As a film critic, I'm used to getting asked unanswerable questions, and I have stock answers for most of them. The most frequent query I receive, naturally, is what I think the best picture ever made is. I typically respond by stating some variation on "Hopefully the next one I see."
The truth? I don't like proclaiming what I think the "best" films are for anything. For every top-ten or retrospective list, I make sure to state that these are my personal favorites — no less and certainly no more than that — and that it will constantly change over time.
The same goes for "the best LGBTQ films of all time." It's a massive list, one that needs to be sorted by decade, country of origin, politics, history, and — sadly — whatever was deemed "culturally acceptable" at the moment of creation. Basil Dearden's tragic thriller Victim may have been considered taboo-breaking in 1961, but it pales in comparison to James Ivory's 1987 drama Maurice, which in turn is downright tame alongside Ang Lee's Oscar-winning 2005 Western, Brokeback Mountain. Yet all three are rightfully considered classics, and when watched in succession, it's easy to see the connective tissue that links them across the decades.
This brings me to a question I was recently asked: "What are the best LGBTQ love stories to watch for Valentine's Day?" That's an interesting one, notably because I cannot say I watch a lot of romantic films — Queer, straight, whatever — for the holiday. (Okay, maybe I'll put on Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief, but that's because as a kid, I wanted to grow up to be Grace Kelly, and as a teenager I developed a crush on Cary Grant, but that's about it.)
While there are plenty of great LGBTQ romances, I can't say I'm drawn to watching that many. Several, like Brokeback Mountain or Todd Haynes' Carol, end up tragically. Others, like 2000's The Broken Hearts Club (which costars Dean Cain, of all people) — or just about anything on Netflix that fits inside the Queer rom-com bubble — are nothing more than insipidly inane sitcoms masquerading as feature-length films. I abhor the majority of them.
There are exceptions, of course, and thankfully it seems like we are getting more and more of them each year. It's nice to see pictures like Happiest Season, Bros, Red, White and Royal Blue, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, and My Old Ass showing up in theaters and on streaming services. While I enjoyed some of these more than others, I still think it's great they were all released. Especially right now, especially in this climate. If anything, they're needed more than ever.
But anyhow, back to the original question: What are the best LGBTQ love stories? While I won't provide a direct answer, I will offer up ten of my favorites (from oldest to newest). Some will be obvious. Many will be out of the box. Give them all a look.
1.Dracula's Daughter (1936) (Lambert Hillyer)
The Lesbian vampire is hardly a new idea. Countless genre efforts have explored the phenomenon, including three spellbinding 1970s classics: The Vampire Lovers, Daughters of Darkness, and The Velvet Vampire, all indebted to Dracula's Daughter. But those are just three entries on a long and varied list that grows with each passing year.
So, it's safe to say Hillyer's opus laid the foundation for every spin on this idea we've seen since, and did so under the watchful eye of a puritanical production code that looked to drain all the homoerotic blood out of this quickly produced sequel to Universal's 1931 smash, Dracula. It's honestly crazy how steamy this pulpy piece of horror melodrama is, even when judged against its more modern counterparts. But one only needs to watch a scene of bloodsucking foreplay between Gloria Holden (as the undead Countess Marya Zaleska) and Nan Grey (as the starry-eyed ingénue Lili) and wonder how it got past the censors. These two melt the screen with their erotic intensity.
2.Funeral Parade of Roses (1969) (Toshio Matsumoto)
While I have mostly avoided straight-up tragedies for this countdown, an exception must be made for Matsumoto's monumental Japanese New Wave masterpiece. Suffice it to say, there is a time before one watches the mesmeric unhinged mastery of Funeral Parade of Roses, and then there is that glorious time afterward.
This drama is a phantasmagoric marvel, a story of a time, place, country, and culture rich in complexity and diversity, one that showcases its unique characters with a documentary-like intensity emulated by nonfiction benchmarks like 1984's Streetwise or especially 1990's Paris Is Burning. Granted, is not for the faint of heart to see protagonist Eddie (portrayed by the gorgeous and talented Shinnosuke Ikehata) journey into the heart of Tokyo's vibrant underground Gay community, and his final destination is blindingly heartbreaking.
But getting there is an experience like few others. The lyrical romanticism of much of it is so inspiring, it almost keeps the eventual heartbreak from being as overwhelming and depressing as it might have been.
3. Change of Sex (1977) (Vicente Aranda)
I have a strange fascination with depictions of Trans journeys in 1970s cinema, especially European cinema.
Aranda's deliriously agile romantic drama is far more optimistic, which makes it perfect for Valentine's Day. It's a fantasy, to be certain, especially for the time, but that does not make watching María José (a fresh-faced Victoria Abril) embrace her authentic self any less sublime. The film's final sequence is grandly euphoric, showcasing Trans empowerment in a way rarely done before (no shock there) or even since. The look on Abril's face as an impossible dream is realized fills me with joy just at the thought of it. As basic as the plot of this semi-forgotten Spanish soap opera may be, that moment alone is enough for me to keep coming back as a pick-me-up when I need it the most.
4. Desert Hearts (1985) (Donna Deitch)
Probably the most obvious title on this list, Deitch's Desert Hearts remains an essential entry in the LGBTQ cinematic canon. Helen Shaver has rarely been better, in a sensational depiction of a browbeaten, buttoned-up Columbia English professor stranded in Reno, waiting for her divorce to be finalized. Patricia Charbonneau, making her film debut, matches her as the young, carefree sculptor who almost inadvertently seduces the soon-to-be-divorcee, with youthful, infectious magnetism.
