55 Best Queer Movies
There are as many ways to explore queer history as there are people who have lived it, and many queer legends that are nearly forgotten that, in a more equitable world, would be common knowledge. Pride is a time to celebrate, honor, and remember all of this, whether you are trans, bi, ace, poly, pan, intersex, non-binary, or anywhere else on the spectrum of gender and sexual identity and expression… or just proud to support your queer friends.
All 55 of these films reflect elements of contemporary queer (LGBTQIA+) history — sometimes dramatized, sometimes documented, and sometimes because the film itself has made history. They reflect on decades of love, sex, activism, and art. Some call for tolerance, while others flip the middle finger at narrow-minded bigotry. Many ask us to love each other, but others demand that we take up the battle cry: Be gay, commit crimes. Or just put on cha-cha heels and watch a good movie. You do you.
BPM (beats per minute) (2017)
Set during the height of the AIDS crisis in the early 1990s, BPM focuses to some extent on HIV-positive ACT UP activist Sean (Nahuel Perez Biscayar) and his evolving relationship with newcomer Nathan (Arnaud Valois), though the film as a whole is an ensemble piece, which ties into its meaning and message. The shift in focus allows the film to explore, dramatically and rather fearlessly, the changing nature of ACT UP’s actions and activism. Messy internal battles over strategy and questions of how far to go are part of every movement, and BPM beautifully dramatizes and personalizes these (still-relevant) difficulties. Writer-director Robin Campillo and co-writer Philippe Mangeot bring their own ACT UP experiences to the film. You can stream BPM on Kanopy and Pluto TV, or rent it on Prime Video .
Fantastic Woman (2017)
Transgender actress Daniela Vega gives a brilliant, inspiring, and gut-wrenching performance as Marina Vidal, a waitress and singer at a club in Santiago, Chile. When her boyfriend Orlando dies unexpectedly, she endures a series of indignities — she’s insulted and harassed by the police, who assume she must be a sex worker, and his family hounds her to give everything she has to Orlando and keep her away. Through it all, Marina maintains a steely core that doesn’t detract from her believable struggle, but keeps the story from becoming a tragedy. In 2017, this Oscar-winning film felt like the story of a strong woman in a particularly intolerant country — but that was just before a global wave of transphobia washed away many of the gains even in countries that once seemed more progressive. You can stream A Fantastic Woman on Peacock or rent it on Prime Video .
Salome (1923)
During the Roaring ’20s, the rules governing the portrayal of queer people in film were a little looser than they would be later. Germany released a few queer-positive films, while a few American films played fast and loose with gender and sexual roles. Case in point: Salome, a biblical epic produced by and starring queer provocateur Alla Nazimova. Nazimova (usually referred to simply as “Nazimova”) was an early Hollywood power player and an accomplished artist who reimagined Oscar Wilde’s play to include female characters played by men in drag, overt sexuality, and silver lamé loincloths. It was all wonderfully campy and stylized, and it didn’t make a dime, but it’s a reminder that there were queer communities making films that your great-grandparents might have enjoyed.
With the advent of the Hays Production Code in America and the Nazi Party in Germany, it would be decades before films could do more than hint at unauthorized relationships again. You can stream Salome on Tubi or rent it on Prime Video .
Paris is Burning (1990)
As Faulkner said, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” This is especially true when it comes to queer history, as Paris Is Burning makes clear. Exploring New York City’s drag ball culture in the late 1980s, director Jennie Livingston’s documentary pays particular attention to the experiences of black and Latino gay, trans, and genderqueer people, with aspects that are both joyful and heartbreaking. So much of what was transgressive here has entered pop culture, for better and for worse: Madonna gets credit for voguing, but the style has roots in the ballrooms of Harlem. Much of the language and culture here will make perfect sense to fans of RuPaul or Pose , and many of the documentary’s darker elements will be familiar, too: racism, poverty, and violence against trans people are still very real parts of the queer bipartisan experience. All the more reason to value authenticity and self-expression, and give a middle finger to gender expectations. You can watch Paris Is Burning on HBO Max and The Criterion Channel, or rent it on Apple TV .
