Top 10 Best Gay Movies of All Time

The Queer Cinema- Top 10 Gay Movies Of All Time

Dive into the heart of the cinema with the best Gay Movies. Experience the warmth of Gay love celebrated with the best Gay Movies. Let's see the top Gay Movies.

Life captured through the lens of a camera is often the life we dream of. Cinema expresses the desire of our hearts by creating a safe dimension where life is how we want it to be- Filled with love, care, support and acceptance. But life isn’t sunshine and daisies all the time, there needs to be a fair share of blues and grays. Let’s ride our way through the world of Gay cinema, celebrating the beautiful gay men community, captured and presented to us with utmost love and perfection. Here are the Top 10 Best Gay Movies of All Times for you to take a break and relax to.

Top 10 Gay Movies Of All Time

Call Me By Your Name, 2017

IMDb- 7.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes- 94%
Essence- Self-discovery, First Love, Summer Romance

Cinematic portrayal of a literary piece, Call Me By You Name, is an Academy Awards winner under multiple categories for the year 2018. The film’s portrayal of a tender love story between a 17-year old and a man way older led to some outrage as the legal age of consent is 16 or 18 in some countries whereas in Italy( where the whole story revolves) it is 14!! However, Call Me By Your Name stands as one of the most loved art pieces despite the outrage and controversies due to its breathtaking cinematography, splendid screen presence by the actors and remarkable storytelling.

Is it better to speak or die? Call me by your name is a saga of first love set in the summer of 1983 in Northern Italy depicting a passionate relationship between 17-year-old Elio Perlman and 24-year-old graduate student Oliver who is also working as an intern for Elio’s father. Their desire for each other awakens and grows over the course of summer and ends up altering their lives forever.

Brokeback Mountains, 2005

IMDb- 7.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes- 88%
Essence- Love, Identity, Societal Norms and Expectations, Taboos

Three Academy Awards winner, Brokeback Mountain is a cutting edge western romantic film which brought LGBTQ community to the center stage in the mainstream cinema industry. It is regarded as a groundbreaking and revolutionary take of cinema on the taboos around the gay and the rest of the LGBTQ community displaying a deep, emotional love story.

During the summer of 1963, the isolated job as shepherds on the Brokeback Mountain led the bond between Ennis and Jack to deepen over a course of time eventually leading to a secretive affair. Their lives resumed after the summer as they struggle to maintain their tie juggling with their daily lives keeping up with the expectations of the society by marrying women, having families,etc for decades. The film portrays the pain and joy, emotions, societal pressure, and challenges revolving around the homosexual soulmates’ lifes with strong storytelling and powerful screen presence by the actors.

Moonlight, 2016

IMDb- 7.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes- 98%
Essence- Self-Discovery, Difficult Childhood, Absent Parental Figures, Social Isolation.

Moonlight is the screen adaptation of an unpublished semi-autobiographical play "In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue" by Tarell Alvin McCraney. With its exceptional and magnificent storytelling, screenplay and cinematography, Moonlight won the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Supporting actor and Best Adapted Screenplay in 2017. Due to its deep emotional display of the events and authenticity, Moonlight made a significant impact in the industry of contemporary cinema.

The film covers the different stages of Chiron’s life where it shows his difficult childhood, primarily due to the troubled relationship with his mother who battles drug addiction. As he grows older he discovers his sexuality on the other end of the spectrum and struggles emotionally due to the expectations of masculinity imposed on him by society.

The Normal Heart, 2014

IMDb- 7.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes- 94%
Essence- Gay Advocacy, HIV/AIDS Activism, Loss, Grief

Emmy Award winner, The Normal Heart, received positive reactions from the audience for its impactful picturisation of the hardships and struggles faced by the HIV/AIDS activists and those who were affected by it.

Ned Weeks, a Gay Activist and a dedicated scribe, was highly concerned with the mysterious illness claiming the members of the Gay community at a noticeable speed. Ned was set on a mission to raise awareness about the illness and the measures that can be taken to combat the situation. Even after facing strong resistance from the politicians, public, media and the community itself, Ned along with his friends kept fighting restlessly towards the war against the epidemic.

