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wen-kexing-apologist · 1 year

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Bengiyo's Queer Cinema Syllabus

For those who are not aware, I have decided to run the gauntlet of @bengiyo’s Queer Cinema Syllabus and have officially started Unit 1: Coming of Age Post Moonlight.

The films in Unit 1 are: Pariah (2011), Get Real (1998), Edge of Seventeen (1998), My Own Private Idaho (1991), and Mysterious Skin (2004)

Today I will be writing about

Pariah (2011) dir. Dee Rees

[Available on: Amazon, YouTube Rental, Run Time: 1:26]

Summary: A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak and family in a desperate search for sexual expression. (from IMDB)

Cast:

Adepero Oduye as Alike (pronounced Ah-Lee-Kay) Aasha Davis as Bina, Alike's love interest Charles Parnell as Arthur, Alike's father Kim Wayans as Audrey, Alike's mother Pernell Walker as Laura, Alike's best friend Sahra Mellesse as Sharonda, Alike's younger sister

Overall Thoughts (this write up is longer than my The Birdcage one because this time I actually took notes)

I LOVED THIS FILM. I am so intrigued by the layers this film builds for itself. If there was one phrase that came to mind while I watched this film it would be “code-switching.” Not in the traditional way it would relate to language and linguistics, but in the way that there is code and there is switching. Because there are so many levels of change and obfuscation in this film from the clothing to the queer flagging to the thinly veiled threats. Before I get too far in to this, let’s do a quick analysis of the main character’s name

Alike Freeman.

Alike- Origin: Nigerian, Meaning: “girl who drives out beautiful women” (at least according to babycenter)

Freeman- I mean…I feel like this one is pretty self-explanatory. But it is very very intentional.

The film opens in a lesbian club, showing Alike wearing baggy, masculine clothing. On the bus ride home, she changes into a more femme style. And here we have the first switch. With her friend, out on the town, in the dark (look, Ben! I haven’t even seen this show yet, but I knew you were gonna pop in here with the link so I figured I would get ahead of it) Alike is free to be herself. To be openly, purposefully queer, to code herself that way. But the same cannot be said at home, where she is still in the (glass) closet. Second switch occurs when Alike leaves the house wearing more feminine clothing, and changes to more masculine clothing when she gets to school.

We see the first code soon after when Alike spends her lunch period in her English teacher’s classroom. (This is how you know the story was written by a lesbian). We see her full name for the first time written on the cover of her journal. Alike Freeman. What a wonderful name for someone who is not free to be herself in all parts of her life. The second code we see established around the dinner table and on the basketball court. The way this family interacts with each other, there is the push and pull between honesty and secrecy, control and lack of it, respect and disrespect, and the love you feel coming from these characters is palpable, but there is an undercurrent of understanding that this love may be conditional.

Audrey is interesting as a character because you know that she knows, and you know that she is trying to pretend like she doesn’t see it, and you know that she is (again, coding) trying to not-so-subtly “correct” her daughter’s behavior through the clothes that she buys her, through the disdain she has for Laura, by not letting Alike close the door when Laura is in her room, through telling Alike “God doesn’t make mistakes”. And the way that Audrey is lonely and isolated within the context of her family, within the social groups at work, because she is so internally focused on trying to stop her daughter from being gay that she has neglected every other connection in her life.

We get another semi-code with the conversation in the hallways between three girls, one of whom says: “Some of them AGs are cute, I’m not saying I would, but I’ll holla” \\ “I’m not gay, but if i was gay, I’d talk to [Alike]” \\ “I like girls, I love boys” while making occasional eye contact with Alike across the hallway or walking right past her. The girl is letting Alike know she’s interested while still trying to maintain both the illusion of straightness and disinterest.

Audrey connects Alike with the daughter of the literal only person she talks to in her office (read: her only trusted person) in the hopes that Alike will act more like a “lady”. While at first glance, we understand Audrey’s intention, we get yet another code from Bina that this plan may backfire for Audrey…when Bina mentions the English teacher. Queer. Coding.

