Gay & Lesbian Drama

Ang Lee's adaptation of E. Annie Proulx's story Brokeback Mountain stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger as young cowboys named Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar. Each of them is hired to corral sheep on the title location and they soon bond very closely. Their platonic relationship explodes into a physical one, but eventually the two are separated when their job comes to an end. Although the two follow different life paths -- one becoming a father of two and the other marrying into a successful business -- they have a reunion years later. Each is affected profoundly by the rekindling of their old feelings for each other. Those feelings lead each to consider what continuing their hidden relationship would cost them. The screenplay was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai directs the strange, intimate drama Cheun Gwong Tsa Sit (Happy Together). Australian cinematographer Christopher Doyle employed multiple film speeds and different color film stock during the shooting. Ho (Leslie Cheung) and Lai (Tony Leung) are lovers from Hong Kong who have run away to live in Buenas Aires, Argentina. However, Ho is immature and unwilling to settle down, which makes Lai depressed. When they break up, Lai works as a doorman in a tango bar in order to save money and go home. The restless Ho becomes a prostitute. After Ho is beaten and injured in an attack, Lai takes him to his apartment to recover. Ho tries to rekindle the romance, but Lai isn't interested. He leaves the tango bar and works in a kitchen, where he meets the young Chang (Chang Chen) from Taiwan. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

A male prostitute who has dismissed the need for love in his life learns a lesson about affection from one of his customers in this independent comedy drama from filmmaker Q. Allan Brocka. X (Derek Magyar) is a gay hustler whose enigmatic name reflects his emotional distance from the world around him; he doesn't much believe in love, and isn't interested in sex unless he's being paid for it. X has a dozen regular customers he calls his "disciples," and shares his home with two roommates -- Andrew (Darryl Stephens), whose good looks sometimes tempt X, though he's still uncertain about his own sexual feelings, and Joey (Jonathon Trent), an uninhibited and outré teenager who openly lusts after X, to no avail. Gregory (Patrick Bauchau) is an older man who regularly hires X for companionship, but he refuses to have sex with the hustler until he's willing to acknowledge that their attraction is mutual. X isn't about to admit to any such thing, but one day Gregory shares a story with X that forces him to reconsider his thinking. Boy Culture received its North American premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Director Donna Deitch makes a strong impression in her first feature film, a simple story of a lesbian love affair, based on Jane Rule's 1964 novel Desert of the Heart. Helen Shaver stars as Vivian Bell, an uptight 35-year-old Columbia University professor who travels to Reno to get a divorce. She arrives in Reno on her way to Frances Parker's (Audra Lindley) ranch, where she is staying to establish six weeks of residency in order to obtain the divorce. Once at the ranch, Vivian catches the fancy of Frances's adopted daughter Cay (Patricia Charbonneau), a casino worker ten years younger than herself. Vivien tries to remain unruffled as Cay makes unabashed overtures to her. Cay thinks that all Vivian needs is the love of another woman, and soon enough the two are in each other's arms. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This hit arthouse ensemble piece traces the romantic and political ups and downs of a group of multicultural Chicago lesbians. The central story involves an unlikely romance between Max (Guinevere Turner), a hip young babe, and Ely (V.S. Brodie), a slightly older woman involved in a long-term, long-distance relationship that's basically a smokescreen for her fear of romantic risk. When the pair are introduced by Max's roommate, teacher/activist Kia (T. Wendy McMillan), Max isn't interested in Ely, whose long hair, hippie accoutrements, and fondness for decaffeinated herbal tea don't impress the younger, more fashion-conscious woman. Soon, though, fate, friends, and Ely's butch new hairstyle conspire to push the women closer together. As this new romance inches along, the pair's friends have problems of their own: Kia must help her closeted girlfriend, Evy (Migdalia Melendez), come to grips with the disapproval of her conservative Latina mother, while their pal Daria (Anastasia Sharp) incurs the disapproval of the lesbian community for her decision to sleep with a man. Filmed in black and white on-location in Chicago, Go Fish features a number of non-standard narrative devices, most notably the Greek chorus, or "jury," of lesbians who comment on not only the plot, but also the political and social ramifications thereof. Shown in competition at Sundance in 1994, Go Fish went on to earn critical and commercial success and establish the careers of director Rose Troche and actress Turner, who together co-wrote and co-produced the picture. Turner would appear in several additional indies and co-write the script for American Psycho, while Troche would go on to helm 1998's Bedrooms & Hallways. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