Girls in Uniform (1931)
The story of troubled schoolgirl Manuela (Herta Thiele), who quickly falls for a teacher at her girls’ school, Girls in Uniform arrived at a pivotal moment in German history: Section 175, outlawing homosexuality, had received its first major legal challenge a few years earlier, and what would later be seen as the “decadent” Weimar era was in full swing. With queer women behind the camera and plenty of lesbian angst and kissing on screen, the film became a hit in many countries across Europe, while lobbying by none other than Eleanor Roosevelt ensured that American audiences saw the film (a detail I adore). It’s a beautifully realized film about romantic yearning that never veers into melodrama; It also invites us to imagine what female-focused films might have been like if there had been more women behind the camera during the golden age of cinema, as well as what might have been if the Nazis hadn’t made the anti-queer crusade central to their rise to power. You can stream Mädchen in Uniform on Hoopla and Kino Film .
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
Look, we’ve all had nights like this. You’re down. You’re feeling defeated. So why not put on some makeup, turn on the boombox, and grab your wig off the shelf? There’s a good chance you’re already singing along, but if you’re not, Hedwig is a musical about a genderqueer German rock singer whose botched sex-reassignment surgery leaves her with the titular “angry inch.” Anticipating a much-needed cultural conversation about the gender binary by more than two decades, it’s also an old-school rock opera par excellence, the kind that just doesn’t get made anymore. Based on the musical of the same name, the film didn’t make any money at all, but it’s earned its well-deserved cult classic status. You can rent Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Prime Video .
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Director James Whale (whose later life was dramatized in Gods and Monsters ) followed up what might have been the greatest of all monster movies, one of the most impressive feats in American cinema history: something altogether funnier, weirder, and far stranger, with gay icon Ernest Thesiger prancing around gothic sets, offering bitchy retorts and seducing his old é into reviving the dead once more. His Dr. Pretorius comes back into the life of Frankenstein (Colin Clive) just as the doctor is about to begin a life of marriage with Elizabeth, but, given the choice, runs away to begin a life with Pretorius. That’s all before Elsa Lanchester swaps her Mary Shelley gown for a wire-cage bride’s wig, giving birth to an icon. You can rent Bride of Frankenstein on Prime Video.
Funeral Parade of Roses (1969)
At the height of the Japanese New Wave, writer/director Toshio Matsumoto created this classic that combines ultra-realism with hauntingly beautiful, sometimes psychedelic imagery. The plot takes inspiration from the Oedipus Rex story and inverts it, seamlessly blending the mythical with the mundane in the story of Eddie (Shinnosuke Ikehata) and other transgender women in the very swinging, very fun Tokyo of the 1960s (“Roses” is a pun on the flower pansy). The film got a smooth release in Japan at the time, but had a hard time getting past censors in the United States. You can stream Funeral Parade of Roses on Kanopy and Night Flight.
“The Boys in the Band” (1970)
William Friedkin ( The French Connection , The Exorcist , and, most notoriously, Cruising ) directs the film adaptation of the controversial Off-Broadway play—controversial because every character is gay or bisexual, and controversial among queer audiences because its characters are often portrayed as self-pitying. It’s not exactly an uplifting portrait of being gay in America, but it captures something real, if not always pretty, as a pre-Liberation piece. And there are plenty of aspects here that still feel sadly relevant. You can stream The Boys in the Band on Kanopy or rent it on Prime Video.
About Phantasma (2000)
Ricardo Meneses is Sergio, a Lisbon garbage man who embarks on an existential odyssey hunting for rough trade after escaping the advances of a female co-worker. Director João Pedro Rodrigues creates a thrillingly seedy and downright lustful underworld of perversion, with a philosophical take on the meaning of it all . It’s the rare existential journey that involves latex gear and erotic asphyxiation, and queers can take pride in the fact that our own 50 Shades is far less shameful than the mainstream version. You can stream O Fantasma on Tubi .
Stranger by the Lake (2013)
This 2013 French film plays in part as an homage to the erotic thrillers of decades past, much in the same way that some of the best thrillers of the ’80s paid homage to film noir. Here, Pierre Deladonchamps plays Franck, a regular at a nudist beach and the surrounding woods, which are popular places to go for walks. Franck begins a passionate relationship (meaning: lots of sex in the woods) with Michel (Christophe Pau), whom Franck later spots drowning someone in a lake. Which, okay: a red flag. But that ’s exactly how good D is. As the investigation into the event heats up, Franck finds himself struggling to give up on a good thing, even in the face of murder. We’re firmly entering an era where queer people can be both prey and predator without having to resort to grueling tropes. You can stream Stranger by the Lake on The Criterion Channel, Kanopy, and Mubi, or rent it on Prime Video .
Querelle (1982)
Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s dreamy queer film about a handsome young sailor who gets caught up in a web of sex, sibling rivalry, and slightly sublimated lust in a French brothel. The plot is almost entirely secondary here: It’s all horny fluids, full of sweat and completely unabashed sexuality. You can stream Querelle on Tubi, The Criterion Channel, HBO Max , and Prime Video .
