5 Star Lesbian Films
All Over Me
Rating: 5
Click here to buy from TLA (US)
1997
You've got to love Claude. She's 15-year-old, overweight, unattractive and happy with herself. You have to love a woman who can survive the teenage years while struggling to come out. But poor Claude intensely loves Ellen, her straight loser girlfriend whose abusive boyfriend beats her, kills fags and threatens Claude. But instead of being intimiated, Claude fights back, figures out what he did, and calls the cops. Claude is the epitome of that hackneyed old phrase, To thine own self be true, and watching her strength and surety as she faces the horrifying prospect of re-evaluating her priorities, is a treat. If you are ever feeling like you are an imposter, a clumsy dyke amongst sparkly diamond girls, then All Over Me is for you.
All Over Me is directed by two sisters, one straight, one a dyke. They haven't done much in film since All Over Me, but that's okay, because this film stands as a testiment to their commitment to their own vision. The Sichel sisters have, however, written for If These Walls Could Talk 2, another solid piece of dyke cinema. Their approach to the film was based on the premise that the first crush for all girls is their best friend.
And Claude and Ellen do just that: they hang out together, even half make-out together. Claude is so threatening to Ellen's het relationship, the boyfriend threatens her, and tells her to stay away.
As for All Over Me, Alex sums up, "Those days in your room with your best friend don't even exist, not even to yourself. "It was important to get to the place where you remember all that."
Starring Alison Folland (who also appeared in Boys Don't Cry), Tara Subkoff, Leisha Hailey from the Murmurs.
Director: Sylvia Sichel, Alex Sichel
Language:
Actresses: Alison Folland, Tara Subkoff, Leisha Hailey
Length: 90 min.
Genre: Coming of Age
Click here to buy from TLA (US)
Ballot Measure 9
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
1992
Oregon documentary on gay and Lesbian rights, and the move to take away their rights. This film also delves into the misunderstood concept of equal rights versus special rights. You see, straight people cannot be discriminated against, based on their sexual preference, in housing, employment, etc. When lesbians and gays ask for the EXACT same thing, instead of being equal, it's called a "special" right... making it seem like we get more, not the same.
Director: Heather McDonald
Language:
Actresses:
Length: 72 min.
Genre: Documentary
Buy from TLA Video
Bar Girls
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
1994
Billed as a romantic comedy without men. Loretta and Rachel pair up, only to have J.R. step into the picture, aiming for Rachel. The film follows the loves and losses of Loretta, Rachel, their friends, lovers, and others who hang out in a local bar. The film takes an unusual (experimental) narrative line but remains accessible and entertaining.
Director: Marita Giovanni
Language:
Actresses: Nancy Allison Wolfe, Lisa D'Agostino, Chastity Bono
Length: 95 min.
Genre: Comedy
Buy from TLA Video
Bound
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
1996
A smart, hot action flick about two women who conspire to steal money from the mob. Moll Violet seduces ex-con Corky. Once she's got Corky hooked, Violet talks her into helping rip off her mobster boyfriend for $2 million. The twists and turns of the plot are brilliant, and the use of cinematography and sound will keep you bound to the movie.
Jennifer Tilly, who plays bi moll Violet, said: "What really attracted me was the women were so strong in the movie. They are the ones that make things happen, and they're not waiting for a man to come and rescue them. It seems when female relationships are dealt with in movies it is in a very coy way --you know, 'the story of an extraordinary friendship,'... So that's why I thought the story was really cool because it dealt with the characters' sexuality in a very matter-of-fact way."
Gina Gershon on her role as Corky: "Jennifer Tilly is my lovergirl. I got so used to kissing girls. I hate all the lipstick, but it's nice not having a beard-burn. There's the upside to it. I have to say, the lipstick, I'm over it... When I first took Bound, my agent was worried about me doing it right after Showgirls because it was so sexually risqué. I was thinking, whatever. After Showgirls, anything goes.”
