Top 40 Best Lesbian Movies of all Time

Top 40 Best Lesbian Movies of all Time

Top 40 Best Lesbian Movies of all Time

Discover the power of love and identity through cinema, as we unfold the top 40 best lesbian Movies of all time. Lesbian movies have shaped culture, challenged norms, and told stories that matter.

This list celebrates the top 40 best lesbian films of all time. From groundbreaking classics to fresh voices, these movies capture passion, struggle, and joy.

Dive in and explore stories that inspire and resonate. In this post, you’ll find must-watch films that define lesbian cinema’s rich history and vibrant future

Top 40 Best Same-Sex films of all Times

Here is a comprehensive list of significant 40 best lesbian movies spanning various eras, genres, and countries. Each entry includes the film’s theme, key stars, and release date.

Note that “comprehensive” in cinema is always evolving, but this list aims to cover major influential, popular, and critically acclaimed works.

Important Considerations:

  • Representation Varies: Early films often depicted tragedy or coded subtext. Modern films offer more diverse and positive representations, though complex stories persist.
  • Spoiler Alert: Themes sometimes reveal core plot points.
  • Subjectivity: “Significance” and themes are interpretations.

The Alphabetical List:

  1. All Over Me (1997)
    • Theme: Teenage self-discovery, toxic friendships, finding first love amidst urban grunge and personal turmoil.
    • Starring: Alison Folland, Tara Subkoff, Leisha Hailey
    • Release: 1997
  2. Ammonite (2020)
    • Theme: Historical romance, repressed desire, intellectual connection, and passion ignited between two women in 1840s England.
    • Starring: Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan
    • Release: 2020
  3. The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant) (1972)
    • Theme: Intense, claustrophobic power dynamics, obsession, manipulation, and emotional dependency within lesbian relationships.
    • Starring: Margit Carstensen, Hanna Schygulla
    • Release: 1972
  4. Blue is the Warmest Colour (La Vie d’Adèle – Chapitres 1 & 2) (2013)
    • Theme: Intense coming-of-age and first love, exploring sexual awakening, passion, heartbreak, class differences, and personal growth over years.
    • Starring: Adèle Exarchopoulos, Léa Seydoux
    • Release: 2013
  5. Bound (1996)
    • Theme: Neo-noir thriller; a passionate affair between an ex-con and a mobster’s girlfriend fuels a dangerous scheme to steal money and escape their oppressive lives.
    • Starring: Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon, Joe Pantoliano
    • Release: 1996
  6. But I’m a Cheerleader (1999)
    • Theme: Satirical comedy-drama critiquing conversion therapy; a cheerleader discovers her sexuality at a “straight camp” and rebels.
    • Starring: Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, RuPaul Charles
    • Release: 1999
  7. Carol (2015)
    • Theme: Forbidden romance in 1950s New York; a sophisticated older woman and a young photographer navigate societal pressures, class, and profound desire.
    • Starring: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara
    • Release: 2015
  8. The Children’s Hour (1961)
    • Theme: Tragedy and societal ruin caused by a child’s lie accusing two female teachers of having a lesbian affair, exploring homophobia’s devastating impact.
    • Starring: Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, James Garner
    • Release: 1961
  9. Cloudburst (2011)
    • Theme: Road-trip comedy-drama; an elderly lesbian couple escapes a nursing home to get married in Canada, encountering quirky characters and confronting mortality.
    • Starring: Olympia Dukakis, Brenda Fricker
    • Release: 2011
  10. Desert Hearts (1985)
    • Theme: A landmark romantic drama; a repressed professor’s divorce leads to a transformative and passionate affair with a free-spirited sculptor in 1950s Reno.
    • Starring: Helen Shaver, Patricia Charbonneau
    • Release: 1985
  11. Disobedience (2017)
    • Theme: Forbidden desire reignited within a repressive Orthodox Jewish community in London; exploring faith, family, and the power of connection.
    • Starring: Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams, Alessandro Nivola
    • Release: 2017
  12. D.E.B.S. (2004)
