Christine Jorgensen was a photographer, a military clerk, and one of the first Americans to have gender confirmation surgery. When she was outed to the press, she leveraged it into a singing career. She used her platform to educate and … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Christine Jorgensen Story (1970)

The Day the Fish Came Out is a farce with too many targets.  American soldiers, disguised as gay tourists, search for missing nukes on a Greek Island. The cast runs around in skimpy outfits and shouts at each other. The … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Day the Fish Came Out (1967)

The War Widow premiered on PBS on October 28, 1976. It was part of the Visions series of original teleplays. A repressed housewife (Pamela Bellwood) waits for her husband to return from World War I. She meets a photographer (Frances … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The War Widow (1976)

Shun Nakahara’s The Cherry Orchard (Sakura no sono) is not a direct adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s play. Instead, it adapts a manga about a group of school girls producing the play. We follow the cast through the rehearsal hall. A … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Cherry Orchard (1990)

Delphine Seyrig vamps it up as the Countess Elizabeth Báthory while she’s on a mission to seduce Valerie Chilton (Danielle Ouimet) away from her new husband Stefan Chilton (John Karlen.) What ensues is a seductive slow burn full of dark … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Daughters Of Darkness (1971)

A self-righteous deacon (Željko Ivanek) comes under fire when he defends two gay seminarians. Jack Lemmon’s cynical pastor tries to teach him about church bureaucracy. Mass Appeal is better in concept than execution. Bill C. Davis’s screenplay, adapted from his … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Mass Appeal (1984)

Three Christian teens struggle with their faith as they plan for college. Sweet Tim’s coming out has sent devout Laura and doubting Brea into tail spins. Many stories address the rift between organized religion and human sexuality. Stephen Cone’s The Wise … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Wise Kids (2011)

Many years ago when I was in university, I was talking with a friend about what makes a film “queer.” Was it simply having queer characters and queer subject matter? Was it having something askew and off-kilter that queer viewers … Continue reading LGBT Movies: “Wild Things” (25th Anniversary)

A closeted Liberal Chairman (Björn Kjellman) falls for an out Social Democrat (a lovable Eric Ericson). Four More Years is an enjoyably fluffy romcom. The leading men have chemistry and charm. It’s refreshing to see a middle-aged actor in a … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Four More Years (2010)

Alfredo Alaria plays an eccentric dancer. He clashes with his conservative family. They suspect he may be… different. His penchant for performing campy musical numbers in revealing costumes is a clue. Different couldn’t directly address homosexuality in Franco’s Spain. But … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Different (1962)

Nuno, a college student, visits his sister’s farm in Vouzela. He soon falls for Alberto, a moody farmhand. Nuno is a cheerful protagonist in an angsty film. He remains blissfully unaware of the limits that class and gender place on … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Where the Sun Beats (1989)

Why bury your gays when you can make them bury each other? You may find yourself contemplating that question after seeing M. Night Shyamalan’s latest, the tense and morally muddy Knock at the Cabin. Based on Paul G. Tremblay’s 2018 … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Knock at the Cabin (2023)

This weekend the cinemas feature many tales of queer suffering and death. I wanted to highlight a film about surviving trauma. In Thomas Fitzgerald’s The Hanging Garden a gay man (Chris Leavins) visits his estranged family after ten years away. … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Hanging Garden (1997)

Should the LGBTQ community assimilate or rebel? Should we band together or pursue our individual goals? These arguments were explored in a television drama titled Coming Out. It aired On April 10, 1979 as part of the BBC’s Play for … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Coming Out (1979)

A married man becomes obsessed with a teenage hustler. His wife intervenes. Man of Desire aches with sexual frustration. Each character is afraid of what they want. The film is in no hurry to give it to them. Dominique Delouche’s … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Man of Desire (1970)

The Holiday Sitter is Hallmark’s first gay holiday romcom. A big city business man falls for a small-town hunk while babysitting his niece and nephew. Jonathan Bennett mugs like he’s channeling Lucille Ball. George Krissa underplays the guarded love interest. … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Holiday Sitter (2022)