Quality small movies with gay content

Here's the first one: Storytelling, from the director of Happiness and Welcome To The Dollhouse. College and high school serve as the backdrop for two stories about dysfunction and personal turmoil. The second story has little gay content.

Liked the writing.. Among its actors are Paul Giamatti and John Goodman.

Is Go too obvious a choice? The revelation that the characters played by Jay Mohr and Scott Wolf (in all their 2000 hotness) were secret lovers made me swoon from the impure thoughts flooding in.

The Leather Boys (Sidney J. Furie, 1964) with Rita Tushingham and Dudley Sutton. The first half or so is a satire of English working-class values, then a gay storyline takes over. Given when it was made the film has a more supportive argument for gay rights than usual at the time; it also has a rather devastating ending which acknowledges the hatred of gay people. Rita Tushingham is spectacular. Very much in the kitchen sink style.

Bittersweet Waters - Mexican movie about the relationship between a gay man and his soon-to-be-married (to a woman) lover.

Get Real

Doing Time on Maple Drive was a made-for-television movie from 1992. It’s excellent. Jim Carrey received recognition at the time for his dramatic performance as the alcoholic brother, but all of the cast are outstanding.

I generally like stuff that's *different.*

C.R.A.Z.Y. - A real gem. Just a wonderful movie. Probably my favorite overall.

Shelter - I saw this when it first came out and it was the first time I'd seen this kind of a movie about these kinds of people.

Broadway Damage - It holds a special place in my heart for mimicking my first years in NYC. Also a young Gary Janetti (future Excec producer of Will & Grace) pops up.

Mambo Italiano - Gay Italian Canadian guy comes out. Features the late Paul Sorvino as his dad. I just liked how snappy it was. Totally seems like a "play" in some ways.

A Touch of Pink - Kyle MacLachlan as the "spirit" of Cary Grant, helping a partnered, gay, Canadian, Muslim deal with his mother when she comes to visit and doesn't know he's gay.

"Outrageous" Craig Russell drag queen flick from 1977. Hard to find now.

R9 - It's on Tubi. Long live Karen Black '75

Great information. Sadly, can't seem to find many of these titles on any of the streaming services that I subscribe to (HBO Max, AMZ Prime, Netflix).

Mambo Italiano very cute movie. And Luke Kirby (who is hot AF now, is adorable in this movie)

Some of My Best Friends Are...

Not a great flick, but entertaining enough. Most memorable for having plenty of future names in the cast (such as Gil Girard, Gary Sandy, Fannie Flagg, and Rue McClanahan), and a fascinating snapshot of a certain time and place (Gay West Village in 1971). Makes an interesting companion piece to the original Boys in the Band.

Enjoyed Fair Haven. You can stream it on Tubi.

Another vote for Get Real. It's one of my favorite gay movies ever, and it's available for streaming lots of places.

4th Man Out, Holding the Man, God's Own Country, Giant Little Ones, The Imitation Game, The Skeleton Twins, Gayby, Keep The Lights On, Lazy Eye

A Different Story, with Meg Foster & Perry King. I wrote on another thread that when he was doing PR for the movie he came into my restaurant. The way the sun hit him and that profile practically floored me. Not much action, it was 1978, and they fall in love (Boo!) but he powered many fantasies.

I’m not sure it’s considered a small film, but The Celluloid Closet is a must-see documentary if you haven’t watched it.

Beautiful Thing

Hi, there! I'm somewhat of a LGBT film aficionado. I've seen hundreds of them. And I love giving recommendations to anyone who will listen. Here are a few based on the streaming services you mentioned at [R11]:

Amazon Prime: A Very English Scandal (limited series) And Then We Danced Benjamin Big Eden Chuck & Buck God's Own Country The Harvesters Keep the Lights On Knife + Heart Nobody's Watching Out in the Dark Pride (2014) Priest Test Walk on Water

HBO Max: Beach Rats Behind the Candelabra Beau Travail Fox and His Friends Happy Together It's A Sin My Beautiful Laundrette The Normal Heart Sublet Victim Welcome to Chechnya