I loved the way that everyone knew, everyone knows that Alike is queer, and they just. won’t. talk. about. it. I love the way this film shows the very hard lines of allyship (yet another switch). When a butch lesbian comes in to the barbershop and is being harassed by his friends, Arthur stays silent. When she leaves, Arthur gently calls out his friend. When Arthur’s friend calls Alike a “bull-dyke” he’s ready to throw hands. No one is willing to risk a fight with their friends when they are being shitty to a queer no one knows or cares about. Another code, this time from Arthur to Alike comes after his friend makes yet another homophobic, and vaguely threatening comment about his daughter while she is inside the store, when he says “you know you’re daddy’s girl, right?”. She is safe to be herself with him. His love for Alike is unconditional…unlike her mother’s.

I loved the way Alike’s caterpillar poem related to queerness, to closeted queerness in particular. The way the caterpillar felt trapped and suffocated in the dark cocoon, the way that Alike feels trapped and suffocated in the closet as she develops in to herself, as she develops in to her adulthood, as she develops in to her queerness.

I am obsessed with the way that Arthur codes his conversation with Alike as he attempts to coax her in to coming out to him when they are alone, at night, in the dark. I mean, just!! He starts to try to bring it up, bails, skirting the conversation to ask about school instead, Alike knows what’s up, and having complicated feelings around her first kiss, she starts asking her father for advice, keeping pronouns out of the conversation, slowly building to the moment where she is going to come out to him, and he knows it, and she knows it, and Arthur just…interrupts her to start asking questions about “him.” He adds he/him pronouns in to the conversation, and he walks away continues the conversation where Alike cannot see his face, and where he cannot see hers. Because he can’t handle that conversation, because he knows how deeply rooted Audrey’s homophobia is, because the second he hears her say that, he knows that he has lost his daughter. And so instead, he sends her vague and coded messages with his questions around the women’s club, and it being bad news, and to not be associated with it. Because again, if Alike comes out, he knows that he will lose her. So he steers the conversation the way it needs to go where he can equivocate to his wife, telling her that Alike told him she has a boyfriend (because she didn’t correct him when he started adding he/him pronouns to his questions about a crush).

I loved that Bina, a femme character was constantly the one initiating intimacy, while Alike, a masc character was constantly second guessing and then eventually bailing on initiating intimacy, and I loved that Bina is the one who decided she couldn’t handle admitting that she was queer while having sex for the first time helped Alike get over her hand ups. It felt subversive to me this way.

I LOVED LAURA. I think she 300% deserves better, but I loved that despite the fact she struggles, despite the fact that she was disowned, despite the fact that she acts tough (and is tough) she is so compassionate, so caring. She lets other homeless queers sleep in her sister’s apartment for the evening so they have a safe and secure roof over their head, she got her fucking GED, she reached out to her mother despite being the one abandoned by her, and she took Alike in after her mother beat her for being gay despite the fact that Alike kept blowing her off in order to follow her feelings for Bina. Laura is a community pillar and we love and support and cherish community pillars in the house.

I loved that while we get this initial eruption, and an acute burst of pain when Alike comes out, and her mother attacks her, the very next day Alike is in the light, watching the birds, being treated with softness and kindness, smiling and eating ice cream. I like that the loss of Alike’s presence in the family was palpable, that Audrey is clearing out the kitchen in the dark, that the Freeman’s are eating in the dark, and that Arthur reaches out to Alike in the light.

I loved that Alike makes it clear that she isn’t running. I like that I don’t feel like Alike is suffering here, the people who lose are her family, the person who loses the most is her mother. Alike still maintains a relationship with her father and her sister, and following in Laura’s footsteps, she tries to extend the olive branch to her mother. But her mother cannot do it. I love queer kids reaching out to their parents, and it is important to me to see that pain that comes from loving your parents unconditionally and finding they cannot do the same for you in return.

