.
The doc’s trailblazing and defiant, how the communities are formed and rally together by participants who’ve finally found a place where their difference is celebrated rather than shunned.

Paris is Burning is so much more than “shade” or “reading” someone to filth; it’s the story of what the culture is and WHY makes the film so essential.

My Own Private Idaho (1991)

Keanu Reeves plays opposite River Phoenix in Gus Van Sant’s loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry IV depicting the cruelest kind of love, the unrequited kind.
There’s a reason why it’s a queer masterpiece; it’s wistful but relatable with self-destructive impulses.

Mike (River Phoenix) is a narcoleptic sex worker with abandonment issues. Phoenix portrays an intense vulnerability to the character.
His best friend Scott Favor (Keanu Reeves) is the rebellious son of an elite Portland family who’s taken to hustling, mostly as a way to embarrass his father.
“The character of Mike was originally asexual. Sex was something that he traded in, so he had no real sexual identity,” says Van Sant. “River makes it more like he’s attracted to his friend, that he’s really in love with him. He made the whole character that way.” It’s no wonder that Phoenix won the Venice Film Festival’s Volpi Cup, the Independent Spirit Award, and an award from the National Society of Film Critics, all for Best Male Actor.

Carol (2015)

Based on the 1952 semi-autobiographical novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith. The Todd Haynes directorial Carol stars Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett.
The beautifully shot film is a forbidden love story between Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara) and Carol Aird (Cate Blanchett). It’s riveting to watch as the lovers must overcome disheartening and often dehumanizing adversity in 1952.

Carol meets Therese in a department store while searching for a doll for her daughter for Christmas; they sense a connection and befriend each other.
As their bond deepens, viewers also see Carol in a loveless and stale hetero marriage of convenience. Therese and Carol’s feelings evolve, and Carol finds the strength to leave her cold rich husband to navigate through a separation and difficult divorce.
Unfortunately, Carol’s spouse finds out and then cruelly questions her mothering abilities once he accepts and realizes that Carol’s relationships with her best friend Abby (Sarah Paulson) and Therese are more than just close friendships.

The film’s highly praised by film critics, rightly so. Mara even won for Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival. Carol’s nominated for six Academy Awards, although it was surprisingly shut out.

A Fantastic Woman (2017)

Sebastián Lelio’s Oscar-nominated film is about a waitress and lounge singer named Marina (Daniela Vega) who’s dating a well off textile company owner.
Viewers watch as Marina and her lover Orlando (Francisco Reyes) celebrate her birthday, then go home and make love. It all seems to be going well until Orlando wakes up in the middle of the night, short of breath and bewildered. He then collapses and falls down the stairs, and Marina tries to take him to the hospital. Sadly by the next day, he passes away.

Marina’s life is thrown into turmoil as she mourns the loss of the man she loves but is cut short due to Orlando’s family’s arrival and the disapproval of their relationship. Marina is a trans woman.
The unfortunate circumstances around Orlando’s death draw intense scrutiny from law enforcement and medical professionals for Marina. Still waiting for her legal name change approval, her ID still bears the birthname “Daniel,” causing dehumanizing moments.
Then there’s the hostility from Orlando’s ex-wife and son, which puts Marina on the defensive for her right to peace and privacy.

Marina’s fears are justified as the movie continues, her heartfelt despair is transparent, but we also see glimpses of relief. We’re able to see what makes her fantastic and why Orlando fell in love with her.

Boys Don’t Cry (1999)

The film’s a profoundly compassionate and poignant biopic of Brandon Teena, a young transgender man brutally murdered for living his truth in Nebraska.

It was the first film that introduced me to the term transgender at the turn of the millennium. I was about twelve years old and had no idea what it meant, but this was when I started educating myself outside of my cisgender privilege.

If you’re familiar with the real-life story, then you know that Brandon died at the hands of low lives named John Lotter (Peter Sarsgaard) and Marvin “Thomas” Nissen (Brendan Sexton III) in December 1993 (they were already in prison for the murders by the time the movie came out).
Content warning. Brandon’s cruelly assaulted, shot and raped just for being who he is. The duo also murdered witnesses Lisa Lambert (sparing her baby son) and Phillip Devine with a stolen .380-caliber handgun.

Kimberly Peirce’s directorial is dark and often hard to watch; nevertheless, there was a sincere frankness to it, and Hilary Swank’s portrayal was gripping.
The film was a surprise hit, helping to raise awareness of people’s intolerance in the LGBTQ community, but it’s still not enough.
There’s been a lack of media coverage over the growing violence epidemic against the trans community in 2019.
‘We have come a long way,’ Hilary Swank said on stage, winning the Best Actress at the 1999 Oscars, which was true, yet we still have so much to go.

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Truly a beautiful love story where love is never spoken.
Brokeback Mountain is an adaptation of a piece of writing from 1997 by Annie Proulx in New Yorker Magazine.
The film’s a watershed moment for Hollywood and pop culture at large, Ang Lee’s tragic Western rips the heartstrings.
Lee captures the love story of two Wyoming ranch hands Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, in the 1960s, with the intelligence and gracefulness it deserves.