Netflix: Alex Strangelove The Boys in the Band (remake) Closet Monster Cobalt Blue Dance of the 41 Dear Ex Edge of Seventeen I Am Jonas Operation Hyacinth Other People The Power of the Dog (of course, obviously) Straight Up Your Name Engraved Herein

In my opinion, Tubi (a free streaming service) has the best assortment of LGBT movies. I'd also check there, if you don't mind ads. Here a few recommendations:

BPM (Beats Per Minute) Free Fall The Hanging Garden Heartstone In a Glass Cage Maurice North Sea Texas Parting Glances The Pass Rift Socrates The Strong Ones Tremors (Temblores) Undertow (Contracorriente) Urbania

Ugh... R19 here. Sorry, I'm new to posting here. And I didn't realize it would post like that (without commas). Let's try that again.

Amazon Prime: A Very English Scandal (limited series), And Then We Danced, Benjamin, Big Eden, Chuck & Buck, God's Own Country, The Harvesters, Keep the Lights On, Knife + Heart, Nobody's Watching, Out in the Dark, Pride (2014), Priest (1995), Test, Walk on Water.

HBO Max: Beach Rats, Behind the Candelabra, Beau Travail, Fox and His Friends, Happy Together, It's A Sin (limited series), My Beautiful Laundrette, The Normal Heart, Sublet, Victim (1950), Welcome to Chechnya.

Netflix: Alex Strangelove, The Boys in the Band (remake), Closet Monster, Cobalt Blue, Dance of the 41, Dear Ex, Edge of Seventeen, I Am Jonas, Operation Hyacinth, Other People, The Power of the Dog (of course, obviously), Straight Up, Your Name Engraved Herein.

Tubi: BPM (Beats Per Minute), Free Fall (Freier Fall), The Hanging Garden, Heartstone, In a Glass Cage, Maurice, North Sea Texas, Parting Glances, The Pass, Rift, Socrates, The Strong Ones, Tremors (Temblores), Undertow (Contracorriente), Urbania.

Thank you R19 and R20. I have seen or am planning on seeing all the ones you mentioned on HBO Max.

Also, I was going to make some type of snarky remark about your lack of commas @R19 (this is the DL, after all).

This quirky artsy film pset in the Midwest in interesting.

SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS ARE... is pretty terrible actually. Pretty dreary throughout, very low-budget, and not even much humor. Like THE BOYS IN THE BAND, I suppose it's somewhat accurate in depicting gay bar life at the time, but it just drags on and on. Rue McLanahan plays a fag hag and Gary Sandy plays her self-hating "I'm not a fag" gigolo. Fannie Flagg is fun though. At the end, a couple of janitorial workers enter the bar in the morning to do their jobs and find one patron passed out on the floor; one of them says "Who cares, it's just a fag." Lovely.

A DIFFERENT STORY is totally risible - a gay man and a lesbian wind up having sex and falling in love. It was practically a recruitment film for Exodus. Even Perry King's hotness didn't help. Meg Foster plays the lesbian character who is generally mopey and miserable before she fucks King.

Neither film is worth watching unless you're a gay film completist.

After the Fall - a(nother) gay adaptation of Pride & Prejudice.

Brokeback came out nearly 20 years ago.

Thank you, R10!

"Is no one straight anymore?" "Just my father in Wyoming."

Supplementing R20 's lists

Included with Prime: Firebird (2022), Getting Go (2013), Goodbye Seventies (2020), Just Friends (2018), Mario (2018), Those People (2016)

Available to rent on Prime: B&B (2017), Beautiful Something (2016), Being 17 (2016), Breaking Fast (2020), Handsome Devil (2016), The Man with the Answers (2021), Mascarpone (2021), Moffie (2021), Mysterious Skin (2005), Summer of 85 (2020), The Way He Looks (2014), Weekend (2011)

If you have a library card, see if it can be used at Kanopy.com. They have a lot of gay-themed films and shorts, including many foreign language films (Come Undone, Coming Out, Esteros, 4 Moons, Sauvage).

[quote]A DIFFERENT STORY is totally risible - a gay man and a lesbian wind up having sex and falling in love. It was practically a recruitment film for Exodus. Even Perry King's hotness didn't help. Meg Foster plays the lesbian character who is generally mopey and miserable before she fucks King.

