European gay movies

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—RL

  • “The Duke of Burgundy”

    Peter Strickland’s stylish, BDSM-skewing “The Duke of Burgundy” stars Sidse Babett Knudsen and Chiara D’Anna in a complex jockeying for psychosexual power.

    Image Credit: Universal Pictures UK

    Last Christmas 

    🎬 Released: 2019 

    🎭 Cast: Emilia Clark, Henry Golding, Lydia Leonard, and Emma Thompson.

    Disobedience finds Ronit returning to her Orthodox Jewish community years after they eschewed her for being attracted to one of her female friends. —RL

  • “End of the Century”

    What place does romance have in the age of online dating and casual hook-up culture?

    Tortured toxic masculinity has never been so sexy. Boasting nuanced performances from two newcomers, Wanuri Kahiu’s assured debut feature is an important reminder of the struggle many still face to live out and proud. It’s 1981, South Africa, which means it’s not okay to be a “moffie”; effeminacy is a sign of weakness, and being gay is also illegal.

    Discovered by the historian Judith C. Brown in the mid-1980s, Benedetta Carlini (Virginie Efira) was a 17th century mystic who had visions of Christ, claiming he wanted to marry her, and even received the stigmata. On its face, the war is between the white minority government and Angola, whose Communism the South African Defense Force wants to stop from spreading; but really, the atrocities as seen inflicted in this movie are governed by the power-seeking regime of Apartheid, and not any real threat.

    Their relationship grows beyond friendship as Adèle learns to express who she truly is. Most of the movie was shot in locations around Le TrĂ©port. It’s also a moment of compulsory military conscription that all (white) boys over the age of 16 must endure, and so that means, as the film begins, Nicholas Van de Swart (Kai Luke Brummer) is readying to ship off to defend colonized land.

    You will crave a nice, big Wiener Schnitzel immediately after.

    Countries like France, England, and Italy are no stranger to film crews—The Holiday, Notting Hill, Letters to Juliet, Bridget Jones, the list goes on—but it’s more than refreshing to see cameras focus on more than the male-female meet-cute movies that have dominated the box office.

    The two have a clandestine relationship as they try to evade the public eye and their prestigious families. Frears’ film confronts all manner of taboos, not only in terms of the gay relationship at its center, but also the entrenched xenophobia and nationalism that challenge their bond.

    european gay movies

    Tumbling into his life (and quite literally into the surreal opening scene of the movie) is George Dyer, a handsome but tragic thief played by Daniel Craig. Savor the vintage outfits and soak in the revolutionary spirit.

    • Few on-screen couples have the kind of chemistry that Cullen and New display without any artifice, and the believability and naturalism of their bond pushes the film to an even higher level.

    Taking place over the course of that eponymous weekend, Haigh and his stars cram the full force of a life-changing romance into just a few short days, and “Weekend’ manages the near-impossible: charting a full relationship in the minimum of time.

    But that doesn’t dilute the power of the relationship, and Haigh still finds time (after time after time) to pay attention to the small shifts, the so-called “little things” that add up to big emotion.

    (Also, heather is not native to Wyoming.)

    Why it’s a great queer film: Did we mention it’s like Brokeback with lower elevation? —RL

  • “Beau Travail”

    Denis Lavant is a monolith of repression who self-destructs in Claire Denis’ loose adaptation of Herman Melville’s novella “Billy Budd.” He plays a French Foreign Legion Officer reminiscing about his time in Africa, uprooted by the arrival of an alluring recruit (Grégoire Colin), sowing jealousy and desire.

    Disobedience was filmed in London, England.