Deitch's delectable period romance gets better with each passing year, and it's easy to see its influence on modern Lesbian dramas like Carol and Happiest Season. But there's a reason this gets rewatched, discussed, and adored even though it's approaching its 40th anniversary. There is a rich timelessness to its depiction of lust, longing, friendship, and romantic affection that continues to speak to viewers of all ages, identities, races, and backgrounds, and this beguiling resonance shows no sign of fading.
5. Orlando (1992) (Sally Potter)
Virginia Woolf is my favorite writer, but I never imagined anyone, even a filmmaker as talented as Potter, would be able to so cleverly adapt the author's 1928 Orlando: A Biography. That the director was able to do so is impressive. That she did so with such inventiveness, originality, and imagination is even more so.
This was where I discovered Tilda Swinton for the first time — and she is dazzling. This gender-bending depiction of a life lived in all its mystically fascinating befuddlement is a marvel. Yet Swinton grounds events with emotionally naturalistic gravitas that makes even the story's most fantastical elements wholly believable. Few dramatic fantasies have achieved this level of vibrancy. Even fewer have proven to be this endearing and enduring.
6. Bound (1996) (The Wachowskis)
Lana and Lilly Wachowski's invigoratingly visceral neo-noir Bound is an absolute triumph. It moves with an urgency that is uniquely its own, yet it also pays shrewd homage to groundbreaking classics like Detour, Gun Crazy, Kansas City Confidential, and Criss Cross (just to name a few).
But it is the central romantic entanglement of Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon that makes it essential. These two play off one another with their hearts metaphorically on fire, their passion otherworldly. Coupled against Joe Pantoliano's slimy viciousness, Tilly and Gershon are noir heroines for the ages, both embracing yet also defying femme fatale genre stereotyping with a dexterity that's gleefully bewitching.
7. Weekend (2011) (Andrew Haigh)
While not his debut, Weekend is the drama that made Haigh a directorial name to pay attention to. This 2011 festival favorite made serious waves, and for good reason. What on the surface looks to be a rudimentary tale of a one-night-stand between two men wanting to hook up (and little else) sneakily proves to be a richly adroit saga of loneliness, need, and emotional connectivity that packs a major psychological wallop. Stars Tom Cullen and Chris New are excellent, while cinematographer Ula Pontikos casts a lyrical spell that lingers on long after the story has come to its ephemeral conclusion.
Haigh would go on from here to weave equally enthralling endeavors, his confident hand guiding the HBO series Looking and borderline instant classics like 45 Years, Lean on Pete, and All of Us Strangers. But there is something about this seemingly simple, straightforward, sincere lust-to-love story that reaches into the viewer's soul and refuses to let go. Magnificent doesn't even begin to cover it.
8. Love Is Strange (2014) (Ira Sachs)
I cannot think of a single project that was not made substantially better by Alfred Molina's presence. He has over two hundred credits on IMDb, and while I have not watched them all (who could?), I'd bet good money that every one of them is lucky that the actor was involved.
Molina's performance as New York music teacher George in Sachs' divinely intuitive and topically prescient Love Is Strange might be my favorite (even more so his wickedly charismatic turn as Dr. Otto Octavius in Spider-Man 2). There's never a moment that feels forced or false, and his chemistry with costar John Lithgow is hypnotically astounding. Molina makes what could have been a facile and overtly melodramatic scenario sing with thunderous operatic grace.
9. Boy Meets Girl (2014) (Eric Schaeffer)
Schaeffer has hardly been a writer-director I've felt the need to go to bat for. My Life's in Turnaround, If Lucy Fell, Fall, and After Fall, Winter are only four of the filmmaker's features I've watched over the past three decades, and none of them lingers positively in my memory.
But Boy Meets Girl is a prime example of why I walk into each and every film with an open mind. It's a shockingly divine romantic comedy, and while it is not unexpected or out of the ordinary, it still manages to tell its tale with a buoyant earnestness that's endearing. Even without the Trans-centered subject matter, I still think I'd adore this picture a whole heck of a lot.
While I won't say Schaeffer knows precisely what he's talking about, star Michelle Hendley does so much of the dramatic heavy lifting that most storytelling missteps are pleasingly mitigated. At its center, Boy Meets Girl may be a Hallmark-style rom-com with all of the typical clichés and stereotypes, but thanks in large part to her authentically sublime performance, it's all so gosh-darn endearing that I couldn't care less.
10. Bit (2019) (Brad Michael Elmore)
We started this list with a vampire flick; we might as well end with one too: indie filmmaker Elmore's sadly underseen, female-centered Bit. A victim of a pandemic release date and a meager marketing budget, this is nonetheless a fantastically entertaining Lost Boys riff on bloodsucking dynamics overflowing with youthful energy and blood-splattered charm.
Easy to miss in all of the Trans-centered coming-of-age supernatural carnage and undead silliness, there is a sweet little hidden love story. Nicole Maines (of Supergirl Nia Nal fame) and supporting player Zolee Griggs have devilish chemistry, though they don't get a ton of screen time to showcase it, what with the breathlessly paced 90-minute running time. Yet they make their love story subplot essential to the goofy outcome of all this Buffy meets The Vampire Diaries meets Riverdale frivolity. For those with a soft spot for Sapphic, gothic madness, Bit comes amazingly close to perfect.
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