A Single Man, 2009

IMDb- 7.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes- 86%
Essence- Death, Loss, Grief, Isolation, Loneliness

Critically acclaimed A Single Man, portrays the grief people feel after the loss of their loved ones. With its soulful storytelling and cinematography, A Single Man captures the attention of the viewers and enables them to associate with the feelings and emotions of the protagonist.

The plot of the movie follows the life of a British professor who struggles with grief, isolation and loneliness post the death of his beloved partner. The film explores the journey of the professor’s emotions he feels as he revisits the memories of his lover. Further in the movie we watch him interacting with various people which aids him to contemplate the meaning of life and death and the set of emotions.

God’s own Country, 2017

IMDb- 7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes- 98%
Essence- Personal Growth, Acceptance, Human Connection, Intimacy, Societal Expectations.

Multiple awards and nominations scoring God’s Own Country illustrates a delicate love story set on the rural lands of Yorkshire. The film received love for its fearless and authentic screenplay by the actors, beautiful, empathetic, and understated writing and the strong connection that the viewers felt even during the wordless scenes.

God’s Own Country revolves around a young shepherd named Johnny Saxby residing in the rural terrains of Yourkshire, England. Isolated sheep farmer leads a repressed life numbing his frustration with alcohol and sex but all this takes a turn when a Romanian migrant worker, Gheorghe, is hired at the farms. Initially, Johnny remains indifferent and hostile towards Gheorghe but later ignites an intimate bond between both of them changing the course of their paths.

Maurice, 1987

IMDb- 7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes- 82%
Essence- Societal Expectations, Sexual identity introspection, Emotional Turmoil

Coming from an era of when LGBTQ community was a taboo, Maurice received exceptional love and support from the audience for its approach to bring the sensitive topic into the limelight so gracefully. While the film Lowkey did not do well at the box office, in the later years it came out as one of the most influential films for the LGBTQ community.

The story unfolds with Maurice trying to navigate his homosexuality during the time when it was all considered taboo and illegal. As he goes to the university, he meets Clive and develops romantic relationships with him. But as Clive goes on to marry a woman for the sake of societal acceptance, Maurice eventually meets Alec who helps him in bringing out his true inner self and pursue happiness defying the society.

Matthias & Maxime, 2019

IMDb- 6.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes- 63%
Essence- Friendship, Sexuality, Self Discovering, Identity

Receiving praise from thousands of people, Matthias & Maxime is a romantic drama taking the viewers on a ride across the path of friendship, leading to a bond of unexpected immense love.

Matthias and Maxime were two childhood friends who were part of the same friend group during adulthood. A kiss for the camera changes the course of their friendship leading to a series of events which leave them questioning their feelings giving them mixed emotions through the course of self discovery.

Weekend, 2011

IMDb- 7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes- 95%
Essence- Emotional Intimacy and Vulnerability, Transient Connections and Relationships

Multiple awards winner, Weekend is a beautifully acted and directed indie drama displaying sensitive exploration of love and emotions and deep connection and relationship between two men developed in a very brief course of time period.

The film follows the intimate connection developed between Russell, a lifeguard and Glen, an artist over a brief interaction. Across the weekend both men engage in deep conversations, steering their emotions towards each other. This encounter tests their perceptions about love, intimacy and relationships and makes them contemplate the possibility of establishing a future together spanning more than a brief one-night stand.

The Birdcage, 1996

IMDb- 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes- 84%
Essence- Societal Expectations, Family Dynamics, Acceptance

The Birdcage comes forth presenting societal norms, and expectations regarding relationships and sexuality with a witty and humorous satire. The movie received audience praise for their hilarious and heartwarming approach to deliver the message of love and acceptance of the men in the gay community.

The story revolves around a gay couple, Armand Goldman and Albert, and their hilarious attempts to hide their identity and lifestyle from their son’s(Val) fiance’s(Barbara) conservative parents(Senator Kevin Keely and Louise) as they arrive before time to meet them.

These are just the few classics on the list of the top gay movies because let’s be honest can there be a movie featuring our dreamy gays be bad? Of course not! These movies made significant impacts on society and held the power to touch the hearts of the audiences no wonder how they managed to remain mass’s favourite for such a long time.

With movies like Aligarh and Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhan, even bollywood took its chance to take on the matter of supporting the LGBTQ community and spread the message of love and acceptance among the Indian audience.