Whether you're a dyke, or have dyke friends, doesn't matter. You need this in your DVD collection. Listen to the director's narration (which was recorded for Laser Disc). Although Jennifer and Gina arrive late (minutes before the end of the movie), Susie Bright provides absolutely excellent commentary. She pulls the Wachowski Brothers into conversation that rises above "Yeah, that's good, heh." Instead, you're engaged, and find out some very cool things. For example, Susie convinced the Brothers to load up the lesbian bar that Corky visits, with real life lesbians!
Susie manages to put into words what you might only vaguely appreciate about your own reaction to the film. Remember the scene where Gina turns the water pipe under the sink? It becomes much more: suddenly it's the ultimate lesbian fisting scene. The narrators talk about the shots, the angles, the actors, the script, and provide some things to consider the next time you watch the movie.
Director: Wachowski Brothers
Language:
Actresses: Gina Gershon, Jennifer Tilly
Length: 108 min.
Genre: Action
Buy from TLA Video
Carmelita Tropicana Your Kunst is Your Waffen
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
1994
A strange and engaging musical comedy. In short: A Hispanic Lesbian performance artist and would-be radical gets involved in a political protest and ends up in a jail cell with her mugger. She and her cohorts, and mugger, sing their way to freedom before one of them dies of AIDS.
Director: Ela Troyano
Language:
Actresses: Ela Troyano
Length: 27 min.
Genre: Music
Buy from TLA Video
Company of Strangers, The (Strangers in Good Company)
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
1991
A group of older women learn about each other after their bus breaks down. There is no sex, no violence and no one dies. It's one of my favourite films, and the only one I've been to where the predominantly straight theatre audience gave a 5-minute standing ovation as the credits rolled.
Director: Cynthia Scott
Language:
Actresses: Mary Meigs
Length: 101 min.
Genre: Drama
Buy from TLA Video
Desert Hearts
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
1985
When we first meet Vivian, the straight woman trying to get a divorce from her husband, she's pale and thin and barely living in her skin. We first meet Cay, the dyke, as she slams her car into reverse and drives backward to catch up with Vivan and Frances, the owner of the divorce dude ranch. She's dark and cute and vivacious and absolutely alive. And she is the charm behind Desert Hearts. Vivian is tense, prim and proper, and does everything she can not to fall in love with Cay. But Cay is too compelling to ignore, and Vivian falls.
Cay is an interesting character. This is supposed to be 1950s Reno, but Cay acts very modern. She takes bubble baths with her best friend Lucille, while Lucille's husband smiles and doesn't get jealous. But I suppose that's because Cay has charmed them both. Now, Vivian aslo has some charms, but all she attracts is Buck, the not-so-bright handyman. And look for hottie Denise Crosby as Pat, and director Donna Deitch's former Gwen Welles, as Gwen.
One of the reasons this film is so good, time after time, are a couple of particular scenes. The kiss-in-the-rain scene has become a favourite of many viewers, and Vivian's shower in slow motion, is pretty cool. Something about wet women, I suppose. This is one of the best "early" treatments of positive lesbianism I've seen.
Based on Desert of the Heart, written by Canadian political activist and author Jane Rule. How cool is that? Starring Helen Shaver, Patricia Charboneau and Audra Lindley (who was Mrs. Roper on Three's Company)
Director: Donna Deitch
Language:
Actresses: Helen Shaver, Patricia Charboneau, Audra Lindley, Gwen Welles
Length: 93 min.
Genre: Drama
Buy from TLA Video
Fire
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
1996
Fire is a brilliant film. In an extended household, Radha and Sita are sisters-in-law who both share unhappy marriages. They fall in love, and challenge traditions in a culture that has no word for Lesbianism. Fire is a film about desire, passion, tradition and change, east and west. The acting is remarkable, and the story line compelling. Dramatic cinematography helps draw you into this engrossing movie.
Director: Deepa Mehta
Language: English and Hindi with English subtitles
Actresses: Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das
Length: 104 min.