Finding Langston (1989)
Director Isaac Julien’s beautifully shot impressionistic tone poem explores the work of poet and playwright Langston Hughes, along with other figures of the Harlem Renaissance (Richard Bruce Nugent, James Baldwin, and Essex Hemphill) in the context of their queer identities, often ignored even when the greater importance of their work as black artists is acknowledged. Mixing archival footage, scripts, and Robert Mapplethorpe’s photographs, Julien places readings of Hughes’s work within scenes of queer love and sexuality, illustrating the value of viewing art through the artist’s own lens. You can stream Looking for Langston on Vimeo , and it’s widely available on YouTube.
Nighthawks (1978)
It’s perhaps a little too true to life in its mockumentary style for modern audiences – a little narrative verve can go a long way – but what’s here is still compelling as both a drama and a time capsule. Offering a realistic (or so I’m told) portrait of London’s gay nightlife, the film follows Jim (Ken Robertson) as he teaches geography by day and hangs out in clubs by night. It’s an almost entirely positive portrait of the gay scene of the time, with the latter part of the film devoted to a candid conversation between Jim and his class about his life. You can stream Nighthawks on Prime Video .
Rope (1948)
Alfred Hitchcock worked with queer performers (open and otherwise) from the earliest days of his career, scoring his first big hit with Ivor Novello in 1927’s The Lodger . I’m not sure he thought much about queer identity, and that actually works to Rope’s advantage: there doesn’t feel like there’s any kind of pro- or anti-gay framing here, just a murder involving a pair of, well, “flamboyant” roommates. Based on real-life lovers Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, who killed a 14-year-old just to prove they could, and the subsequent play, the film removes any direct references to same-sex relationships, but it’s still pretty hard to miss, especially when the leads are openly (later in life) bisexual Farley Granger and gay actor John Dull. You can rent Rope on Prime Video.
Female Trouble (1974)
Many early queer-positive films were aimed squarely at a straight audience, portraying gay men as angelic figures or poor victims of society’s cruelty. John Waters sidestepped all this well-intentioned nonsense, making films in which the greatest crime is being boring . Although Pink Flamingos (with its memorable climax set to the tune of “How Much Is That Doggy in the Window”) is better known, Female Trouble perfects Waters’s style with its story of high school slut Dawn Davenport (played by drag queen Divine), who turns to a life of crime when her perfectly straight parents don’t give her what she really wants for Christmas: “Nice girls don’t wear cha-cha heels!” Their cruel denial of such a necessary accessory sends Don on a spree of sex and crime that feels a bit like an homage to Mildred Pierce – if Joan Crawford had conceived her daughter on camera.
On an old rotten mattress.
At the dump.
It was all appropriately outrageous, and audiences were outraged — but only in a boring way. You can rent Female Trouble from Fandango at Home or buy it from Prime Video .
Un chant d’amour/A Song of Love (1950)
Two prisoners are tortured by a voyeuristic prison guard in Jean Genet’s short film, full of homoerotic imagery that may be less shocking now but is no less effective. The two never touch, except in a fantasy sequence, but the sight of two men sharing a little smoke from a single cigarette remains one of cinema’s hottest images. If you’re searching by the film’s English title, don’t be confused with Katharine Hepburn’s slightly more straightforward 1947 film of the same name. You can stream “Love Song” on Kanopy and Vimeo, and it’s widely available on YouTube and the Internet Archive.
The Victim (1961)
Sometimes called the “blackmailer’s charter,” English law had allowed homosexual acts to be prosecuted since 1885, though by the 1960s this was no longer enforced. Still, the mere threat of arrest and the public scrutiny that followed made it depressingly common for blackmailers (gay or straight) to take advantage of wealthy victims – in this case, a married London barrister played by Dirk Bogarde. Approaching a social issue through the medium of a neo-noir thriller, The Victim was one of the first examples of a major director and star taking a sympathetic approach to gay characters, inevitably shocking audiences and censors alike by even acknowledging that such people existed. It wasn’t a huge hit, but it came at a crucial time: the ’60s were in full swing, and attitudes were beginning to change. You can stream The Sacrifice on HBO Max and The Criterion Channel, or rent it on Prime Video .
