#2 Queer movies that hurt so good.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire(2019)

Directed by Celine Sciamma, we have a love story told through art, silence, and quiet intensity. Words or loud voices aren't needed; instead,we have stolen glances, naive souls yearning for each other, and the way art silently and subtly blooms into desire. Visually and silently poetic, tender, intimate, and real.

All of us Strangers(2023)

Directed by Andrew Haigh, All of us Strangers explores themes of grief, loss, loneliness and acceptance. As an introspective film, it delves into the complexities of being homosexual in a heteronormative world. The narrative reveals the main character's internal struggle with accepting his identity, accepting the grief of his parents' death, and accepting his isolation even though he finds comfort in mysterious conversations and conversations with his neighbor, Harry.

Moonlight(2016)

Directed by Barry Jenkins, Moonlight moves you by delving into themes such as identity, the complexity of love, Black masculinity, and homosexuality. As a coming-of-age film, Moonlight tells the story of Chiron beginning from his adolescence to adulthood. A harsh childhood, the harsh reality of the world he is living in, his journey of self-acceptance, and the harshness of growing up as a Black homosexual identity. It is hauntingly tender and heart-wrenching.

As you can understand from the brief summaries of these movies, they are filled with a sense of poetic lingering, a sense of fragile intimacy and a sense of despair. Yet intertwined with these feelings there are moments of tender love, unspoken desire, unspoken passion and pure love.