Top 20 Greatest LGBTQ+ Movies
#20: “All About Eve” (1950)
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In 1950, the Hayes Code was still going strong in Hollywood, the movie industry’s method of relentless self-censorship. That’s why the queer characters in “All About Eve” – Eve Harrington herself and columnist Addison DeWitt – are the villains. Despite this, though, “All About Eve” remains a landmark in representation – even if had to be coded – especially given the decade it was made in and the fact it was a critically acclaimed Oscar winner. It follows Eve as she ingratiates herself with and slowly replaces aging thespian Margot Channing, played by another gay icon, Bette Davis; Eve adores Margot, but she adores her future career even more. “All About Eve” remains an extremely iconic moment in Western, LGBTQIA+ cinema.
#19: “Happy Together” (1997)
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Beloved by cinephiles everywhere, Wong Kar-wai rarely misses with his films. “Happy Together” is no exception. This 90’s romance stars Tony Leung and Leslie Cheung as Lai Yiu-Fai and Ho Po-Wing respectively, two immigrants from Hong Kong living in Argentina. Their relationship is toxic and generally unpleasant, as the pair repeatedly break up and then get back together on even rockier footing than before, marred by jealousy and trapped in poverty. But it’s a beautifully shot masterpiece and a true meditation on the complexities of love and relationships, and has since been recognized as one of the greatest films in history.
#18: “Call Me by Your Name” (2017)
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Set against the background of rural Italy, celebrated director Luca Guadagnino brings to vivid life the 2007 novel of the same name. The story follows 17-year-old Elio and his sultry relationship during the summer of 1983 with his father’s assistant, 24-year-old grad student Oliver. The film is beautiful in every sense of the world, capturing the pure essence of first love and first heartbreak amidst a gorgeous location. By all accounts, “Call Me by Your Name” has blown critics away, receiving the longest-ever standing ovation at the New York Film Festival and having the best opening for a gay romance since “Brokeback Mountain” 12 years earlier.
#17: “Longtime Companion” (1989)
This movie derived its title from what the New York Times called the same-sex partner of somebody who died of AIDS in the 1980s. “Longtime Companion” chronicles the early years of the AIDS epidemic in the United States and the effects it had. The first wide-release film to actually talk about AIDS, it revolves around a group of characters trying to keep going in the face of this devastating crisis – which had already killed 120,000 Americans by the time the movie came out. A heart-breaking story about grief and death, “Longtime Companion” also radiates a deep sense of warmth, friendship, and courage.
#16: “Milk” (2008)
Sean Penn stars in the role of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in the United States. Though he only served as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for about 11 months until his tragic assassination in 1978, the movie charts his campaign for office and the many LGBT+ people and allies who helped him on his way. His optimism, courage and eventual martyrdom have all served to make Harvey Milk one of the most important politicians in US history. Only a year after the movie’s release, Milk was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to commemorate his life.
#15: “Weekend” (2011)
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This bittersweet British movie captures a chance encounter between two men who form an intense relationship over the course of a brief weekend. Meeting just days before one of them is planning to leave the country, audiences are acutely aware that as the minutes go by Glen and Russell are running out of time together. “Weekend” also discusses many social and political issues faced by LGBT people in the modern world in-depth, such as heteronormativity and gay marriage. This makes it down-to-earth and incredibly relevant to the lives and struggles of queer people today.
#14: “All About My Mother” (1999)
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The central theme of “All About My Mother” is one of sisterhood and companionship between all women, including the prominent trans characters in its message. The vibrant visuals, bitter irony, and all-round tragicomedy of this poignant, Spanish-language movie have been lauded by critics and theater-goers for decades. Nurse Manuela’s teenage son Esteban is killed at the movie’s outset in a car accident, leading her to go and inform Esteban’s father – who is actually a cross-dresser named Lola – of the son they never knew about.
#13: “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (2022)
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The most talked about film of 2022, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” was an immigrant story disguised as a romp through the multiverse. But the real heart of the movie is, of course, the relationship between Evelyn, played by Michelle Yeoh, and her daughter Joy, played by Stephanie Hsu. Joy is queer and Evelyn is having a hard time accepting that, but slowly, by encountering a villainous, parallel-universe version of Joy known as Jobu, she comes to understand and learn what she needs to do. It’s a wild ride from start to finish, and it’s not until Evelyn can repair her relationship with her daughter that she can also repair the multiverse.
#12: “But I’m a Cheerleader” (1999)
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We’ve had much bleaker examinations of conversion therapy in recent years, with films like “The Miseducation of Cameron Post”. However, one conversion therapy movie remains a cornerstone of queer culture in the twentieth century, “But I’m a Cheerleader”, starring Natasha Lyonne and Clea DuVall. It manages to find the comedy inherent in the dark absurdity of conversion therapy, as well as giving a message to struggling, queer youth that even if it’s hard now, you CAN find your people, and you WILL be accepted. Though it was far from a critical darling, it’s an iconic film that has touched many people and is a classic in the queer canon.
#11: “Carol” (2015)
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Todd Haynes’ cinematic masterpiece explores the affair between housewife Carol Aird, played by Cate Blanchett, and photographer Therese Belivet, played by Rooney Mara. The film is set in New York in 1952. While neither of them feels shame about their love, it needs to be kept secret so that Carol won’t lose custody of her young daughter as she goes through a divorce. Based on Patricia Highsmith’s novel “The Price of Salt,” the relationship between Carol and Therese is beautifully translated to the big screen and offers an uplifting ending rarely seen in a gay period drama. The critically-acclaimed “Carol” goes to show that even in the repressed 1950s, love will always win.