    • Theme: Campy spy comedy-action; a star student spy falls for a glamorous criminal mastermind she’s supposed to capture, leading to romance and chaos.
    • Starring: Sara Foster, Jordana Brewster, Meagan Good
    • Release: 2004
  13. The Favourite (2018)
    • Theme: Dark historical comedy-drama; intense rivalry and manipulation between two women vying for the affections and influence of a capricious Queen Anne in 18th-century England.
    • Starring: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz
    • Release: 2018
  14. Fire (1996)
    • Theme: Forbidden love and sexual awakening between two neglected sisters-in-law in a traditional, patriarchal Indian household.
    • Starring: Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das
    • Release: 1996
  15. Foxfire (1996)
    • Theme: Rebellion, female bonding, and empowerment; four teenage girls form a secret society after bonding over shared experiences of abuse and oppression.
    • Starring: Angelina Jolie, Hedy Burress, Jenny Lewis, Jenny Shimizu
    • Release: 1996
  16. Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
    • Theme: Deep, lifelong friendship and implied romantic love between two women in the American South (based on Fannie Flagg’s novel), framed by a modern narrative.
    • Starring: Kathy Bates, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary-Louise Parker, Jessica Tandy (Framing story)
    • Release: 1991 (Subtextual/Interpreted)
  17. The Handmaiden (Ah-ga-ssi) (2016)
    • Theme: Erotic psychological thriller with multiple twists; a con involving a Korean heiress and her Japanese handmaiden evolves into unexpected passion and intricate deception in 1930s Korea.
    • Starring: Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, Ha Jung-woo
    • Release: 2016
  18. High Art (1998)
    • Theme: Obsession, addiction, and the blurred lines between art and life; a young editor becomes entangled with a reclusive, drug-addicted lesbian photographer.
    • Starring: Ally Sheedy, Radha Mitchell, Patricia Clarkson
    • Release: 1998
  19. Imagine Me & You (2005)
    • Theme: Romantic comedy; love at first sight strikes a bride on her wedding day – with the female florist, leading to confusion and choices about true happiness.
    • Starring: Piper Perabo, Lena Headey, Matthew Goode
    • Release: 2005
  20. Kyss Mig (Kiss Me) (2011)
    • Theme: Intense, forbidden romance between two women who meet at their parents’ engagement party, exploring family complications and undeniable passion.
    • Starring: Ruth Vega Fernandez, Liv Mjönes
    • Release: 2011
  21. The Kids Are All Right (2010)
    • Theme: Family dynamics challenged; two teenagers conceived via sperm donor seek out their biological father, causing upheaval in their long-term lesbian moms’ marriage.
    • Starring: Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson
    • Release: 2010
  22. Lianna (1983)
    • Theme: Early John Sayles drama; a married woman with children discovers her sexuality and leaves her husband for a female professor, facing societal and personal consequences.
    • Starring: Linda Griffiths, Jane Hallaren
    • Release: 1983
  23. Lost and Delirious (2001)
    • Theme: Intense, tragic boarding school drama; passionate love between two roommates is shattered by one’s fear of societal judgment, leading to devastating consequences.
    • Starring: Piper Perabo, Jessica Paré, Mischa Barton
    • Release: 2001
  24. Mädchen in Uniform (Girls in Uniform) (1931)
    • Theme: Groundbreaking pre-Code drama; a sensitive student’s forbidden love for her compassionate teacher in a repressive Prussian boarding school.
    • Starring: Hertha Thiele, Dorothea Wieck
    • Release: 1931
  25. Monster (2003)
    • Theme: Biographical crime drama; the tragic, complex relationship between serial killer Aileen Wuornos and her young lover Selby Wall.
    • Starring: Charlize Theron (Oscar winner), Christina Ricci
    • Release: 2003
  26. Mulholland Drive (2001)
    • Theme: Surreal neo-noir mystery; a fragmented, dreamlike Hollywood narrative where a passionate lesbian affair is central to the film’s enigmatic, dark core.
    • Starring: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring
    • Release: 2001
  27. My Summer of Love (2004)
    • Theme: Intense, transformative summer romance between two very different teenage girls in rural England, exploring class, fantasy, and manipulation.