I don’t have anything I really want to say about the ending, because it was perfect and the script speaks for itself

“Your mother would always pick you up, your mother would always pick you up…you remember how we always used to race when it rang-” \\ “I got accepted in to an early college program…” \\ ‘I’m sorry I let her hurt you, you can always come back home. Things are gonna be different, I promise.” \\ “I’m not running, I’m choosing. I’m not going back home.” \\ “I know.” \\ “And you should tell Mom she was right, God doesn’t make mistakes.” \\ “You should tell her yourself.”

The way this moment punched me in the gut? Knowing that I was watching a father trying to bring his baby home and realizing that he is facing an adult who has been freed instead.

And on the subject of freedom, I am incredibly moved by the finally lines of the film:

“For even breaking is opening. Broken to the new light without pushing in. Open to the possibility within pushing out. See the love shine in through my cracks. See the light shine out through me. I am broken. I am open. I am broken open. See the love light shining through me, shining through my cracks. Through the gaps. My spirit takes journey, my spirit takes flight. Could not have risen otherwise, and I am not running. I am choosing. Running is not a choice from a breaking. Breaking is freeing. Broken is freedom. I am not broken. I am free.”

Where Does This Film Fall in My By, For, About Queers Categorization?

THE GAY TRIFECTA

The writer/driector, Diandria “Dee” Rees, is a lesbian and describes Pariah as “semi-autobiographical"

Favorite Moment

I wouldn’t say there was a particular moment that stood out above the others as my favorite, because it was all incredible, but I will say that my favorite visual element that was employed was the use of lighting. When Alike is in queer spaces, her world is awash in vibrant and varied colors. In the privacy of her room she is bathed in red light, when she is being comforted by Laura after the fight with her mother, she is bathed in blue.

10/10 Film

#bengiyo queer cinema syllabus #pariah #pariah (2011)#wka long post

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muppetminge · 3 months

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i don't as such care much for the concept of pride month, but since i happen to not have much going in june i will take this as an excuse to watch a bunch a lesbian films. in theory, this could be 30 - in practice, it almost definitely won't be. i will 100 % get bored and stop at some point. anyway i want to find like actually good lesbian movies - which might be an oxymoron, but anyway - this means i'll only be watching woman-directed movies, preferably lesbian-directed but i'm aware i probably won't get to be that picky </3.

movies watched:

1. The Watermelon Woman (1996), dir. Cheryl Dunye. "all you do since you don't have a girlfriend is watch those boring old films" well, screw you too, tam. so happy to start off the month with something that's actually good. thank you cheryl <3 speaking of, this woman is so fucking hot it's bullshit. also i do need her earrings like asap but that's another topic. forever saddened by the death of video stores... where am i supposed to go to meet hot lesbians now? netflix? it's bullshit, man.

I don't think there's any part of this I don't find incredibly compelling. It's really funny, and just generally so charming and, well, human. the narrative of building your own history really resonates, and honestly cheryl gets it across incredibly.

2. Pariah (2011), dir. Dee Ress. i didn't vibe with this one as much, but i guess that's my own fault considering i knew very well going into this that i don't particularly like coming-of-age movies. the soundtrack hit most of the time, even if the soundscape in general was a bit flat for my taste. it's a very dark movie. like, physically. i couldn't see shit half the time. also not really a fan of the camerawork throughout most of it. it's a nice-looking film if it's your kind of taste - unfortunately i am too kitsch to really appreciate it :/ i thought scene near the end with lee and her dad on the roof was really nice. also found kim wayans' character really compelling

3. La Belle Saison (2015), dir. Catherine Corsini. not projecting but also delphine i feel you so hard. is this representation because if so i don't mind it... (except the part where you're actually getting some but whatever). desperately making me feel like i should wear more tank tops. anyway delphine was really in a headlock with every single one of her principles toward the end huh. i get the dilemma though her riding tractors is basically public service (to Me because it's incredibly hot). i'm not even gonna be an ass about it like i genuinely just really liked this.

