June is Pride Month. On June 28, 1969, an event occurred that forever changed the fight for civil rights and equality in North America and later, in the rest of the world. The so-called Stonewall revolt opened the debate about the exclusion and discrimination suffered by the LGBTQIA+ community. Especially, at a time when diverse sexual orientation was still criminalized in several countries around the world. Therefore, the demonstrations and protests that took place marked a milestone in a type of claim until then unknown. The recognition of sexually diverse identities as part of the greater social and cultural conversation.
As the decades passed, the event became iconic in understanding the evolution of how the world recognizes the variety and breadth of the queer community. At the same time, the way in which world culture advances to validate and accept the different ways in which love is expressed in our time. An important point to understand new ways of understanding critical issues such as sex, marriage and legal recognition. Which made the date worthy of celebration of an essential step in the way in which the fight for civil recognition of vulnerable minorities is carried out in the world.
Such an event, of course, had repercussions in cinema. But much more so in recent decades, when queer themes have become more important, reflective and sensitive about love and its nuances. To prove it, we leave you with ten films — and where to see them — that not only celebrate Pride Month in their own way. They are also an exploration of all the ways in which passion and love can manifest themselves. The scenario that unites each of these films.
Call me by your name (Netflix)
Before exploring the mysteries of tennis courts and polyamory in Rivals, Luca Guadagnino delved into first love and the search for sexual identity. All in a sensitive story that analyzes the way in which the first years of youth, They are also essential for self-discovery and the notion of who we are.
The script — also written by the director along with James Ivory and Walter Fasano — tells the story of Elio (Timothée Chalamet, from Dune: part 2), a teenager who awakens to adult emotions in an idyllic summer. That, when he falls in love with Oliver (Armie Hammer), an older and more sophisticated student. The film reflects with sensitivity and tenderness, the novelty of newborn love and at the same time, the first great love frustration. All, in the middle of an idealized Italy, radiant with beauty.. Ideal for hopeless romantics.
Stay by my side (Movistar+)
Now, if drama is your thing, there’s a little bit of that on this list too. In 2023, director Michael Showalter adapted the painful novel Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies by Michael Ausiello, which narrates the death of the writer’s partner. The result is a gentle drama, which tells the same story as the book on which it is based. Namely: how the couple formed by Michael (Jim Parsons) and Kit Cowan (Ben Aldridge) endured the latter’s cancer diagnosis.
Much more, as was the process for both of them of understanding that death was inevitable and that together, they would go through the last days of Kit’s life. Poetic, funny, at times moving to the point of tears, stay by me is a queer love story essential to celebrating Pride Month.
Carol (Prime Video)
This film by Todd Haynes and adaptation of the novel Carol (The Price of Salt) Patricia Highsmith’s novel is not just a Sapphic romance. Which it is, and one of the most passionate of recent years. At the same time, it is a look to pain, the search for love and, in the end, despair, from an elegant and sophisticated dimension.
Carol Aird (Cate Blanchett) is trapped in a conventional marriage when she falls in love with Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara), a mysterious twenty-something. Both will live a harrowing story of self-discovery, uprooting and, ultimately, loss. All this, in the midst of a film that is moving for its visuals and also, the way it narrates everything that happens within a relationship that must survive prejudice.
My Police (Prime)
Another adaptation for the list. Based on the novel of the same name by Bethan Roberts, this film by Michael Grandage explores the forbidden romance between Tom (Harry Styles) and Michael (David Dawson). The first is a policeman trapped by duty in the strict 1950s. The second, his secret lover who must also accept that Tom gets married in an attempt to survive the demands of his environment.
Together, they will embody a couple who will try to survive lies, wounds and the idea of being alone, in the midst of a prejudiced society. Elegant, sensitive and with a heartbreaking ending, is one of the best movies with queer themes you will find on Prime Video.
The Power of the Dog (Netflix)
Jane Campion directs this disturbing work, which earned her an Academy Award. But much more, it allowed her to explore the idea of repression, existential angst and unrequited love in the midst of a lunar and almost sinister landscape.
The result is a tense work, in which Phil Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch) confronts his family for the direction of the family ranch. But he also keeps a secret that only Peter Gordon (Kodi Smit-McPhee), his nephew-in-law, realizes. Macabre and with a terrifying vision of desire and unfulfilled need, It is a cinematic gem that you can now enjoy on Netflix.
Tar (Movistar+)
Lydia (Cate Blanchett) is a renowned conductor, about to reach the peak of her career. But while that happens, her difficult personality and inclination towards cruelty will lead her to a complicated marital and personal situation. Especially in the midst of a tense coexistence with his wife Sharon Goodnow (Nina Hoss).
This film by Todd Field, crosses the idea of talent and a perverse personality, all in a character for the history of cinema. But particularly, in a vision of feminine and sapphic power, which surprises with its elegance and eloquence. Ideal for lovers of auteur cinema.
Rocketman (Netflix)
This musical is the perfect way to celebrate the career and achievements of Elton John (played with passion and joy by Taron Egerton). But at the same time, director Dexter Fletcher managed to make the film a celebration of life, to dreams fulfilled and yes, the recognition of one’s own identity.
All with a soundtrack that compiles the best of Elton John’s musical history and turns it into the context of a story of gentle and always optimistic growth, despite its dark places. If you love the singer and his musical legacy, this film is for you.
The whale (Movistar+)
Darren Aronofsky and the Oscar winner for this performance, Brendan Fraser, joined forces to delve into an uncomfortable, painful and profound story about love, loss and the search for redemption. Charlie (Fraser) is a literature professor who complains of morbid obesity and is close to a physical and spiritual abyss.
Especially, by not being able to overcome the loss due to the death of his partner. Which will lead her to a spiral of self-destruction in which she will eventually lose all control over her body and mind. This very harsh argument could be a chronicle of suffering, unless the director manages, at the same time, to make it a journey towards faith and, in the end, a liberation. Very hard, bitter and anguishing, this brilliant film is a look at the need of recognition, love and support, from a painful perspective.
The Imitation Game (Prime)
The story of Alan Turing is painful by necessity. The father of modern computing, he was a gay man who suffered the cruel methods of repression in a particularly retrograde England. Which led to him being sentenced to prison for his sexual orientation and ultimately pushed him to commit suicide.
Therefore, this film by Morten Tyldum vindicates the figure of the famous mathematician in a profound and sensitive way. Played by Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe), the plot shows him as the hero that he is. Namely: the man who managed to decipher the Nazi encryption with which the Third Reich communicated in the middle of World War II. Thanks to which, England was able to have a considerable strategic advantage in the conflict. If you love historical dramas, this magnificent film is for you.
Disobedience (Netflix)
Sebastián Lelio narrates this story of impossible love between Ronit (Rachel Weisz) and Esti (Rachel McAdams), from the perspective of a tragic romance of origin. Both belong to an Orthodox Jewish community, in which love between both is not allowed.
Which will lead the couple into a long clandestine romance that becomes more painful with each passing year. With an honest vision about female sexuality and the need to be loved, this film is ideal for those looking for a contemporary and frontal romance.