It's interplanetary in its strangeness. Would be a good double bill with PARTNERS, a wacky comedy (!) about a serial killer of gay men. Straight Ryan O'Neal is teamed with gay John Hurt to solve the mystery. Homophobic beyond belief — the poster even has Hurt aiming a woman's hair dryer at his head and O'Neal looking at him in disgust, holding a gun to his own head.

I saw PARTNERS in the theatre. I was 17. It’s an incredibly offensive, homophobic film.

Partners was dated when it first came out. It was made for people who didn't think Crusing was homophobic enough.

For all:

If you are presenting a list of items, you must enter a blank line between each item. A carriage return is not enough.

My contribution is 'End of the Century.' "Two men meet in Barcelona and after spending a day together they realize that they have already met twenty years ago."

'Twilight of the Gods' (1996), with Marton Csokas. Short film, 16 minutes. Full-frontal nudity.

Thanks for the pro tip R31! And I concur. End of the Century is definitely worth the rental.

Mysterious Skin has to be one of the most hauntingly sad movies I've ever seen.

Chuck & Buck, Suck & Fuck

Mike White is brilliant in it.

[quote]Meg Foster plays the lesbian character who is generally mopey and miserable

You could have just said "Meg Foster plays the lesbian character" and we would have understood the rest.

A Different Story and Partners are fucking terrible

Taboo (Gohatto) - samurai homosex

^Why, those!

Tom at the farm Presque Rien Les Nuits Sauvages Quand on a 17 ans

Just Friends is one of the best, sweetest romances, but with an edge and heart. It’s not just about the two lead, it’s also about their families.

Handsome Devil is a misleading title, but this Irish school-set dramedy hits all the right notes, and refreshingly, it’s not a romance — it’s about friendship and growth.

Desert Hearts on HBO Max and Criterion Channel. Love the soundtrack.

Desert Hearts is really good

[quote]Presque Rien

The sex scenes in this one are so explicit, it wouldn't take much to convince me Stephane Rideau and Jeremie Elkaim were actually fucking.

That's Not Us (2015) - a group of gay friends go to a vacation cottage for a weekend. Not based on classic literature so far as I'm aware.

All Over the Guy (2001) - Dan Bukatinsky indie rom-com that's the closest spiritual ancestor of this past autumn's Bros.

Burnt Money (2000) - Argentinean crime drama about a m/m couple and their fellow gangsters.

I Think I Do (1998) - soapy screwball comedy starring Alexis Arquette, Tuc Watkins, Guillermo Diaz, and Lauren Velez.

Wild Reeds (1994) - beautiful coming-of-age story set during the French-Algerian War.

^ I liked Wild Reeds

[quote] The sex scenes in this one are so explicit, it wouldn't take much to convince me Stephane Rideau and Jeremie Elkaim were actually fucking.

I hope they were. I'd like to think they enjoyed filming the beach sex scene at least as much as I enjoyed watching it in the theater.

Burnt Money is so dead sexy.

I remember liking a small British movie called Like It Is, with two working-class guys, one of whom is a boxer. One of them had a faghag played by Dani Behr, who would go on to host Boy Meets Boy.

And that's BULLSHIT!

I gave "Are we okay?" a 5-star rating. It's a little Turkish film with a gay protagonist. But the movie is not about titillation though the actor is very easy on the eyes. Its about his brotherly relationship with a quadriplegic. Fantastic story telling, brilliantly acted by the actor portraying the quadriplegic. It's Turkish title is "Amam mıyız?"

Sorry typo..Its Tamam Miyiz, not Amam miyiz

There's an Argentinian movie called Plan B which is about a guy who loses his girlfriend to a guy he (erroneously) believes is bi, and so he pretends to be bi to split them up and get the girl back...except the two guys end up falling for each other anyway.

It's slow and talky, but the two guys have chemistry and the scene were the first guy confesses his feelings to the second is incredibly sweet.

A Home At The End of The World. Ignore the bad wigs.

R51! Thank you!

I've been trying to think of 'Plan B'.' Great movie.

