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The melodrama here simply places The Color Purple firmly in the 80s movie canon.

8 Victor/Victoria (1982)

MGM

Victor/Victoria finds Julie Andrews as Victoria Grant, a singer having trouble finding work. The fact that the film was even made – not just because of its queerness, but more because it is so critical of government policy – is remarkable in itself, making Quest for Love noteworthy in a historical sense.

Beautiful Mystery is a Japanese ‘pink film’ (a term used to describe a type of Japanese film with explicit or erotic content).

In the Swedish-language film, a queer woman named Valerie struggles to cope while under the eye of her repressive father on the eve of WWII in Helsinki. She isn’t a caricature or a threat to anyone and this makes her a milestone moment in LGBTQ+ cinema.

9 The Color Purple (1985)

Warner Bros. From a queer perspective, the film’s casting is both progressive and interesting; cisgender actor Carmen Maura plays Tina, a trans woman, while trans actor Bibiana Fernández plays her cisgender niece. Law of Desire was Almodóvar’s first work centred on queer relationships, which he considers a key moment in his life and career.

Queer 80s: Cinema on the Brink of Global Change is on at the Barbican until June 26.

Design & LivingAnOther ListLGBTQ+FilmBarbican

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An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Independent studios were rising in number and prominence, so movies were being made on a smaller budget. Despite the actions of her cruel father and passive mother, she somehow finds the courage to follow her heart.

Helena Nogueira’s romance, Quest for Love, explores a lesbian romance on a backdrop of South African apartheid.

For the theater-inclined, this is the perfect dose of vigor and theatricality.

11 Another Country (1984)

Orion Classics

Another Country tells part of the fascinating story of Guy Burgess, a British diplomat who was also a Soviet spy. (Three of the films in the Barbican’s programme originate from countries that no longer exist.) As geopolitical tensions flared, war was never an unrealistic prospect.

He instead concentrates on a new project: a monologue starring his transgender sister, Tina. The relationships in this movie, both romantic and platonic, are laced with tenderness and warmth which makes the experience of watching Parting Glances extra immersive. The last decade has been a similarly seismic time for LGBTQ+ representation in film.

We see them spend time together in the present day and also in the past, which fleshes out their dynamics and grudges. Tuija-Maija Niskanen’s haunting period drama offers a different view into the coming out process. There are few movies that achieve the intense, engaging feel that is so prevalent here. When a businessman falls for Victoria’s persona, things get complicated.

Antonio, an uptight young man, falls in love with the director and becomes obsessively (and dangerously) consumed by passion. In a sense, Queer 80s is a rallying cry – a welcome reminder never to give up the fight.

Coming Out is exactly what it sounds like: a story about sexual awakening and discovery.

It stars James Wilby as Maurice, Hugh Grant as Clive, and Rupert Graves as Scudder. It premiered there on 9 November 1989, the same night that the Berlin Wall fell.

Tongues Untied depicts the Black, gay American experience during the 1980s. However, Joanne is still complex, sensitive, and real.

The pair quickly embark on a romance and become engaged to be married, but we soon discover that Philipp is conflicted about his sexuality.

gay 80s movies