Before Stonewall (1985)
If Stonewall sometimes feels like ancient history, it’s important to remember that queer history didn’t begin there—not even remotely. Greta Schiller and Robert Rosenberg’s 1985 documentary looks at the early 20th century, interviewing activists and writers who help chart the evolution of what would become a movement among people who fought to live their authentic lives at a time when the broader culture preferred to pretend they weren’t there. The film is an important document, capturing so many important voices while they were still with us, but it’s also inspiring and often joyful. It’s hard not to smile when you think about what these legends were doing while the rest of America slept. (The film received an HD restoration a couple of years ago, so now is an especially good time to watch it.) You can stream Before Stonewall on Kanopy and Dekkoo, or rent it on Prime Video .
Some of My Best Friends… (1971)
A fascinating time capsule and often entertaining soap opera about a gay bar on Christmas Eve, filmed and set just a few years after Stonewall. A huge cast of characters wanders through it, some touching, some merely sketchy character types, but representing broad swaths of the community. It was filmed during a transitional time when queer activism and visibility were on the rise but had not yet made the impact they were destined to, and so the film creates an atmosphere that alternates between joy and terror at what lies beyond the bar’s welcoming space.
(If all that isn’t enough to secure the film a place in queer cultural history, it also features an early on-screen appearance by Rue McClanahan herself, just a year before she teamed up with Bea Arthur on Maude .) You can stream Some of My Best Friends Are… on MGM+ or on MGM+ via Prime Video.
Happy Together (1997)
A beautifully dark triumph from Wong Kar-wai, Happy Together follows a stunningly mismatched couple (Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-wai) whose relationship falls apart during a trip to Argentina. The intensely hot but deeply codependent pair keep returning to each other’s orbits — and they make youth, gayness, and passionate love look so cool that you can’t help but hope that they make it work. The cinematography here is stunning, with every frame feeling and looking like a mini-work of art. There’s also plenty of subtext here, tying into the handover of Hong Kong from the UK to China that occurred just as the film was being shot — a reminder that queerness comes with layers of identity. You can stream Happy Together on HBO Max and The Criterion Channel, or rent it on Prime Video .
Knife + Heart (2018)
Things get nasty on the set of a French gay erotic film in this ultra-stylish, colorful, psychedelic homage not just to the Italian gialli of yore, but to the golden age of 1970s porn. Director Yann Gonzalez has created a film in which queerness is more than just an accident—it’s the whole point (starting with the switchblade dildo at the beginning), but it’s still one of the most effective and beautiful horror films of the last decade. You can stream Knife+Heart on Tubi, Shudder, and AMC+, or rent it on Prime Video .
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
I’ve seen Rocky at least a dozen times and can recite every line, but I still can’t say anything about the plot. (That may have less to do with the movie itself than with the state in which it’s traditionally viewed… but it’s probably both.)
On one level, it’s a celebration of many, many forms of queerness, and even the straightest of straight men can indulge in a little gender role-play. It’s weird, it’s a little sleazy, and it doesn’t make much sense — and that’s all the more fun. You can rent Rocky Horror on Prime Video.
Scream Queens: Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria (2005)
Stonewall was a long, long time in the making. It may have been the explosion of the modern queer liberation movement, but the sparks had been flaring for decades—the Compton’s Cafeteria riot of 1966 being one of them. Transgender people in San Francisco were largely banned from gay bars (transphobia has never been an exclusively cis, heterosexual phenomenon), and the 24-hour Compton’s Cafeteria was a meeting place, a cheap coffee stop, especially for transgender workers. Their very presence, of course, also made it convenient for the local police, who found ready targets among the cafeteria’s trans and cross-dressing patrons. The iconic image of Stonewall remains a brick in a window, and the Compton riot has similar iconography: a cup of coffee in the face of a police officer who has grabbed and attempted to arrest a patron. What followed was one of the first public queer protests in U.S. history and the beginning of trans activism in San Francisco. You can stream Screaming Queens on Kanopy or rent it on Prime Video.
Desert Hearts (1985)
By the mid-1980s, the tropes were already starting to take hold: We were beginning a long cycle of films (many of them brilliant) about HIV/AIDS, and were in the middle of an era of major films ( Dressed to Kill , Cruising , The Silence of the Lambs , Basic Instinct ) that linked queer identity to extreme violence. In the midst of all this, Desert Hearts was an absolute breath of fresh air: Vivian, an English teacher going through a divorce, meets Kay, an uninhibited sculptor, on a ranch in Reno. The course of true love is never smooth (or, in this case, straight), and so Vivian struggles a bit with an unexpected lesbian attraction. This romantic drama never veers toward tragedy, and it’s all the better for it. You can stream Desert Hearts on HBO Max and The Criterion Channel, or rent it on Prime Video .
