Thursday, November 17, 2011

Picture this - the f/f theme in movies !

A story can be told by the written word alone and you can picture the characters and the scenery before your inner eye. You can "feel" the touch of a hand or hear the words spoken in a dialogue. It is all a trick of imagination put together by the skillful writing of an author and the powerful mind of (wo)man.

Immersing oneself in a book and letting your mind flow freely within a story can be a wonderful feeling, an opportunity to leave behind - for just a little while - all the squabbles of daily life.  

Should you however wish to see how other people picture the world around us - you might want to go to the movies! 

The selection of movies with a f/f theme is not very large. So you will have to dig around a bit for the movies that are really worth watching. 

You probably already know the usual suspect like the thriller "Bound". A lesbian film noir sporting the butch Corky - a tough ex con - and her lover Violet who are concocting a scheme to steal millions of stashed mob money and pin the blame on Violet's crooked boyfriend Caeser. The movie is still available from Amazon or maybe you can catch a rerun on TV. If you want a review there are plenty to choose form - try this one

Do you also know "Aimée and Jaguar" ? This is a German movie from 1999 - you can get it on Amazon. The movie centers on a passionate love affair between a Jewish journalist and the wife of a Nazi officer and mother of four in Berlin 1943/1944 - it's well worth watching, but it is not what I would call  a "light" movie. The movie is based on a book by Erica Fischer published under the same title.  If you want a second opinion on the movie look up this review.

If you happen to like romantic comedy you probably know "Imagine You And Me". A romantic lesbian themed comedy from 2005 staring Piper Perabo and Lena Headey - it goes .."Uhh I married my best friend but mistook friendship for love - and surprise ! Love is readily available - on the other side of the fence." You won't find the stereotype lesbian women in this movie - so you might call it mainstream. It is still available from Amazon. If you want a review there are plenty to choose form - try this one. 

Should romance be your thing - and I imagine it might - then you don't want to miss "I can't Think Straight" a movie by Shamim Sarif - you can buy it from Enlightenment Productions if it's not playing at a Theater nears you ;-), and you can watch the official trailer on YouTube. The movie is simple in its standard lesfic storyline, but delivered in a funny and heart touching way, it plays out against the backdrop of a mix of Asian / Middle Eastern and Western culture and displays a charming pair of ladies. If you want a second opinion look up this review.

If you are not ready for a full time movie you might look up one of these short films. The storyline is real simple, but still enjoyable. The short films are available online:
  • "Girl Talk" - about a high school girl and her secret date
  • "Private Life" (1) and (2) - about the secret life of lesbian women in, England in 1962
  • "Last Exit" - a story of the out and proud Cody who still has some feelings for her ex-girlfriend Heather. Unfortunately, Heather doesn't want to leave her husband and Cody's current girlfriend Jessica has had enough.
And for a good laugh look up the music video "Lesbian Cliché Song".
You can find a list of lesbian themed movies on the page "Beyond The Corner" - it is short, but maybe it will evolve over time ;-)

6 comments:

  1. A few more entries to your list:
    -- "Desert Hearts", an adaptation of Jane Rule's "The Desert of the Heart". Vivian goes to Reno to get a divorce. She meets Cay, an open lesbian, and is unwillingly drawn to her. This film has been called *the* classic lesbian movie.
    -- "Women Love Women", a three-part movie highlighting the years 1961, 1972, and 2000 and thus giving a kind of perspective how (self) understanding of lesbians has changed over the decades.
    -- "Lesbian Survival Guide", short, fast paced, and very funny. Can be found on youtube.

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  2. Hi Joan,

    Thanks for the additions to the list!

    UK

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  3. If somebody wonders: 'Women Love Women' is the German title for 'If These Walls Could Talk 2'

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  4. That explains why I thought the storyline was familiar, but didn't recognize the title!

    UK

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  5. Dear UK,

    This may not be the place to ask this question, but what happened to your Dec update? It was here. Now it's gone. Feel free to delete this if this inquiry is misplaced. I wasn't sure how to ask you directly.

    A happy new year to you though.

    Nada

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  6. Hi Nada,

    Sometimes a post attracts a lot of attention as the title or the picture used in the post matches a widely used search on Google. This was the case with the post "All I Want for Christmas Is ...." another was the post "Looking at the world from above" in this case I had posted a picture of a woman in a free climb!

    As I prefer to attract the attention of blog readers with a specific interest in online lesfics I took the post from december offline - I'll post it again for you with a new title.

    If you want to contact me I can be reached by way of a private message on the Athenaeum Forum under the username UNKN.

    Happy New Year to you too!!

    UK

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