A woman searching for the perfect man instead discovers the perfect woman in this romantic comedy. Jessica Stein (Jennifer Westfeldt) is a woman with a solid career as a copy editor, but her love life isn't much to write home about; she's been through a long series of disastrous first dates that refuse to evolve into second dates, and the well-intended advice of her best friend Joan (Jackie Hoffman) and former boyfriend Josh (Scott Cohen) isn't helping a bit. One day, Jessica is scanning personal ads in the newspaper with her friends, and she sees one with a quote from her favorite poet. Jessica reads on to discover that she has a lot in common with the person who placed the ad -- too much so, since it turns out the notice is from a woman, Helen Cooper (Heather Juergensen), who manages an art gallery. Jessica figures it would at least be nice to hang out with someone who shares her interests, and she gives Helen a call. Jessica and Helen quickly strike up a close friendship that evolves into something more intimate, though neither of them has ever been involved with another woman ... and Helen is a bit more avid about her new romantic horizons than Jessica. As their relationship progresses, Jessica finds herself struggling with her feelings about her new sexual outlook, and she isn't sure how to break the news about her relationship to her mother (Tovah Feldshuh) as she tries to decide if she should bring Helen along to her brother's wedding. Kissing Jessica Stein was based on the off-Broadway play Lipschtick, which was written by Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen, who starred in the original stage production as well as this film adaptation; the film won both the Critics' Special Jury Award and the Audience Award at the 2001 Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

As a warm and gentle human fable with a leftwing political undercurrent, the French-language picture Looking for Cheyenne concerns two women passionately in love with one another, and yet hopelessly separated. Journalist Cheyenne (Mila Dekker) is reeling - not only from a split with one of the great loves of her life, high school science prof Sonia (Aurelia Petit), but from a recent and unexpected job loss - the product of her company's decision to downsize. When she finds it next to impossible to land another job, Cheyenne eventually throws up her hands in disgust and drops out altogether. Refusing to live by society's constraints, and rejecting every government "handout" that comes down the pike, Cheyenne lives without running water, electricity, or groceries, preferring instead to live off of discarded vegetables that she discovers in trashcans and to light her residence with candles. Meanwhile, Sonia keeps her job, but enters an affair with a freewheeling young man, Pierre. An anarchist who spends his time passing out flyers full of anarchist catchphrases and taglines, he readily admits to Sonia that he could care less about her pansexuality and is willing to accept her on her own terms. Sonia's affair represents an attempt to drown the sorrow out of her life, for she - like Cheyenne - is still destroyed and devastated by the recent breakup. As each woman grapples with a unique outlet for her sorrow, eccentric and endearing characters waltz in and out of their lives and form various romantic couplings; these include a wealthy middle-aged woman of a predatory nature (Guilaine Londez) ; a comely and naïve co-ed who decides to stage her own form of social rebellion (Eleonore Michelin); an affable and ebullient Russian (Miglen Mirtchev), and a man who believes in returning to the soil (Laurence Cote). Director Valerie Minetto thus weaves together a giant life tapestry composed of joys and sorrows, unexpected treasures and resounding disappointments. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A bisexual travel writer assigned the task of covering Napa Valley's most romantic hot spots invites an old college friend to join him on his quest, only to find their attraction blossoming into something much more complex in writer/director Russell Brown's look at fidelity, promiscuity, and sexual morality in the modern era. Nathan (Cole Williams) is an L.A.-based writer preparing to pen an article about the Napa Valley wine district. Recognizing that a trip to wine country is always more fun when you invite a friend along, Nathan contacts old college friend Maggie (Amber Benson), who readily agrees to join him on his trip. Though both Nathan and Maggie currently have boyfriends, their attraction to one another finds wine tasting taking a back seat to an affair that raises numerous questions as to the fragility of intimate relationships when love knows no gender. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A down-and-out gymnast receives a second chance at success and happiness in the debut feature from director Ned Farr. After being sidelined by an injury, Jane (Dreya Weber) settles into an unfulfilling life. But when she teams with Serena (Addie Yungmee) for an aerial gymnastics act, Jane gets a new opportunity to perform. Along the way, an unexpected attraction develops between the two women. The Gymnast won both the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Award at the 2006 L.A. Outfest and received honors at a number of other gay and lesbian film festivals. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