My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
The best queer films understand that no one is just one thing, and that any kind of queer identity intersects with all the other labels we choose for ourselves (or that others choose for us). That’s why My Beautiful Laundrette is just a great gay movie, it’s also a great movie about class, racism, and it gives a vivid portrait of life in the Thatcher/Reagan era of the 1980s. You can stream My Beautiful Laundrette on Tubi, Pluto TV, Kanopy, and Prime Video .
Edward II (1991)
Want queer history? Great. Let’s go back to 14th-century England to see the story of Edward II, who was famously infatuated with courtier Piers Gaveston. Gay filmmaker, provocateur, and activist Derek Jarman removes any historical ambiguity from the relationship between the two, and presents medieval Europe as a postmodern fantasy, replete with intentional anachronisms and Annie Lennox on the soundtrack. Think Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette , but much, much gayer. It also made a star out of Tilda Swinton, who followed it up as the title character in another queer classic, Orlando . You can stream Edward II on Prime Video , Peacock , Pluto TV , and Kanopy .
Rafiki (2018)
The first Kenyan film to screen at Cannes was also banned in its own country because it challenged Kenya’s legal ban on same-sex sex. The romantic drama follows young women Kena and Ziki (Samantha Mugatsia and Sheila Munyiwa) as they develop a romantic relationship amid family and societal pressure to conform. The love story is joyful and charming, but the film doesn’t shy away from real-life issues. You can stream Rafiki (sometimes The Friend ) on Kanopy or rent it on Prime Video .
The Birdcage (1996)
A slick, funny, charming, and quotable slice of Hollywood entertainment that starred some of the era’s biggest names, The Birdcage made real money selling a message of acceptance (despite its weird and completely unnecessary R rating). Unlike many serious gay movies of the ’90s, this one actually showed that being gay could be pretty fun. And funny. And generally not tragic. While the characters play into certain stereotypes, the film makes it clear that it’s far better (and totally okay) to be a bloated drama queen à la Robin Williams’ Armand than to be stodgy and narrow-minded like the senator played by Gene Hackman. It’s all so good-natured that it was bound to attract a wide audience, and in doing so, help pave the long, winding road to future gay movies. You can stream The Birdcage on Prime Video and Peacock .
The Watermelon Woman (1996)
The mid-’90s saw a wave of gay-themed films coming out of Hollywood. These were well-intentioned films with big-name stars, even if they were mostly male, straight, and white: the aforementioned The Birdcage , as well as Philadelphia and In and Out , to name the most important. But more importantly, this was a golden age for independent filmmakers, who began making more personal, authentic, and distinctive films that rejected heteronormativity — what became known as the new queer cinema. Director/actress Cheryl Dunye plays Cheryl, who goes on the hunt for a fictional black actress from Old Hollywood while exploring the life of a man who lived on the margins. You can stream The Watermelon Woman on Kanopy and The Criterion Channel, or rent it on Prime Video .
Bound (1996)
Bound announced major new directorial talent in Lily and Lana Wachowski, the brother and sister who would go on to create The Matrix and other imagined successes (and a few equally imagined flops ). The noir-inspired thriller mixes violence and humor in a story that also features a lesbian relationship that feels real and unabashed sexuality that never feels gratuitous — the chemistry between leads Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly is off the charts.
The directors remain among Hollywood’s most prominent trans directors, and it all started with this instant classic. You can stream Bound on Paramount+ and Kanopy, or rent it on Prime Video .
All About My Mother (1999)
It’s not the weirdest film in Pedro Almodóvar’s very weird filmography—that’s probably 1987’s Law of Desire , which featured a complicated love triangle between two cis gay men and a trans woman. But All About My Mother cemented Almodóvar’s status as one of the world’s leading directors, mixing his earlier, more campy sensibilities with more dramatic material. When Manuela’s son dies in a car crash, she sets out to find his other parent, a trans woman named Lola whose identity Manuela has kept secret. Along the way, she becomes involved in the lives of other women, including scene-stealing trans sex worker Agrado and Rosa, an HIV-positive nun also carrying Lola’s child. The film was far, far ahead of its time in its depiction of queer themes, and it’s still a wildly entertaining and thoughtful film about motherhood in all its forms. You can watch All About My Mother on The Criterion Channel or rent it on Prime Video .