And one of the stars - Manuel Vignau - is also in another good small gay movie - 'Hawaii.' Slow, and quiet, but very good.

{quote] A Home At The End of The World. Ignore the bad wigs.

I for one always did.

The Butcher’s Wife, 1991.

In a supporting role, Frances McDormand plays a lesbian & best friend of Jeff Daniels.

I don't know how we're defining "small", because we've had many other similar threads about gay films.

I've made other recommendations here of "smaller" movies, and I think this was a "bigger" film (whether budget or distribution), but one of the best "gay movies" I've seen - ever - is 'Eyes Wide Open' (Einayim Pekukhoth).

I thought The Inspection which is a recent movie by Elegance Bratton was excellent. Homeless gay youth joins the Marines in the shadow of dealing with a mother who cast him out at 16. Everything you expect to happen happens - he faces homophobia at boot camp (basically the whole movie is boot camp, ending in graduation), there's punishing drill sequences, there's the culture of masculinity, he perseveres and earns respect of his platoon. There's nothing new there in terms military movies or outsiders being out of place in institutions. But, it's remarkably well done and engaging. The ending is incredible - a real gut punch when the mom comes to her son's boot camp graduation. It's a multi-tiered seven or 10 minutes and the direction that you think it might go changes multiple times.

"Weekend" (2011) got critical acclaim but many people have not seen it. It's my favorite gay film.

I should clarify. I said "homeless gay youth joins the Marines." The character becomes homeless when he's in his teens, but joins the Marines at 25.

R45. Thank you for mentioning All Over the Guy. And YES it's very similar to Bros. But the two leads are so much more appealing.

I don't know, I think I'd give Luke Macfarlane a slight edge over Richard Ruccolo, and while Dan Bucatinsky isn't nearly as annoying as Billy Eichner, he's also not nearly as attractive.

[quote]I remember liking a small British movie called Like It Is, with two working-class guys, one of whom is a boxer.

I vaguely remember that one. Isn't there a pretty steamy outdoor love scene involving a portaged canoe? About the only thing I remember clearly is the main character's love interest asking Roger Daltry if he flew by their office on his broom, which concentrated more than half the movie's wit into one hilarious line.

R51 R53 Both "Plan B" and "Hawaii" were written & directed by Marco Berger. Two other films of his I would recommend are "Taekwondo" and "The Blond One".

"The Blond One" in particular shows his growth as an artist. It is far more moving and mature than his other films -- while still being haf.

[quote] "Weekend" (2011) got critical acclaim but many people have not seen it. It's my favorite gay film.

Does Abel Makkonen Tesfaye in it? Does he do full frontal?

R62

Thanks for mentioning Marco Berger's other films. His work is always worth seeing again.

I liked 'The Blond One' a lot (as well as 'Plan B' and 'Hawaii'.) Not so much 'Taekwondo', that I remember, so it's definitely time for another viewing.

Spetters. And anyone who's seen it knows the scene I'm thinking about...

Watching Kamikaze Hearts on Criterion Channel right now and finding Sharon Mitchell fascinating to watch.

Hablame de ti. Just saw this. A Very cute gay coming out movie from Mexico. The actors have a ton of chemistry and make a cute couple. It was surprisigly explicit too - considering how conservative Mexico is and it was obviously made for a teenage demographic.

Loved this thriller movie! The gay plot was surprisigly good. Some very hot sex scenes, some nudity and hot guys. What more do you want from a gay movie?

If you can find it somewhere (I saw it in its 1997-98 release and recently ordered the DVD from Amazon), check out Love and Death on Long Island. John Hurt plays a stuffy intellectual professor in London who accidentally sees a far-from-A-list American actor in a dumb teen sex comedy (the actor is played by Jason Priestley) and becomes obsessed with him. He takes a vacation to America and starts stalking the actor. It's funny and poignant, and obviously Mann-influenced, as the title suggests. It got good reviews, but it seemed to sink without a trace.