4. But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), dir. Jaime Babbit. "1-2-3-4, inverts we won't be no more!" obviously i've watched this a million times before. did take this as an excuse to watch the extended edition and like just saying ms babbit if you want to extend even more you're more than welcome to it <3 gonna be careful about mentioning natasha here because i love her and chances are i won't be able to shut up again but gd people really do underestimate how fucking funny she is… i've personal beef with clea for having basically the same haircut i had for a long while and making it look so much better. only realized on this watch that melanie lynskey's playing hilary. incredible. anyway i genuinely don't know what more anyone could possibly want in a movie. it's so hot. like all movies should look like this - let those colors pop for a change! one of the best soundtracks of the last thirty years and i'm so serious about that.

i think this was probably the first genuinely good lesbian movie i saw as a teenager desperately searching for something to relate to. it still grips me from the very first scene even now. i do think the stars aligned to make this work. it's so funny and it's such a great satire.

5. リズと青い鳥 / Liz and the Blue Bird (2018), dir. Naoko Yamada. shit, dude. first of all this is so so pretty. it makes me insane how much care and effort they'll put into like a background shot of a shelf or something... and all the watercolor... gorgeous. like just the opening shot with all flowers and the colors that are just popping right out at you... in general just really effective visual communication, especially on rewatches i'd imagine (after having seen the final hug scene). i remember when i went to high school one of my classmates was so incredibly musically talented it was genuinely a bit infuriating and i was so shocked she didn't go on to study music 'cause i would have if i'd been able to get in lmao. anyway this was really sweet. the last third is so incredible. when they finally play it, damn... genuinely like goosebumps. and then it somehow kept going? i feel like it's still settling while i'm writing this but i feel like i'm probably going to watch again at some point.

6. I Can't Think Straight (2008), dir. Shamim Sarif. (quote?) cut to waters novel. cut to k.d. lang cd. one wonders. this having a lower average than imagine me & you if anything really shows that reviews are bullshit. loved the music. loved lisa ray's character being half a second from jumping leyla at all times. loved zina; wish she'd had more scenes. loved leyla's dad being an insurance salesman; life insurance even. sells itself. when the ladies finally did jump each other it was with zero hesitation and i fuck with that so hard. this movie is so funny i don't care. bonus the ladies are very very hot. you can't fault a movie from 2008 for being incredibly 2008. here's to leyla for one day achieving the honor of being tala's fifth fiance(e). truly gettin' it all.

7. Portrait de la jeune fille en feu (2019), dir. Céline Sciamma. writing this on the eighth with an officially broken streak :( it Will happen again. this is indeed the first time i've watched this because i am to my core a contrarian bitch and seeing everyone freak out about this did Not make me want to watch it. now i have, and like... it's alright, yeah. didn't love love it. it's probably too long for what it's got going on. i loved héloïse; she was great. there's some really powerful scenes in here, the bonfire scene especially. i really liked how blue the ocean was; i hate this tendency of (especially) period pieces washing out everything to a ridiculous degree. i know some people are like insane about this movie and i'm happy for them but i can't relate unfortunately.

i did think briefly at the start that it was gonna be about croquis, and i really wish it had been, ngl.

8. Carmen y Lola (2018), dir. Arantxa Echevarría. 'ya te he olvidado' yeah babe sure looks it. had a certain interest in this going into it for very elaborate personal reasons. it's a lot better than the synopsis makes it sound. lola searching 'lesbianas madrid' like i feel you girl, been there!!! speaking of i was def convinced lola was a lesbian which feels like so rare in such a 'mainstream' movie lmao so well done. very believable. and like my girl was so so persistent you gotta give her that like she really went for it. can't blame her i'd be so into carmen too so like. her voice made me wanna die. so hot. (sí también es que el acento madrileño me pone un poquito pero,,,,). it really went insane at the end like damn. i was not expecting the ending tho like i really thought carmen was gonna be annoying about it. do i even have to save that i really liked this? because surprisingly i really really did. i can't help but feel it's getting rewatched a ton some time lmaooo.

