A year in queer film
At the start of 2020 I had a goal to read more LGBT books and watch more LGBT movies. I also just wanted to watch more movies in general. As it happened, I probably ended up watching around 150 movies this year. If you are a movie fan and tired of Netflix’s insipid offerings I highly recommend the Criterion Collection streaming service. I also downloaded Kanopy this year but the streaming quality abruptly became basically unwatchable around September. Anyway, on with the list! I am not going to write my thoughts about every movie, just a handful of standouts.
A New York Christmas Wedding
A Secret Love
A Single Man
All in My Family
Andy Warhol
Before Homosexuals
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
Boys Don't Cry
The Boys in the Band (1970)
The Boys in the Band (2020)
But I'm a Cheerleader
By Hook or by Crook
Caravaggio—This year I developed a love of Derek Jarman. He has such a distinctive style and way of looking at history. This one in particular I think I need to watch again at some point.
Carol
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
The Children's Hour
Chris & Don
Circus of Books
Coming of Age in Cherry Grove
The Danish Girl
The Death and Life of Marsha P Johnson
Death in Venice
Desert Hearts
Diamantino
Disclosure
Do I Sound Gay?
Dottie Gets Spanked
Drunktown's Finest
Edge of Seventeen
Edward II
Flesh
Fox and his Friends
Girl
Girlhood
Happy Together
The Hours and Times—Isn’t it funny how your tastes change as you get older? This was my favorite movie when I was 14 and I was absolutely obsessed with the Beatles. I still have a lot of affection for it but now I mostly just see how incredibly cheaply made it is. Kudos to Christopher Munch for his efforts. I feel like with a real budget this could be the great movie I thought it was as a kid.
The Hours
Howl—Absolutely the worst movie I watched this whole year. Imagine making a movie about a gay man and his gay poetry and gay life and having all pretty animation be 100% heterosexual. Also it was just boring as hell, just James Franco monologuing. I feel like this movie does not understand Allen Ginsberg, Howl, The Beat Generation or art itself.
I am Michael
I Shot Andy Warhol
The Joy of Life
Jubilee
Keep the Lights On
Les Rendez-Vous D'Anna
Let the Right One in
The Living End
Loev
Maurice
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
Michael Lost and Found
Moonlight
Mulholland Drive
My Own Private Idaho
Mysterious Skin—This is one of the best-made movies I have ever seen but I strongly, strongly caution anyone in watching it. I am glad that I saw it but I probably will never watch it again, it’s just too much.
Old Joy
One Nation Under God
Other People
The Owls
Parting Glances
The Pearl
People You May Know
Poison
Portrait of Jason
The Queen
Queer City
Querelle
Rafiki
Safe
Sebastiane
Shakedown
Some of My Best Friends Are
Stranger by the Lake
Superstar in a Housedress
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Tarnation
The Times of Harvey milk
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar
Tom of Finland
Tomboy
Totally Fucked Up
The Uninvited
The Vampire Lovers
Water Lilies—Lots of movies by Celine Sciamma on this list and I loved them all. Sciamma has such a great understanding of childhood and adolescence, all her movies feel like a memory I had forgotten about. This one is, broadly, about trying to get close to people who don’t reciprocate in the same ways, which certainly resonated with me and I think does for everybody who was ever a teenager.
The Watermelon Woman
Weekend
The Wise Kids
Wittgenstein
XXY
Yentl
When I started the year I had a list of movies and unfortunately there are several that I still haven’t checked off because they just don’t seem to be available anywhere, even pirated. Still, I had a lot of fun watching all of these movies, and I’m excited to watch more next year. I also watched a handful of queer TV shows but most of my TV viewing this year was extremely straight.