Moira Macdonald | The Seattle Times (TNS) It’s still Pride Month, so here’s a roundup of some of my favorite LGBTQ+-themed movies, from the many that I’ve reviewed in the past 20 years or so. But don’t think of them just as Pride watching; all of these titles — each of them, at their hearts, about love — make for great viewing, any time. “ Beginners ” (2011, rated R).
The late Christopher Plummer won his only Oscar for this wise, wistful comedy about a man who comes out as gay just a few years before his death, and about his son (Ewan McGregor) coming to terms with his father’s loss. Its gentle message is that we’re all beginners at love — and all we can do is believe in it. (Streaming on Prime Video) “ Blue Is the Warmest Color ” (2013, rated NC-17).
Yes, it’s long (watch it when you have three hours), but this French film about a young woman named Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos) embarking on her first romance is both sensual — the women’s bodies are lit like sculptures — and moving. Adèle has a way of gazing at the world as if it’s full of possibility; she’s not yet a fully formed person, but an intriguing beginning. (AMC+) “ Brokeback Mountain ” (2005, rated R).
Ang Lee’s film, based on Annie Proulx’s short novel, broke all of our hearts back in 2005, with Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as a pair of cowboys in 1960s Wyoming who know that their love is forbidden. Its central image couldn’t be more prosaic — two worn-soft.