Genre: Romance
Buy from TLA Video
Forbidden Love
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
1992
Documentary from the National Film Board's Studio D, on the lives of 9 Lesbians during the 1950s. Remarkable, funny, sometimes unsettling interviews capture an important piece of Lesbian herstory. Won numerous awards.
Note: There is another film by the same name.
Director: Lynne Fernie
Language:
Actresses: Ann Bannon, Anne-Mari MacDonald
Length: 85 min.
Genre: Documentary
Buy from TLA Video
Foxfire
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
1996
Great flick about high school girls bonding to fight back at a perverted teacher. Very subtle Lesbian subtext, but it's still a great film. Note: There is a 1987 film with Jessica Tandy of the same name.
Director: Annette Haywood-Carter
Language:
Actresses: Angelina Jolie, Jenny Shimuzu
Length: 102 min.
Genre: Almost Lesbian
Buy from TLA Video
Go Fish
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
1994
Experimental, independent film was shot in black and white. It's like overhearing gossip at the bar: Received rave reviews from the international press. Go Fish's generally young characters cover a lot of ground (sexual, political, feminist, academic, stereotypes, nicknames, etc) and have a strong, positive outlook and message.
Director: Rose Troche
Language:
Actresses: Guinevere Turner, V.S. Brodie
Length: 85 min.
Genre: Comedy
Buy from TLA Video
High Art
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
1998
Produced by Dolly Hall, et al. Short review is: wannabe tries to pull a Lesbian photographer back into the business. Long review: Wow! A complex, intense study with so many layers I wouldn't even try to list them all. Here are just a few: a straight woman falls in love with another woman, a junkie tries to go straight, a Jewish mother hates that her daughter is dating a German. I was expecting a sombre, but fairly straight-forward film. I got a magnificent, disturbing and intense story line (I ended up with a headache because I was so focussed on the film). While I don't usually like this type of film, I still suggest that you make an effort to see High Art.
Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Language:
Actresses: Ally Sheedy, Radha Mitchell
Length: 102 min.
Genre: Bisexual
Buy from TLA Video
I`ve Heard the Mermaids Singing
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
1987
A quirky and not-as-naive-as-she-seems woman (Polly) temps at an art gallery as a part-time secretary. The Curator keeps her around, despite the fact she can't type or spell, because it feeds her ego. The Curator is desperate to create that one great work of art that will make her live forever. She lies to Polly who repeats the lie, and gives credit to The Curator for another woman's work. The Curator's reputation soars, but it's her lover, Mary, who is the artist. Polly uncovers the deception, and through a comedy of errors, invites The Curator and her lover into her own peculiar, unforgettable fantasy world.
The listing isn't new, but the fact that it's on DVD is!
Director: Patricia Rozema
Language:
Actresses: Anne-Marie Macdonald, Sheila McCarthy, Paule Biallargeon
Length: 81 min.
Genre: Fantasy
Buy from TLA Video
If These Walls Could Talk II
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
2000
A 3-story film about lesbians in America. The Widow, taking place in the early 1960s, looks a woman dealing with the aftermath of losing her lifelong companion (it reminds you of how far we've really travelled on the road to visibility, rights and pride). Women Only is the story of a '70s militant (yet femme) student who falls for a butch. There's Miss Conception, about 2 lesbians wanting to raise a family in 2000. When asked what it was like to work on this film, Chloe Seveigny said "I don't want to discuss it." Apparently, she hated being part of the film: too many directors.
Director: Anne Heche, et al
Language:
Actresses: Sharon Stone, Ellen DeGeneres, Vanessa Redgrave, Chloe Sevigny, Michelle Williams, Marian Seldes
Length: 92 min.