Tongues Untied (1989)
An experimental tour de force from black, gay poet and filmmaker Marlon T. Riggs, Tongues Untied addresses the silencing of the gay, black male experience by both mainstream white and black cultures, as well as gay white society. Through interviews, poetry, and a non-linear style, Riggs explores the expectations around people like him, starting a conversation that continues to this day, for better and worse. You can stream Tongues Untied on Kanopy and The Criterion Channel .
Saving Face (2004)
The success of The Joy Luck Club in 1993 led to a huge boom in Chinese-American-themed films. And by “huge boom,” I mean Hollywood only waited 11 years to make another Chinese-American-themed film.
(Sighs loudly.)
But! On the other hand, Alice Wu’s Saving Face is a charming triumph, telling the love story of a closeted surgeon and her boss’s daughter. The two women’s traditional families and community serve as the backdrop, but ultimately, it’s one of those romantic comedies where you can’t help but root for the leads. You can stream Saving Face on The Criterion Channel or rent it on Prime Video .
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
There are a few films on this list that feature a group of straight men making queer-themed films, with mixed results. While Brokeback Mountain leans too heavily on tragic tropes (we’ve seen more than our share of gay-dead-guy movies by 2005), there’s an undeniable wealth of talent both behind and in front of the camera—more than enough to create a moving experience. But the film’s place in queer cultural history is as much about the backlash it provoked as the acclaim it received. By the time the film lost to Crash (her?) for Best Picture at the Oscars, the conversation was more about homophobia within Hollywood’s old guard and among moviegoers at large than about the merits of either film. Brokeback Mountain started the conversation and, just as importantly, reminded studio bosses that queer content could appeal to a wider audience and be big moneymakers. You can stream Brokeback Mountain on Prime Video .
Bent (1997)
Bent is primarily set in the Dachau concentration camp, where it follows Max (Clive Owen) as he is arrested by the Nazis after the Night of the Long Knives and as part of the Nazis’ targeted persecution of homosexuals. It’s certainly heartbreaking and gut-wrenching, but with moments of real beauty. It was also rated NC-17 for no reason, which says a lot about how we feel about any film with queer content. You can stream Bent on Peacock and Kanopy, or rent it on Prime Video .
Item 175 (2000)
An important documentary about the lives of queer Germans during the Nazi years, filmed just in time to capture interviews with survivors. There’s joy in the memories of a more open and liberal Berlin in the pre-war years, which naturally and horrifyingly turns to grief when the Nazis begin to persecute queer identities. It’s highly specific in its kind, but feels timeless in its warning that progress can disappear with alarming ease. You can stream Paragraph 175 on Kanopy and The Criterion Channel, or rent it on Prime Video .
Tropical Disease (2004)
This very unique Thai film bills itself as a “romantic psychological drama in the feature film genre,” and I suppose that gives you some idea of its weird and wonderful nature. At the beginning, we think we’re in on a romantic story involving Keng (Banlop Lomnoi), a soldier stationed in a quiet village, who meets local Tong (Sakda Kaewbuadee), beginning a love story. That’s before the narrative splits and we follow the soldier as he explores the jungle, encountering a restless spirit. It was the first Thai film to debut in the main competition at Cannes, and the first to win the Jury Prize. You can stream Tropical Malady on Kanopy .
Cast Away (2011)
It wasn’t a huge breakthrough, but Pariah still feels like the beginning of a new, more confident era in queer cinema. For one thing, it’s absolutely gorgeous, with stunning, expressionistic cinematography and Dee Rees’s confident, assured direction. It’s a world to get lost in. Pariah manages to tell a coming-of-age, coming-out story that’s so deeply personal that it never feels like a queer message movie, though it has something to say about identity through the story of its young, black, lesbian protagonist, Alike. You can stream Pariah on Peacock or rent it on Prime Video .
Pride (2014)
During the British miners’ strike of the ’80s, activist Mark Ashton and others realized there was a real opportunity for an alliance between miners and the queer community, both of whom had been let down by (ahem) Margaret Thatcher’s government. Pride reworks the story of the movement that emerged (lesbians and gays support the miners) into a truly delightful comedy-drama (think The Full Monty ) about the personalities behind the unlikely alliance that ultimately brought queer issues to the forefront of British politics. You can stream Pride on Kanopy or rent it on Prime Video .
Go Fishing (1994)
It may be more of a cult classic from our perspective now, but the lesbian romantic comedy Go Fish made a couple million dollars (which was real money at the time) on an extremely low budget, making it a bonafide mainstream hit . There was a minute or two where people talked about the viability of lesbian characters and queer themes in film, and how director Rose Troche’s film could open the floodgates for more representation. That didn’t actually happen, but the film offers some of the true swagger of New Queer Cinema in the story of horny college student Max (co-writer Guinevere Turner) and her various romantic complications. The only tragedy here is Max’s messy love life. You can rent Go Fish on Prime Video .
The Best of Drunk City (2014)
Drunktown’s Finest is a lot of what we’ve seen before: Set in a Navajo community near Gallup, New Mexico, it highlights poverty, alcoholism, and the clashes between tradition and modern life. Rather than do away with these stereotypical themes, transgender Navajo director Sydney Freeland explores their reality as part of a broader spectrum of the lives of three young Native Americans, including a transgender woman who dreams of becoming a model. It’s one of several successful films in the last few years that find characters at the intersection of queer and Native identities. Drunktown’s Finest is available to rent on Prime Video.
In the Night (2014)
In 2006, seven openly black lesbians were harassed and violently threatened in Greenwich Village. When they fought back, the ensuing brawl led to years in prison for four women who were accused of being gang members. The press called them the “New Jersey Four” and a “lesbian wolf pack.” One headline warned of a “lesbian killer attack,” though, of course, no one died. The queer community has always had a fraught relationship with the American justice system, as have women and people of color. The documentary explores how that long history lives on, especially where identities intersect. You can rent Out in the Night on Prime Video.
Tab Hunter Confidential (2015)
He was the ultimate embodiment of mid-century, middle-American ideals of masculinity and attractiveness: slightly bland but undeniably sexy. With his blond hair, killer smile, and chiseled features (and a voice that earned him a couple of hit pop singles), he was a movie star deliberately branded to drive suburban teenage girls crazy . His public romances with stars like Debbie Reynolds and Natalie Wood gave fans something to fantasize about when they weren’t actively falling in love. Of course, even then, there was gossip about Hunter’s sexuality, and he confirmed those rumors in his 2005 memoir, on which this award-winning documentary is based. It’s an intensely personal look at an actor’s life in Hollywood, and the lengths the studio system went to keep some of its biggest stars in the closet. You can stream Tab Hunter Confidential on Prime Video.
Mandarin (2015)
Modern technology has opened up possibilities for filmmakers they could only dream of back in the day. Imagine if queer directors of previous generations could shoot movies on their phones with professional results? Stories to tell? Director Sean Baker and company capitalize on the intimacy and immediacy of shooting on a pair of iPhones, and the results don’t feel cheesy or cheap. This girlfriend/buddy/revenge comedy follows Sin-Dee Rell and Alexander, two trans sex workers who are hunting down the man who did Sin-Dee wrong. It’s a ton of fun. You can stream Tangerine on HBO Max and Kanopy, or rent it on Prime Video.
Moonlight (2016)
Two words: Best Picture. Moonlight actually won a bunch of awards, but the most groundbreaking was definitely the Oscar. And, yes, they accidentally read the wrong card and made everyone think La La Land won, but after 89 years of the Academy Awards, it was worth taking a few extra seconds to know that the first movie with a queer lead character (and an all-black cast) won Hollywood’s biggest award. Great movies don’t always make history (and this one is great), but Oscar winners sure do. You can stream Moonlight on Tubi or rent it on Prime Video .
Kiki (2016)
Picking up where Paris Is Burning left off, Kiki examines the current state of drag. It’s not a sequel, but by exploring kiki culture in New York City more than a quarter-century after that earlier documentary, it offers a fascinating look at all that has and hasn’t changed for a community whose influence has only grown. Many of the same issues remain: HIV/AIDS hasn’t gone away, especially for those who don’t have money for treatment, and there’s no shortage of surveillance and discrimination. But the broader cultural acceptance of queer identity and the mainstreaming (to some extent) of drag culture have opened the door for many of the young, often transgender people of color the film focuses on, who also have a fierce and inspiring streak in activism. You can stream Kiki on AMC+ and Kanopy, or rent it on Prime Video .
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (2017)
There are as many perspectives on the Stonewall uprising as there are people who were there, but if you want to learn more about the events, there’s no worse place to start than with a close look at Marsha P. Johnson. Rising to the spotlight in an era when labels were very fluid, Johnson identified as a lesbian and a drag queen who typically used female pronouns. She was also a sex worker and a drag queen, as well as an activist, model, and mentor — all in all, a fascinating person who was on the front lines when Stonewall burned in 1969. Director David France’s film explores not only Johnson’s life, but also the recent investigation into her tragic and mysterious death in 1992, which the NYPD ruled a suicide without much investigation. You can stream The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson onNetflix .