Lonely and frustrated, Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) realize that their relationship has grown into a deeper and more powerful bond than just friendship. It’s more than just a carnal projection of desire; it’s a truly revelatory moment where the pair were just able to be together. No societal judgment, no disapproving words, just being together with nature around them.
Sadly, the pair go on with their lives. Living unhappily married with children, Ennis and Jack recapture brief moments of blissful honesty and overall love.

Brokeback Mountain received eight nods at the 78th Academy Awards, winning three categories, including Best Director. Its surprise Best Picture loss to Paul Haggis’ Crash is still one of the biggest upsets in Academy history.

Maurice (1987)

“Don’t you know I would have gone through life half-awake if you’d had the decency to leave me alone?” is one of the most memorable lines when I think of the 1987 Merchant Ivory film based on the E.M. Forster novel.
The book’s written over five decades earlier, and posthumously, with a note on the manuscript read: “Publishable, but worth it?” As we now know, it was.
Maurice is a complicated love affair between Cambridge students Maurice Hall (James Wilby) and Clive Durham (Hugh Grant). The pair form a discreet and committed partnership.
Sadly after leaving the university, things get cloudy. Clive claims heterosexuality and ends up marrying a woman and seeks a political office, leaving Maurice devastated.

A mixed-up Maurice becomes a stockbroker, although he becomes increasingly troubled and refuses to dismiss his feelings for Clive; then, per the Durhams request, he stays. Viewers meet gamekeeper Alec Scudder (Rupert Graves), who goes unnoticed by Maurice. When a heartbroken Maurice calls for Clive, Alec climbs to his window with a ladder.  Truly pioneering for its time and shows the complexity of love.

Imagine Me & You (2005)

If you’re looking for something more light-hearted, look no further. Imagine Me & You is an adorably cheesy lesbian rom-com that viewers deserve.
During her wedding to Hector (Matthew Goode), Rachel (Piper Perabo) takes notice of florist Luce (Lena Headey) in the audience and instantly sparks.

Rachel’s oblivious to her lovestruck feeling because she hasn’t felt that way about a woman before. Despite that, the two women become close friends, and Rachel learns that Luce is a lesbian. As Rachel questions herself, she must decide between her happy and stable relationship or an exciting new romance with Luce.
The film doesn’t pander to the male gaze or portray the stereotypical hetero rom-com formula. It’s charming and witty, most likely since it’s a British production, so there are no Hollywood/Americanized edits to it. The girl CAN get the girl she pines for.

God’s Own Country

(2017)

No disrespect to Luca Guadagnino’s stunning cinematic masterful Call Me By Your Name. Still, we purposely left it out (the age gap was uncomfortable to watch if we’re honest). Instead, we went with the underrated gem and BAFTA nominee for British film of the year God’s Own Country.
Francis Lee’s directorial tells the story of a blossoming relationship between a Yorkshire farmer named Johnny Saxby (Josh O’Connor) who drowns his sorrows in alcohol. Then, he meets a Romanian migrant farmworker named Gheorghe Ionescu (Alec Secareanu).

The entire film is a quiet stunner and set in the filmmaker’s native Yorkshire.
Lee’s ability to express how love can be healing while deconstructing masculinity, as well as the anti-immigration ideology, is compelling.
Not to mention, seeing a film where men are openly vulnerable is refreshing. The ending is superbly reinvigorating new current LGBTQ+ cinema.

But I’m a Cheerleader (1999)

Although it deals with the chilling and appalling topic of conversion therapy, it’s from a satirical perspective that is mocking… Turning it on its head. If you grew up in a strict religious household, this one might hit close to home.
Megan (Natasha Lyonne) is a bubbly cheerleader with a secret; she’s a lesbian. Her family holds an intervention with plans to send Megan to a dangerous conversion therapy camp. Shocked by the allegations, Megan agrees to go to a camp that “cures” homosexuality named True Directions.

The film also stars Clea DuVall, Julie Delpy, Michelle Williams, and RuPaul Charles. The ensemble cast almost makes up for the disturbing undertones making it one of the best LGBTQ+ parodies of all time, making it a must-see.

BPM (Beats Per Minute) (2017)

An essential LGBTQ film centered in Paris around ACT UP, the international action and advocacy group formed at the height of the HIV/AIDs epidemic in the early 1990s. The group also publicly protested against the sluggish French government and the pharmaceutical companies for their invasive actions and slow responses to the pandemic.

We meet ACT UP newbie Nathan (Arnaud Valois) embraces the political mission with the group while romance blossoms with fellow activist Sean (Nahuel Pérez Biscayartt).
The way their passion glimmers with hope against the cloudiness of mortality as the activists continue to fight for a breakthrough with a literal life-or-death urgency to the epidemic that took so many lives.

I have a profound love for the LGBTQ+ community, and I don’t take my allyship lightly. Not speaking out on systemic prejudice and bigotry would make my complacency a part of LGBTQ+ personhood’s erasure, which is why representation is vital.