A shy musical comedy composer searches in vain for someplace to bed down with a sexy go-go dancer in this sweet-natured romantic comedy set in Manhattan. College student Gabriel (Christian Campbell) wants to compose musical comedies; Katherine (Tori Spelling), his muse and confidante, wants to star in his productions. In the meantime, she's rehearsing an all-female version of Salomé set in a women's prison while he drowns his sorrows about a negative review at a tony strip club. On the way home from the bar, Gabriel notices Mark (Jean Paul Pitoc), one of the dancers from the club, catnapping in the subway. One mumble-mouthed come-on later, the men attempt to consummate their attraction to one another at Gabriel's tiny apartment, only to find themselves frustrated by pets, roommates, and a visit from Katherine. The couple's attempt to find a suitable boudoir leads them from one location to another; along the way, they discover that their attraction might extend beyond a single afternoon's ardor. Trick marked the feature debut of director Jim Fall, a New York University alumnus who had previously lensed such gay-themed shorts as Shanghai, He Touched Me, and Love Is Deaf, Dumb and Blind. Fall and first-time screenwriter Jason Schafer spent more than three years reworking his original script while raising half a million dollars to finance the film, which appeared at the Sundance and Berlin film festivals in 1999. Much of the publicity over the film centered on the heterosexuality of its two male romantic leads; despite such mild controversy, Trick became a modest art-house hit. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

When the gay roommate and best friend of a commitment-phobic radio show hosts learns that his womanizing roommate is planning to settle down, he does everything in his power to sabotage the wedding plans and win the unassuming roommate for himself in this comedy that proves love can come from the most unexpected of places. While Dan spends his days hosting a sex-oriented radio show and bedding as many females as possible, his lovelorn roommate Laurent campaigns for gay marriage with the singular goal of ultimately winning Dan's hand in marriage. When Laurent discovers that Dan has finally found the woman of his dreams and is finally willing to take the plunge, he sets into motion a complex plan aimed at scaring Dan out of his plans and eventually converting him to homosexuality. As the wedding plans continue and Dan asks Laurent to be his best man, the heartbroken Laurent must summon the courage to let Dan know how he really feels or face the prospect of losing not only his best friend, but the man of his dreams as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Actor and playwright Dan Bucatinsky wrote the screenplay for this adaptation of his play I Know You Are, But What Am I?, though for the big-screen version, his slightly fractured love story was given a same-sex twist. Eli (Dan Bucatinsky) is a journalist working with a major L.A. newspaper who is single and not loving it. Eli is also gay, and makes no secret of the fact that he's looking for a nice guy that he can settle down with. Eli's best friend Brett (Adam Goldberg) knows a woman named Jackie (Sasha Alexander), who says she has a friend who would be perfect for Eli. Thus Eli is introduced to Tom (Richard Ruccolo), a special education instructor and devoted nightlife enthusiast. Eli and Tom's first date turns out to be just short of a disaster; Tom indulges in his overweening enthusiasm for alcohol and tobacco, and Eli is disgusted to learn Tom has never seen Gone With the Wind. Things appear to be over for Eli and Tom before they even started, until they meet by chance while shopping a few days later; this time, a conversation rather than an argument develops, and the two end up spending the night together. Eli begins to think love may have finally found him, until Tom dashes off the next morning, leaving Eli to wonder if Tom has any interest at all in a long-term commitment. All Over the Guy also features small cameo roles by Lisa Kudrow, as an actress not skilled in voice-over work, and Christina Ricci as Eli's cynical sister. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Better Than Chocolate is a lesbian love story. Walking home from an evening at the lesbian club 'Cat's Ass,' Maggie is confronted by a gang of skinheads. Suddenly a minibus comes to a screeching halt and out jumps Kim. The skins move on, and Maggie thanks Kim, who watches her go. This is their first meeting. Maggie has recently dropped out of law school and now works in a women's shop. To avoid a confrontation with her mother, she makes up a success story and tells her that she's living in a beautiful apartment. As her mother is having her difficulties with her second husband, she decides to take her young son and come to live with Maggie for a while. Meanwhile, Maggie is housesitting the apartment of a female performer on tour. As fate might have it, she runs across Kim again and they find themselves at the new apartment making love in the shower -- at which moment Maggie's mother and little brother step in. The film was screened as part of the Panorama section of the 49th International Berlin Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide