5 Good Films for LGBTQ Stories
Whether it’s a documentary or a feature film portraying the lives of LGBTQ people, they are all stories of those who have lived, loved and survived. Granted there are a hundred worthwhile LGBTQ films and documentaries to watch, these five are the ones I always have on stand-by for when I really want to watch something good, honest, believable and remarkable. They just stay with me.
A SINGLE MAN
(2009) directed by Tom Ford
Based on the 1964 novel A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood, the film adaptation plays similarly as the original story of an English professor in Los Angeles who mourns the loss of his partner. The beauty of this film is the depiction of loss and the depression that comes with the will to keep living. Not only did this big studio production normalize a gay love story, but offered an introspective look into the agonizing days and nights of outliving your lover.
The story takes place during a time when gay men were not yet celebrated, not even within their own community. There was no pride parade, there were no support groups, nor was there an outlet for a gay man to grieve and seek emotional guidance.
THE DEATH AND LIFE OF MARSHA P. JOHNSON
(2017) directed by David France
This powerful biographical documentary focuses a hard light on the unexpected and mysterious 1992 death of transgender Marsha P. Johnson. Found floating in the Hudson River, the New York City Police ruled it a suicide, but many of Johnson’s friends and community believe that she was murdered. Today Marsha P. Johnson is a legend as she led the Stonewall uprising in 1969 and established the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, which helped homeless transgender youth in Manhattan.
In this Netflix documentary, Johnson’s friend, activist Victoria Cruz continues to dig deeper into the suspicious activities leading up to the death of Marsha P. Johnson.
MOONLIGHT
(2016) directed by Barry Jenkins
In this Oscar winning Best Picture film, it is the coming-of-age story of Chiron, a young Black man growing up in Miami. The stages of his life from boyhood to manhood are beautifully captured cinematically and as written by the director Barry Jenkins. Chrion endures a broken home life of physical and emotional abuse, all the while struggling with his sexuality.
There are so many momentous themes in Moonlight, dealing with a mother’s love, a father figure who eventually becomes his guide, black male stereotypes, sex and identity and the survival of it all. While all these play significantly into Chiron’s upbringing and journey into manhood, it is the love he finds and how willingly vulnerable he becomes in order to find a calmness within and for himself.
PARIS IS BURNING
(1990) directed by Jennie Livingston
If you loved the TV series Pose then you are fully aware of the cult iconic documentary Paris Is Burning. If you love Madonna’s 90’s hit song and video for “Vogue” it is inspired and a takeaway from the time of Paris is Burning. This documentary brings to light the lives of late 1980’s/1990’s New York City’s drag queens, their “house” culture and ballroom community. Paris is Burning is an important piece of LGBTQ history as many queer and transgender teenage runaways found the city streets and piers of Manhattan their home, which the documentary adds as a vital focus.
The LGBTQ community created the ballroom culture as a way to act freely on their terms, build on their dreams and celebrate whoever they wanted to be. These weekly elaborate performance balls were more than events, but it became a safe haven to come in from the cold concrete jungle and allowed themselves to dream, hope and thrive within their like-minded community.
SAVING FACE
(2004) directed by Alice Wu
A lighthearted coming out with a side of immigrant story, but essentially it’s an endearing rom-com with a strong Asian cast. A Chinese-American New Yorker, Wil is a surgeon, whose old country traditionalist grandparents aim to marry her off to a nice Chinese boy. Wil is also a closeted lesbian whose life is turned upside down when her mother becomes pregnant and refuses to say who the father is. Obviously this doesn’t bode well with the grandparents who now make it a priority to find a willing, acceptable husband for their pregnant daughter, Wil’s mother. While all this is occurring, Wil becomes involved with Vivian, who also happens to be the daughter of Wil’s boss at the hospital.
Saving Face isn’t outright comical like most Hollywood rom-com’s are, although the blunt wit of most Asian dialogues were there, its intentions stayed true to how an Asian community reacts and responds to a messy pregnancy and how a Chinese daughter comes out as a lesbian to her mother. I really loved the mother/daughter portrayal as it wasn’t a common kinship to see between Asian daughters and mothers (such as my own). However, just like in any Hollywood produced rom-com things are kept light, charming and accepting in order to achieve that happy ending.
*Originally published June 2022, updated May 29, 2024
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