9. 漂浪青春 / Drifting Flowers (2008), dir. Zero Chou. can't believe someone in the reviews of this stole my joke three years ago. speaking of reviews don't look at them because of course people have to be so so annoying about this. as usual. anyway. i was so drawn in by this you wouldn't belive!! i don't even know what to say... this is for all us if these walls could talk babes btw. loved the scene where one of the characters blatantly walked by posters and posters of one of chou's other movies. show off.

diego!!! <3<3<3 every single character is lovely but diego made me wanna *** ngl. it did hit very close to home, thanks for asking. realised in her part that i probably chose the wrong day to watch this but that's on me lmao. this would have broken me if i had watched it as a teenager lowkey. does it come across in this that i really like interconnecting vignettes? because i do, and this is really well-executed. hope you'll watch it and also that you'll find less spotty subtitles than i did if you do lmao.

it's a very genuine movie; i don't mean that in a condescending way, because it's also very much a well-made movie, but it's a movie that so clearly has a lot to say, and i appreciated all of it. perhaps this is also why i was so surprised at the reviews, because it really resonated with me. i know i've already pointed out diego a lot, but all three parts were incredible and they really held each other up. i don't think any of them would feel as complete without the other parts. in an odd way it stands like a shining light in the darkness.

10. Addicted to Fresno (2015), dir. Jaime Babbit. "(lesbians are poor. ..)" confirmed babbit apologist sorry :/ anyway i'm not gonna compare this to cheerleader i wouldn't want to try to follow that either. it's a fun movie! i laughed a ton. my lyonne obsession is well-documented so i'm not even gonna touch on that lmao. that being said martha is exactly the kind of lesbian i want to see more of (no projection here. obviously). i'm bound to be all over anything with these themes; lo and behold indeed i was. i stand by this being really well-executed, y'all just didn't get what she was trying to do <3 you could argue some tonal difficulties, but honestly i'm not going to. it worked. it's a bit quiet, but i can see that adding to the whole point of being stuck. some surprise appearances to delight

11. Saving Face (2004), dir. Alice Wu. first of all gd will's mom has got it going on. anyway i wanted a fun romcom and i got a fun romcom so i'm not complaining! i will say that i think this is the genre at its best. like romcoms often risk coming across as a bit clinical i feel, a bit empty, but this is just so warm. i adored hwei-lan (not just because she's hot but let me reiterate that she's so unbelievably hot; i get that boy so much, i really do), she's so funny. i love circular storytelling, and i think the end was done really well. the scene after that during the credits is exactly how i want my movies to end actually, i want my face to hurt smiling. don't you? wil is an absolutely idiot. i cannot blame her for a single thing. also i get you babe, i can't stand for dancers either. i feel like this is close to being one of most just plain fun movies i've watched so far.

12. Kyss mig (2011), dir. Alexandra-Therese Keining. gd i so want all my lesbian movies to start with a straight sex scene, don't you? coming to you with the exact opposite mood of that from yesterday. everyone in this is horrible. mia and frida's relationship is not believable at all to me sorry. i barely believe that these two even like each other if i'm being honest. it's not the first movie here where the romance comes a bit from nowhere (namely portrait, which made up for it with some level of charm, and belle saison, which i just liked enough otherwise to excuse it) but here i'm definitely gonna blame it for it because it's got nothing else going on, either. to be entirely fair, it was very optimistic going into this with my dislike of 'scandi dramas', especially of the swedish variety, but fuuuuck, i was so bored i'm sorry. it's soooo slow. i actually quite liked elin but she was there for like five seconds - and good for her, because damn you deserve better babe... both of the main women kind of suck lmao but at least frida sucks in a fun way most of the time, so she's excused. i don't know if i'm supposed to feel bad for tim (probably! knowing the genre, knowing swedes, knowing movies), but he's such an asshole. i genuinely think mia should have killed him. i can't blame mia for sucking; her dad's a major asshole, i'm sure she's had it rough. i'm sure if you like this sort of movies it's alright. it's not badly made by any account, i just really didn't like it. it has its audience. definitely a new low so far. the one good thing about this was that it really made me appreciate being a lesbian; those scenes with mia and tim genuinely looked like my personal hell. if i was mia i'd jump the first girl who looked at me too, ngl. the ending did make up for a few things, all things considered. i watched a not insignificant part of this without subtitles (because they would not workkkk) and i'm so brave for that tbh