Genre: Drama
Buy from TLA Video
Late Bloomers
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
1996
Who would have thought a little one-on-one would get a girl in so much trouble? Suburban America and the Eleanor B. Roosevelt High School is like any other. Carly Lumpkin, school secretary, suspects that Dinah Groshardt, geometry teacher, is having an affair with her husband, Rom. Thankfully they clear up the misunderstanding. Despite her family, Carly feels something is missing. Dinah leads her life in a scheduled, even keeled kind of way and apart from teaching angles is also the girl's basketball coach. Carly and Dinah start playing ball. Their pleasure in each other's company becomes more pronounced and after a particularly heated game they kiss. Despite being overwhelmed by a torrent of conflicting emotions, friendship turns to love. Clearly the world in which they live is ill-equipped to handle this new turn in their relationship.
Director: Gretchen Dyer, Julia Dyer
Language:
Actresses: Connie Nelson, Dee Hennigan
Length: 104 min.
Genre: Comedy
Buy from TLA Video
Lianna
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
1983
Sayles is a great director, and he did very well on this film. An unsatisfied woman explores the possibilities of lesbian love, and realizes that this is the life she should be living. She leaves her husband and kids, and sets off to find herself. One of the best scenes is when she's traveling about town, looking at women. Not models and superstars, but average, everyday women. And she realizes that this is what she wants, and who she is. Good coming out film.
Director: John Sayles
Language:
Actresses: Linda Griffiths, Jane Hallaren
Length: 110 min.
Genre: Drama
Buy from TLA Video
Novembermonde (November Moon)
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
1984
This ain't no fairy tale. Novembermonde is an engrossing, challenging film that is certainly the best of the "lesbians stuck with Nazi's" theme..
Although it was made in 1984, it rivals all of the other films I have seen, including documentaries, which portray the lives of lesbians during Nazi occupation. It makes no compromise and provides no easy answers or sweeping endings. Instead, it makes you think and it makes you feel, and that, in and of itself, is rare in a movie.
November is a Jewish woman who is courted by a young man, but ends up falling for his sister, Ferial. Set in France just prior to the Nazi occupation, it traces the trials and challenges facing each woman as they struggle to survive. November flees to the relative safety of the countryside, hiding in a small room whenever the authorities approach, while Ferial stays in France. When November is discovered, she is transported back to France and forced to work as a prostitute. With the help of a young German officer, she escapes and finds refuge in Ferial's home.
Ferial, however, must take drastic steps to make sure the Nazi's have no reason to ever search her home, so she joins the local French propaganda newspaper and spends her evenings wining and dining with the enemy. The withdrawal of German troops from France doesn't bring the end of the tribulations for our heroines, and therein lies the power of the film.
Novembermonde has been a long time coming to video, and it has been worth the seventeen year wait.
Director: Alexandra von Grote
Language: German w. English subtitles
Actresses: Gabriele Osburg, Christiane Millet, Daniele Delorme
Length:
Genre: International
Buy from TLA Video
Playing the Part
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
1994
A documentary. Michelle (Mitch) created this piece at university, as away to document coming out to her family, and herself. She never quite makes it, but the viewer assumes that she hands the finished product over to her parents to speak for her. A long, frustrating coming out is chronicled, complete with self-doubt, fear of being outed, and fear of no longer being your parents' special child.
Director: Mitch McCabe
Language:
Actresses: Mitch McCabe
Length:
Genre: Documentary
Buy from TLA Video
Relax It`s Just Sex
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
1998
Tara plays Queen Bee to a wild group of friends: Vincey who wants a boyfriend, Sarina and Megan who are breaking up because Megan had an affair with Sarina's male second cousin, Robin who is hot after Sarina, and even a couple of painfully handsome Christian gay men. Quirky characters, interesting plot lines (romance, rape, gay bashing, AIDS, pregnancy, death) and solid acting make this a great film.
Director: PJ Castellaneta
Language:
Actresses: Jennifer Tilly, Cynda Williams, Lori Petty, Serena Scott Thomas, Susan Tyrrell
Length: 110 min.