    • Starring: Natalie Press, Emily Blunt
    • Release: 2004
  28. Pariah (2011)
    • Theme: Coming-of-age drama; a Black teenager in Brooklyn embraces her identity as a lesbian while navigating family expectations, first love, and finding her place.
    • Starring: Adepero Oduye, Kim Wayans, Aasha Davis
    • Release: 2011
  29. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu) (2019)
    • Theme: Exquisite historical romance; an artist commissioned to paint a reluctant bride’s portrait in secret leads to profound, silent love and artistic collaboration in 18th-century France.
    • Starring: Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel
    • Release: 2019
  30. Rafiki (2018)
    • Theme: Forbidden love and resilience; two young women fall in love in a conservative Nairobi neighborhood, facing intense societal and familial opposition.
    • Starring: Samantha Mugatsia, Sheila Munyiva
    • Release: 2018
  31. Saving Face (2004)
    • Theme: Romantic comedy-drama; a Chinese-American surgeon navigates her relationship with a dancer while dealing with her pregnant, unwed mother moving in, exploring cultural and generational clashes.
    • Starring: Michelle Krusiec, Lynn Chen, Joan Chen
    • Release: 2004
  32. Set It Off (1996)
    • Theme: Heist drama; features a significant subplot where one of the four friends (bank robbers) is a lesbian navigating her identity amidst poverty and crime.
    • Starring: Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, Kimberly Elise (Queen Latifah’s character, Cleo, is a lesbian)
    • Release: 1996
  33. Show Me Love (Fucking Åmål) (1998)
    • Theme: Authentic, raw teen romance; the unlikely connection between a popular girl and an outcast in a stifling Swedish small town.
    • Starring: Alexandra Dahlström, Rebecca Liljeberg
    • Release: 1998
  34. Tangerine (2015)
    • Theme: Raucous comedy-drama shot on iPhones; follows two transgender sex workers (one of whom has a female partner) over a chaotic Christmas Eve in LA.
    • Starring: Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian
    • Release: 2015
  35. Tell It to the Bees (2018)
    • Theme: Period romance; a doctor and a struggling single mother develop a secret, tender relationship in 1950s small-town Scotland, facing prejudice.
    • Starring: Anna Paquin, Holliday Grainger
    • Release: 2018
  36. Thelma (2017)
    • Theme: Supernatural thriller/coming-of-age; a sheltered student develops intense, uncontrollable powers linked to her repressed sexuality and religious trauma after falling for a female classmate.
    • Starring: Eili Harboe, Kaya Wilkins
    • Release: 2017
  37. Tipping the Velvet (2002) (TV Miniseries)
    • Theme: Victorian-era adaptation; follows a young oyster girl’s journey of sexual discovery and identity through various relationships and roles in London’s music halls and underground.
    • Starring: Rachael Stirling, Keeley Hawes, Anna Chancellor
    • Release: 2002
  38. Vita & Virginia (2018)
    • Theme: Biographical romance; depicts the intense, intellectual, and romantic relationship between authors Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West in 1920s England.
    • Starring: Elizabeth Debicki, Gemma Arterton
    • Release: 2018
  39. Watermelon Woman (1996)
    • Theme: Groundbreaking mockumentary/drama; a Black lesbian filmmaker researches a forgotten Black actress from 1930s films, exploring race, sexuality, and hidden histories.
    • Starring: Cheryl Dunye
    • Release: 1996
  40. When Night Is Falling (1995)
    • Theme: Romance; a repressed professor engaged to a minister finds her life turned upside down by a passionate, free-spirited circus performer.
    • Starring: Pascale Bussières, Rachael Crawford
    • Release: 1995

Honorable Mentions / Notable Films: Go Fish (1994), I Can’t Think Straight (2008), The World Unseen (2007), Margarita with a Straw (2014), The Half of It (2020), Happiest Season (2020), Booksmart (2019 – subplot), Benedetta (2021), Crush (2022), Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (2019 – Bollywood), Yes or No (2010 – Thailand).

This list provides a strong foundation for exploring lesbian cinema. The landscape continues to grow richer and more diverse every year! Enjoy your viewing.

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