13. Kokon (2020), dir. Leonie Krippendorff. proof that i should probably do more research before watching stuff (never going to happen though; no fun) because i did not realise this would be this much of a coming-of-age story. like literally hitting all the points. anyway it didn't do much for me. i really don't want to be mean here because it's obviously a very well-made film, and i get the intention, but... i was so fucking bored you would not believe. like i was less actively annoyed by this than kyss mig, but way more bored. it's not a very long movie, but it sure feels like it! anyway, if you're watching for the rep, you can skip this one; it's not really the main part of the movie, which is fine - comparatively, pariah had much more of a lesbian focus. this one really is just coming-of-age. something something you know you're in berlin when the whitest girl you've ever seen is swearing on the qur'an. i'm so glad i'm not a teenager - and what a joy to be getting further and further away every day <33

14. Desert Hearts (1985), dir. Donna Deitch. first of all the soundtracks is lovely (and it's a well-documented fact that mona will forgive everything for a good soundtrack). second of all i want to watch this again. like, immediately, right now. i'm gonna watch this so much i fear it's not even funny. ignore the 80s hair; we're in the 50s. one of the better romances yet. the lesbian-english teacher hypothesis proving true time and time again... incredible. cay is so funny. like the way the camera pans over to her in the bed in the hotel room scene... cinema! i was fucking done lmao. it's all just very lovely.

15. Go Fish (1994), dir. Rose Troche. well, we had to go here at some point. it's a very jazzy movie; take that however you wish. i have my criticisms, but also you can't blame a 90s movie for being too 90s (which in truth is what a lot of it boils down to). max' narrations were without a doubt my favorite part, the start especially so. there's more lesbians in one 80 minute movie than i've even crossed paths with, ever. cutting your fingernails before a date counts as foreplay in my book.

16. Joven y alocada (2012), dir. Marialy Rivas. i just know the progressive profesoras are going wild over this. huge respect to chileans for seeing a word and deciding fuck that shit and dropping half of it. top five accent ngl. also polola... also credit for starting a movie in the most uncomfortable way possible. anyway i am so not the target audience for this it's not even funny. it's well-composed, the style is great, entirely well-done, did not care for it. i only finished because i couldn't get the last-moment replacement to work and i didn't have time to watch anything else lmao. i have a lot of respect for rivas (hence me watching this) but... yeah. also really getting confirmed that i am very fine with lesbian sex scenes but straight sex scenes are horrrrrible.. nice reminder of the lesbianism i guess! i will be singing yo no te pido la luuuuna the rest of the night though. non voglio mica la luna...

17. Les Rendez-vous d'Anna (1978), dir. Chantal Akerman. an excuse to cross some akerman off my watchlist? you could call it that. i have a ton of respect for her. she's a very interesting person, i think. an interesting movie, too, all things considered. i'm very much drawn to the fastpaced and erratic truth be told, which this is like the polar opposite of, but it's got its point. i really liked the part with her mother. that was probably the high point of this. i didn't really care for either of the guys, like, at all, but it is what it is. still gathering my thoughts, i feel. not sure i'm entirely in the right space to really appreciate this.

18. Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same (2011), dir. Madeleine Olnek. "...I did wonder about the gills". oh, this is how you make a movie. (was smiling and/or laughing from beginning to end). question: can this be replicated in real life. like can i just go find the nearest hot stationery clerk or how does this work.

19. Mädchen in Uniform (1931), dir. Leontine Sagan. all impact aside, this is a lot more fun than i'd thought. obviously i've been putting this off for a while now considering i hadn't seen it til now, but i really did enjoy it. i feel like it's rare seeing girls just having fun like this. as a young girl i was very into this old book series (incidentally from my mother's childhood) about some girls at a boarding school; entirely irrelevant to every and anything here, but watching this gave me the same vibe throughout much of it.

20. سكر بنات / Caramel (2007), dir. Nadine Labaki. absolutely adore this one description i found that says rima is struggling with her attraction to women - lmao where?? the most she struggles in this movie is the coerced leg wax lmao. otherwise it's basically all very sensual hair washing, gd bless. she's also very hot btw i do need to mention that. i see you all going crazy over labaki and you're not wrong but gd man... anyway, sensual hairwashing aside, the straight girls are alright too. seriously, this is actually very good. even though rima's the lesbian the most homoerotic part of this is layale very aggresively waxing of her lover's wife.

21. Een vrouw als Eva (1979), dir. Nouchka van Brakel. after a hundred minutes still not convinced this is a real language. anyway, i don't even know what to say. fuck, dude. gd. you could argue dated, but fuck it's rare to see a movie like this treat its lesbian protagonist with this much sympathy, even today. there's a lot to say, but in my mind this is what i keep coming back to. it's in the little things. at no point does this feel perfomative to me, either. a few asides: the beginning of this movie was very extremely effective at showing how utterly miserable eve was lmao. ad is a giant asshole; eve not slapping him is a testament to this poor woman's patience.

22. 蝴蝶 / Butterfly (2004), dir. Mak Yan-Yan. between the marianne faithful, patti smith and janis joplin i can't be entirely sure jin's place isn't actually mine also fuck josie ho is gorgeous. i almost didn't watch this (length) but gdddd i'm so glad i did. it took a bit for me to get into, but by the time it ended i had to just sit for a moment. it's breathtaking, honestly. i don't know what it is - maybe it's the timelessness? the way everything weaves in and out of each other constantly, like it's all happening at the same time. i don't know. it's so gorgeous, though.

23. Viola di mare (2009), dir. Donatella Maiorca. ah, sicilia, amore mio <3 anyway what the fuck. i think that's my main impression for the moment. gd. supposedly based of a real story, i really do think it's told well for the most part. i mean, gd, it would have been so easy to focus on all the surrounding, but the love really is palpable i gotta be honest. making me sigh and swoon over here... if more people were like angela, like first of all that would rule, but also lesbian movies would be sooo short. she's damn persistent lmao love her <3 definitely worth watching, but like do not read up on a single thing beforehand.

24. The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995), dir. Maria Maggenti. "Is this another one?" sometimes you really just do wanna watch two girls having fun. american high schools in media always throws me a bit because i genuinely can't tell how much is artistic exaggeration and how much is just you guys living like that. seems sick. if i still went to the hairdresser i'd show her a picture of randy in this. not getting over vicky's husband getting physical with a literal seventeen year old lmaoo go home dude! it's all very cute, genuinely. by my count this brings the jopling counter up to three. bonus for the bratmobile.

25. I've Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987), dir. Patricia Rozema. i'm really glad this is the one i'm the ending this on. gddddddddd i loved this so much. to quote polly herself: it's so... nice! oh, polly... <3 seeing a quirky weird girl represented so well is like seeing a shooting star.

all in all: this has been... really fun, actually. i don't know that i was counting on that. i did not in fact get bored and stop. i'm willing to concede that the amount of actually, genuinely good lesbian movies might in fact be a positive integer after all. definitely a much more fun way to spend pride month than engaging in nonsensical discourse. happy july! <3

#mona mona mona #had to rewrite parts of this so many times before discovering tumblr won't let me make a '</3' in a draft post love this website #the first broken streak was in fact mean girls so arguably it wasn't broken at all. lesbian janis truther. lesbian regina truther.#(lesbian karen truther bc i love ms seyfried....)#now on to sloth month where i'll be do absolutely fuck all <3 #you'll all be hearing back from me in time for wrath month ig #mona was in fact going to edit this monster of a post (spoiler alert: she did not. she tried and somehow made it longer. she gave up.)#lesbian media #lesbian #lesbian film #it's not even pride here yet btw lmao

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