Here are some that I don't think have been mentioned yet, the first six from Britain:

Bedrooms and Hallways

Alive and Kicking

Hollow Reed

Pride

Prick Up Your Ears

The new film In from the Side

Tremors, set in Guatemala

Almodovar's Law of Desire, costarring a very young Antonio Banderas

The Cakemaker, set in Germany and Isreal

Kar Wei Wong's Happy Together

Gregg Araki's The Living End

Blackbird, based on Larry Duplechan's novel

Broken Hearts Club

And two made for TV: Consenting Adult and Our Sons

For some lesbian films:

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

Carmen & Lola

La Leyenda Negra

And two documentaries:

Word Is Out

Vito

To mention one series:

This Close, which has about 14 episodes for its two seasons

Also check out the miniseries Eyewitness

Loved this movie!

Dona Herlinda and Her Son

A charming Mexican film from 1985.

Bedrooms and Hallways left a bad taste in my mouth thanks to how Kevin McKidd's character ended up. Between that, Bob & Rose, and some other projects it seemed like there was a lot of pressure coming out of Great Britain at the turn of the millennium for gay men to put aside their deviant natures and settle down with women for a happy life.

R45 I loved "I Think I Do." Of course, I hadn't been out of college for very long, and I might have had a crush on an old friend from college who i wished wished would get back in touch and want to be gay with me. Regardless, I second your recommendation.

R75, I had the same reaction as you. I recall an interview with the director Rose Troche where she made some "everyone is bisexual" comment.

R75 - but you're missing the other twist in Bedrooms and Hallways.

Yes, the gay guy ended up with a woman.

But the "straight" guy he had been involved with ends up with one of the guys from the encounter group.

An Unusual Affair

Siberia and Him

Hawai’i, the Blond One, Plan B and Taekwondo all by Marco Berger are great movies. The sexual tension between the main actors feels palpable as their story develops. His directing style is slow and deliberate, but has you invested in the story.

Say Yes.

Fuck Youtube trailer links, just post the damn movie. OP, lots of hard to find, indie gay films can be streamed on OK, VK, Movies7, Putlocker SB, or Mubi. Use Cheap Charts website/app for deals on movies & tv shows available for purchase in he AppleTv store.

C.R.A.Z.Y., the 2005 French-Canadian film from director, Jean-Marc Vallée, who went on to direct Dallas Buyers Club, Wild, Demolition, and the HBO series Big Little Lies.

[quote]A young French Canadian, one of five boys in a conservative family in the 1960s and 1970s, struggles to reconcile his emerging identity with his father's values.

The film is available on HBO, but only dubbed in Spanish, instead of the original French.

[quote]The film is available on HBO, but only dubbed in Spanish, instead of the original French.

I have filed several Troubleshooting reports with HBO Max over the past few months, trying to get them to fix the audio, but to no avail. The Spanish dub is terrible, and pretty much ruins the film.

If you have access to the Kanopy streaming service through your library, check there. They have the correct French language version in high def -- and it's free! Otherwise, I recommend you rent it through another provider (Vudu or Amazon or YouTube). They all have the French audio.

It's a wonderful little film, and should be much better known than it is.

Before Night Falls and Second Skin, both with Javier Bardem.

Albatross

The Poet and The Boy

Method

Let’s see some ‘90s movies represented;

Maybe… Maybe Not. (You have to excuse the trailer. It was obviously made to entice straight Americans to see the film. It’s based on the comic strips of Ralf Konig.)

Jeffrey

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

Another vote for Shelter - it is my favorite.

And another vote for Tubi having the best collection of gay films. I subscribe to Netflix, HBOMax, Hulu and Amazon - and Tubi beats them all. The commercials breaks are not that bad for a free service.

C.R.A.Z.Y., the 2005 French-Canadian film from director, Jean-Marc Vallée, ... The film is available on HBO, but only dubbed in Spanish, instead of the original French.

I watched it a couple of weekends ago and really enjoyed it ... apart from the execrable Spanish dubbing.

^Sorry, I meant to quote that first sentence as a quote from R84, who I want to thank for the recommendation of the movie.

I would recommend the Falcon library. But there's nothing small about those.

Cibrail

The Wedding Banquet

Dirty Girl

Wild Reeds (I saw it in French class & had to race to the dorm & jack off)

Top Gun, or basically anything with Tom Cruise in it.