Genre: Comedy
Buy from TLA Video
Salmonberries
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
1992
What a brilliant, visually stunning film. An isolated woman spends her days passing as a man amongst an otherwise all-male work crew. Until she meets a repressed, enchanting librarian and falls head over heels in love. She's naive (she strips all her clothes off in the library to prove she's a woman -- which means you can actually see kd lang nude!) and tormented and confused, and the perfect foil for her jaded, tormented and confused paramour. The story moves easily from Alaska to Germany and back again, with some great photography. Definitely a must see!
Director: Percy Adlon
Language:
Actresses: kd lang, Rosel Zech
Length: 94 min.
Genre: Drama
Buy from TLA Video
The Hours
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
2002
Interconnecting the stories of three generations of women, The Hours possesses a feminist thematic timelessness. The common link for each character is Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf’s acclaimed novel of missed opportunities. The film first visits Woolf (an unrecognizable Kidman) in a small town outside of London writing Dalloway amidst constricting conditions and declining mental health. Moore plays Laura Brown, a 50s housewife who is imprisoned by her domestic life and finds comfort in Dalloway's progressive prose. And Streep heads up the 2001 segment as a New York book editor who is caretaker to her dying best friend (Harris). Resembling Mrs. Dalloway, she throws parties to hide the pain of her lackluster life. The film's timeline is not linear, instead weaving the three stories together into a grand vision. Lesbian content could be higher, but that won't hold it back from a 5-star rating.
Director: Stephen Daldry
Language:
Actresses: Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, Nicole Kidman, Claire Danes, Allison Janney, Toni Collette, Miranda Richardson
Length: 115 min.
Genre: Drama
Buy from TLA Video
The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
1995
Great film about two young women from opposite sides of the tracks who meet and fall in love. Randy is the rebellious tomboy-type, already out at school, although the farthest she's gone is necking with a married woman in the gas station bathroom. One day, Evie drives her $50,000 Range Rover into the gas station, and meets Randy. They befriend each other at school, resulting in Evie's ostracism. They fall in love, and head straight into trouble with Evie's mom and Randy's Lesbian aunt. Maria Maggenti's original script, written in 1993, began with the two protagonists already involved. While the response from those who read it was positive, everyone seemed to want to know how these two girls got together. So she revised the script, beginning the story earlier in their relationship. Says Maggenti, "We had a young crew, all women, and the energy was really good. Everyone who worked on the film had read the script and wanted to be a part of it. I was working with lesbians, straight women, bisexual women, polysexual women --all kinds of women together and it was great."
Director: Maria Maggenti
Language:
Actresses: Laurel Holloman, Nicole Parker, Maggie Moore, Kate Stafford
Length: 95 min.
Genre: Comedy
Buy from TLA Video
The L Word - First Season
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
2004
From Showtimes comes the long-awaited, heavily criticized The L Word television series. Don't believe those critics! The L Word is for lesbians what Queer as Folk is for gay men: a tv series that reflects a diverse, but not all-encompassing queer sensibility.
We've got an interracial couple trying to get pregnant (and dealing with the race of the donor is an issue), a love-em-and-leave-em gal who has to deal with a psycho with abandonment issues, a tennis player who is still learning lesbian culture, a lonely bisexual, and a lot of other women. It's a good, solid opportunity for lesbians in places other than New York and Los Angeles to see that there is a world out there that really does have a place for lesbians. I say, good on you, Showtime!
Director: Mary Harron, Rose Troche, Lynne Stopkewich, Clement Virgo, Daniel Minahan, Tony Goldwyn, Kari Skogland
Language:
Actresses: Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey, Karina Lombard, Laurel Holloman, Katherine Moennig, Mia Kirschner, Pam Grier, Tammy Lynn Michaels, Guinevere Turner, Anne Archer
Length: 600 min.
Genre: Drama
Buy from TLA Video
The L Word - Season 2
Rating: 5
Click here to buy from TLA (US)
2004
The impossibly-thin lovely lesbian ladies are back! But this season, the drama is turned up to eleven. We have loss, leaving, life, love, lesbians and loyalty. There are Olivia cruise ships, more of Betty than we particularly care for, what seems like a lot of pregnant lesbians, and a fun Pride weekend. Lots of soap opera drama and a bit of politics thrown in, settle back and enjoy the trip while it lasts!
Episode One: Life, Loss, Leaving: Tina and Bette are still not getting on, and Tim finally parts from Jenny. Episode Two: Lap Dance: Tina's lawyer is a nasty piece of business, but on the up-side, apparently lots of women think pregnant lesbians are really sexy. Episode Three: Loneliest Number: Kit prepares to re-open The Planet with live bands (so look for lots of cameos this season). Bette's life continues to spiral downward. Episode Four: Lynch Pin: Jenny and Shane search for a new roommate. Kit becomes attracted to a motivational self-help guru and Bette loses a major source of arts funding - to Tina. Episode Five: Labyrinth: Jenny and Shane's scuzzy boy roommate hides cameras throughout the house to film them. Bette gets some bad professional news. Episode Six: Lagrimas de Oro: Tina moves away from Bette and into the arms of Helena. Alice gives Dana an ultimatum but Tonya has a shock in store. Episode Seven: Luminous: Alice and Dana finally begin dating, while Tina begins to displease Helena. Bette proves there are no flies on her as she rejoins the singles scene. Episode Eight: Loyal: Bette and Tina agree to forge a new relationship; Jenny loses a chance to ghost-write a macho TV star's autobiography because she's gay. Episode Nine: Late, Later, Latent: Alice's sex-toy request freaks out Dana while Bette and Tina have a brief encounter. Episode Ten: Land Ahoy: Olivia cruises sets the scene for a possible threesome with Jenny, Shane and Carmen. Bette and Kit struggle to connect with their aging father. Episode Eleven: Loud & Proud: It's Gay Pride! Lots of secrets are revealed, and we find out that Dana and Alice aren't really into torture all that much anyway -- even if there is a sandwich table. Episode Twelve: L'Chaim: Bette moves her father into her home for his final days, and Jenny flirts with danger while confronting a repressed memory. Episode Thirteen: Lacuna: Melvin's memorial service is attended by Gloria Steinem, and at the service Bette is fired. She gets it together enough to help Tina through her labour.
Director:
Language:
Actresses: Erin Daniels, Jennifer Beals, Katherine Moennig, Laurel Holloman, Leisha Hailey, Mia Kirshner, Pam Grier, Rachel Shelley, Sarah Shahi
Length: 650 min.
Genre: Drama
Click here to buy from TLA (US)
Things We Said Today
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
1992
Clem lives on the edge of poverty, taking dozens of jobs to try to make the rent. She lives with her lover, Ippolita, whose artistry is better than hers (which causes a bit of jealousy). Desperate for rent money, Clem tries stripping, but fails. Jo watches the stripping spectacle, and offers up a sympathetic ear. Clem circles around her own life, failing to grasp the depth of her reality, until Jo suffers a tremendous loss and Clem realizes she can't provide Jo with the support she needs.
Director: John Miller-Monzon
Language:
Actresses: Eve Annenberg, Aileen Pare
Length:
Genre: Coming of Age
Buy from TLA Video
When Night Is Falling
Rating: 5
Buy from TLA Video
1995
Camille, a classical mythology professor at a Christian College, is engaged to be married to Martin, a fellow theologian. However, when she meets Petra, a flamboyant and daring circus performer, she finds herself under Cupid's spell, and falls deeply and magically in love. For the first time in her life, Camille lets passionate love and desire take over her proper and intellectual life. Terrified at the prospect of radical change, Camille's compelled to make the ultimate choice and discovers that the true duty of the soul is desire. Patricia Rozema's third feature brings desire and romance back to the screen with a rush. Camille and Petra are so powerfully attracted to each other that the film has the kind of powerful and overwhelming erotic force that is rarely seen in screen romance.
Director: Patricia Rozema
Language:
Actresses: Pascale Bussières, Rachael Crawford
Length: 96 min.
Genre: Romance
Buy from TLA Video
posted by Sue @ 3:39 PM
<< Home