Happiest Season (2020)
They churn out these things by the dozens . There’s an entire year-round industry devoted to feeding the nation’s insatiable appetite for schmaltzy, made-for-TV holiday movies, often starring a hard-working career woman who discovers the true meaning of the season while visiting her hometown for Christmas. There’s comfort in conformity, and so there’s been surprisingly little diversity in the form, despite the sheer volume of these films—at least until the last few years. Non-white faces have become a little more common, and 2020 has suddenly seen not one but at least seven holiday movies centered around queer romances (and queer actors). Which makes sense—what better audience for cheesy, tasteless, over-the-top love stories than gay men? Hulu ’s Happiest Season had better marketing, slightly bigger stars, and an overall better pedigree than some of the others, and so it became the biggest focus. If you’re asking if this is any good, you’re missing the point entirely: It’s dumb comfort TV food, sure, but it’s dumb comfort TV food with and about lesbians — and damn if that doesn’t feel like progress. You can stream Happiest Season on Hulu .
Red, White and Royal Blue (2023)
In the vein of Happiest Season, Casey McQuiston’s moderately successful adaptation feels sentimental in all the right ways — a gay rom-com about a prince and the president’s son. A glossy, well-crafted romance for the rest of us. Where Royal Blue goes a little further, though, is in the heat generated by its two leads (Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine). The sex may be PG-13 at most and wouldn’t make a splash in a straight movie, but it feels like a step forward for mainstream cisgender male action. You can stream Red, White, and Royal Blue on Prime Video.
Disclosure: Transgender Lives on Screen (2020)
On-screen representation isn’t everything, but it’s important. For most Americans, everything they know about transgender people comes from media portrayals, and that’s also true for transgender youth, who may have no role models other than what they get on TV. Disclosure looks at more than a century of transgender stories in film and television (starting with 1914’s Florida Charm ), an era of very, very, very slow progress that has taken a giant leap forward in just the last few years with the rise of mainstream transgender celebrities, many of whom are interviewed here. By focusing on celebrities, the film also acknowledges that added visibility also brings dangers, and that the attention hasn’t necessarily made life safer. Disclosure examines these generally problematic, often pretty offensive old movies and shows to find out how they relate to the realities of transgender lives, and how far we’ve come. You can stream Disclosure onNetflix .
Queen Christina (1933)
The real-life Queen Christina of Sweden, like the Greta Garbo who portrays her, had a well-earned reputation for gender ambiguity and queerness, some of which is on display in this pre-Code film, where she entertains several suitors, both male and female. To some, she’s a pushover; to others, she’s inappropriately bossy. The old story: too lustful for some; too chill for others. This was 1933, before the Hays Production Code struck down most sex and almost all explicit queerness in American films, and it would be decades before we began to claw back what they stole from us. You can rent Queen Christina on Prime Video.
Passages (2023)
Smart and humane where it could be raunchy, director Ira Sachs crafts a beautiful, moving portrait of the crumbling marriage of Martin and Thomas (Ben Whishaw and Franz Rogowski). Though it’s been a long time coming, the event that sets it off is unexpected: Thomas meets Agatha (Adèle Exarchopoulos), with whom he forms an instant connection. Not only is it a brilliantly acted film, it’s a refreshing, down-to-earth look at modern sexual fluidity. You can stream Passages on Mubi or rent it on Apple TV .
The Celluloid Closet (1996)
After you’ve watched all the films on this list, get some additional context with this important documentary about the history of queer Hollywood. The film explores stereotypes, hidden messages, secret codes — everything that made films queer despite the restrictions placed on them. You can stream The Celluloid Closet on Tubi or rent it on Prime Video .
I Saw the Television Shining (2024)
Jane Schonbrun wrote I Saw the TV Glow , her psychedelic psychological horror drama, while in the midst of her own transition , using the film to explore the feelings that process evoked: the elation, the anticipation, and the internal terror of the choices they were forced to make. What does it mean to sacrifice stability and safety for the sake of authenticity? While other trans coming-out stories focus on external threats or emphasize the positive aspects, Schonbrun isn’t afraid to acknowledge and confront the inherent horror in this story of two teenage friends who bond over a TV show that seems to slowly suck them in and that increasingly feels more real than real life. Queer cinema of the past often approached its themes in highly metaphorical ways because speaking out was so much more dangerous. Schonbrun approaches transitioning through allegory and without fear. You can stream I Saw the TV Glow on HBO Max or rent it on Prime Video .