#10: “Some Like It Hot” (1959)
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Another classic movie that was released with Hollywood still under the tyranny of the Hayes Code, “Some Like It Hot” defied the code and was so successful in doing so that it contributed to its eventual repeal. It follows Jerry and Joe, two musicians who disguise themselves as women so that they can join an all-girl band and escape the mob. Not only do many of the characters in the film view the kiss between Joe and Sugar, played by Marilyn Monroe, as same-sex – even though the audience knows better – but Jerry goes on his own journey with gender identity. And in recent years, the Broadway adaptation of “Some Like It Hot” has made its queer themes even stronger.
#9: “Love, Simon” (2018)
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For years, LGBT people were wondering where their sappy teen romcoms were, and eventually, we got “Love, Simon”. It was both revolutionary and not revolutionary, going over old ground with secret crushes and love triangles but taking all that in a new direction by following a gay protagonist. It also deals heavily with coming out and being outed; even if you’re surrounded by loving, outwardly accepting people, coming out can still be frightening, and “Love, Simon” doesn’t shy away from that. Plus, it’s also got some rarely-seen bisexual representation and, an unfortunate rarity, a happy ending for its gay characters.
#8: “The Matrix” (1999)
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It’s only in recent years that “The Matrix”, arguably the single most influential action film ever created, has been recognized as being about the transgender experience through and through. Back in the 90s, neither of the Wachowskis were out as trans women, but decades on and they’ve talked about what really happened behind the scenes. Ultimately, “The Matrix” examines gender dysphoria in a way few films have been able to, as a deep, irrepressible feeling that something is isn’t right with the world and the way you’re perceived. Both Lilly and Lana Wachowski have said that, yes, “The Matrix” is a transgender metaphor, and that if they’d been able to at the time, the movies would have been even more overtly trans.
#7: “Brokeback Mountain” (2005)
The tragic bond between Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar is a landmark love story in queer cinema. Ang Lee has been credited, along with A-list leads Jake Gyllenhaal and the late Heath Ledger, with paving the way for blockbuster movies to finally show gay characters. Named for the location of the unforgettable summer the two characters share together, “Brokeback Mountain” captures the pain of being closeted and has become one of the all-time greatest romance tales. Its cultural impact is undeniable, despite it being made the butt of many unpleasant jokes since its release.
#6: “Paris Is Burning” (1990)
While it remains controversial in some circles, this documentary on the ball culture of the minorities in 1980s NYC is responsible for putting one of history’s most important subcultures in the spotlight. Jennie Livingston’s seminal piece of filmmaking explored the lives of a group of black and Latino gay men, trans people and drag queens, and brought drag acts and voguing firmly into the mainstream. Filmed over a period of several years, “Paris Is Burning” artfully chronicles the most important figures in the “golden age” of drag balls and is one of the most culturally significant documentaries in history.
#5: “The Handmaiden” (2016)
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Park Chan-wook adapted “The Handmaiden” from a British novel set in the Victorian era, “Fingersmith”, changing the setting from England to Korea under Japanese occupation in the 1930s. It follows the romance between Sook-hee and Hideko, with Sook-hee hired by a nefarious swindler to trick Hideko so that he can steal her fortune. Of course, though, Sook-hee and Hideko fall in love, and we quickly learn that nothing is as it seems. The twists and turns are mind-blowing, but it’s Park Chan-wook himself who elevates “The Handmaiden” to a modern masterpiece. It’s an outstanding film by every metric; its writing, acting, cinematography, and directing are all superb.
#4: “Tangerine” (2015)
The fact that this comedy-drama, set on a sun-soaked Christmas Eve in LA, was shot entirety on iPhones isn’t the only impressive thing about it. “Tangerine” aims to capture the realities faced by trans sex workers every day, bringing an area of street culture rarely seen in the media plenty of much-needed attention. Its lead roles, Sin-Dee and Alexandra, are played by first-time trans actresses Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor, and it was shot on a minuscule budget of $100,000. Despite its production obstacles, director Sean Baker still released a hilarious, heart-wrenching, age-defining film.
#3: “The Watermelon Woman” (1996)
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This semi-autobiographical film was created by Cheryl Dunye, exploring the intersection of lesbian identity and Black identity. Cheryl works in a VHS store by day, and by night she moonlights as a documentarian, who becomes interested in tracking down a Black actress who was featured in a movie about the antebellum south. It’s about retracing the lives of marginalized identities through cinema, and bringing these people and experiences – who would otherwise go completely forgotten – back into the foreground. Queer people have always existed and that’s the point this movie gets across exceptionally well, made even more impressive by the fact it was Dunye’s directorial debut.
#2: “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” (2019)
Another lesbian period drama, this one takes us to a remote French island in the 18th century. Written and directed by Céline Sciamma, herself a lesbian, with queer actress Adèle Haenel as one of the leads, “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” has representation on and off camera. It examines female desire through a wholly female gaze, something there still isn’t enough of in cinema today. The plot has a painter, Marianne, sent to the isolated island to do a wedding portrait of Héloïse, who initially refuses to sit for it, and they fall in love. It’s a beautifully shot film and a heartbreaking story, told with complete authenticity.
#1: “Moonlight” (2016)
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“Moonlight” is the kind of ground-breaking film that only comes along once in a generation. Exploring what it means to grow up a gay, black man in America, it gave a voice to people who are underrepresented in contemporary cinema. We see main character Chiron through the many stages of his life; his childhood, his adolescence, and later early adulthood, as he navigates a complicated world. An astounding exploration of character and identity, this masterstroke has taken home more than 150 different awards, including the Oscar for Best Picture.
Which queer movie helps you feel seen? Be sure to let us know in the comments.
