3 Queer Romance Movies Perfect for Cuddle Season
by Chaya Milchtein
With the cold rolling in and seemingly here to stay, it’s definitely cuddle season! While the old favorites still around, I wanted to highlight 3 new queer romance movies for you to fall in love with.
End of a Century
What if you got the chance to spend time with someone you met 20 years ago? Who comes to mind first? Who’s the one who got away?
In this romance film, the main characters get this very opportunity in Barcelona. With a 94% rotten tomatoes rating, it’s a clear favorite you don’t want to miss. Written and directed by Lucio Castro, Juan Barberini and Ramón Pujol experience an undeniable attraction almost from the get go.
If you believe that you only have one soulmate, that the universe works in mysterious ways and love always wins, this is the film for you. As Rob Thomas says in his review on Rotten Tomatoes, “As we try and sort out truth from fantasy, “End of the Century” becomes an invigorating and poignant film about paths not taken, and how the choices we make end up defining who we are.”
Adam
While not classic romance film, Adam is a film about a cisgender young man’s coming of age, including love, life and difficult moments. Adam turns the queer coming out story on its head as Adam is mistaken for a trans man while spending time with his queer sister in NYC. Backed into a corner, he agrees with the lie and doesn’t correct his love interest.
Rhys Ernst, the director of this film, is a trans man who has written about the issues he had with the book the movie was based on and how he came to directing it. He says, “But in the journey from novel to screenplay, I could see how many of those issues had already been wrestled with directly, and that the main problems I had with the book were no longer present in the screenplay.”
If you are looking for a movie that will make you think, this is it. And if you’ve read the book, this doesn’t end the way the book does. “A re-occurring sentiment among myself and the trans folks on set was that this is the time to make things on our own terms.”
Tell it to the Bees
Based in 1950s Scotland, this lesbian romance film is perfect for historical movie buffs and those who like to envision what life would have been for queer people years ago. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2018 before being released in the US in 2019.
A young single mother loses her home when she can’t afford the payments. Her son’s doctor takes her in and the romance slowly begins to unfold. The doctor teaches the young boy about the bees they keep in the backyard, where the boy tells the bees about his families wants and secrets.
This film doesn’t just share about the beautiful love that develops between these two women. It delves into some of the hard truths about the 1950s in Scotland and how queer people were treated. It’s the perfect film for someone who wants to get that nice love feeling from watching a romance but doesn’t lose its authenticity.
About the Author:
Chaya Milchtein is the driving force behind Mechanic Shop Femme. As an automotive educator, speaker and writer, she’s made it her life’s mission to educate women and LGBT people about their cars. Her website also highlights her work on her other passion: empowering women to live their best lives in the bodies they have, through fashion and modeling. Chaya’s work has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Go Magazine, and others. She lives with her fiancée and tortoise in Wisconsin. Follow her on twitter @mechanicfemme.