The Sum of Us

^ I liked it better when it was called The Cum in Us

Testosterone. 2003 movie with David Sutcliffe obsessed with Argentine guy. Sutcliffe is dreamy hot.

The Fourth Man

The Wedding Banquet

My Beautiful Laundrette

Prick Up Your Ears

R89, another vote for Tubi.

Even though there are some commercial breaks, the movies themselves are unedited and uncensored.

Daytrippers - Stanley Tucci, Anne Meara, Parker Posey

I too am enjoying movies on Tubi but I have watched two movies there that were labeled as LGBT and they weren't, I keep waiting for the guys to get it on with each other and it just never happens.

Saying yes to [R8] on "Shelter," just a lovely, heartfelt movie about SoCal gay surfers. Beautiful. And yes to [R58] on "Weekend," about how one relationship starts during a beautiful weekend of sex...

And if you haven't seen "God's Own Country," that's a must.

I’m also a fan of Shelter. I saw it years ago when it came out. Brad Rowe and Trevor Knight were excellent. I was sorry to learn that Trevor left acting for real estate.

Shelter is pretty highly rated even outside of Datalounge. Tina Holmes plays Zach's (Trevor Knight) sister was also Maggie in Edge of Seventeen - another movie I enjoyed. She also was in the last season of Six Feet Under. I agree it is a shame Trevor stopped acting!

I see I wrote Trevor Knight instead of Wright.

The Celluloid Closet

Common Threads

[quote] "Broadway Damage - It holds a special place in my heart for mimicking my first years in NYC. Also a young Gary Janetti (future Excec producer of Will & Grace) pops up."

You forgot to mention Mara "Young Christina Crawford" Hobel co-stars in "Broadway Damage"! It's an alright film. I enjoyed it.

Two new gay movies are both excellent:

Close from Belgium in French about two lifelong friends facing adolescence and the world outside their protective cocoon.

Of an Age is from Australia and it’s something of a relatable heartbreaker, raising the question does first love last for a moment or a lifetime.

‘Close’ (2022)

Written and Directed by Lukas Dhont

Go watch it. Prime Video. Not obviously gay. But you'll get it.

I loved The Fluffer as a gayling.

I enjoyed "The Daytrippers" — what a cast. Anne Meara, Parker Posey, Campbell Scott, Hope Davis, Marcia Gay Harden, Stanley Tucci, Liev Schreiber and on and on.

The "twist" may have been a surprise in the 1990s, but it's so telegraphed today. Still a fun movie. One of those art house movies produced by Steven Soderbergh that probably cost pocket change and was done by the actors out of love between their other projects.

"Testosterone. 2003 movie with David Sutcliffe obsessed with Argentine guy."

And that Argetine guy is played by none other than Trumptard Antonio Sabato Jr.

Has anyone mentioned The Queen yet? It's a backstage documentary of a drag contest in 1968, and it's campier and bitchier than Valley of the Dolls. RuPaul owes those guys some money.

When I'm Sixty-Four. Retired teacher and a taxi driver get to know each other. Lovely British film.

I started "C.R.A.Z.Y." last night and absolutely am loving it (the version on Kanopy in the original French Canadian). Never would have heard of it otherwise, so thank you, DL!

I just watched Shelter thanks to the recommendations. It was great and well done. I loved the soundtrack too.

A note about "C.R.A.Z.Y." — it's odd by today's standards, but it's representative of a time everyone smoked everywhere ... in the house, the car, at school, in front of their parents. It wasn't unusual for high school students to start smoking and a couple of scenes take place in the high school smoking area, which is unthinkable today. I guess kids just vape in the bathrooms.

& I started high school in 1985, & the year before we toured the school when we were middle school seniors. I was shocked there was a smoking section—for the students! They closed it a year or so later.

Lord of The Ants.

Bump for more suggestions.

Bonus points if you can identify where they can be streamed.

R109 R110 I watched Close yesterday. Beautiful movie, but so sad.

Eismayer (Austria 2022)

La dea fortuna (Italy, 2019)

Both films available for free online streaming.

"Tom at the Farm" was good and went in directions I didn't expect.

Another French-Canadian one.

This movie from Argentina, My Best Friend, is really good.