Freeheld (2007 and 2015)

Gay Rights and Gay Marriage are the themes of both this documentary and feature film by the same name.

Documentary: A terminally ill New Jersey police officer struggles against city council's decision to deny the transfer of her pension to her domestic partner in documentary filmmaker Cynthia Wade's earnest look at one woman's fight for equal rights in the land of the free. Veteran lieutenant Laurel Hester is a police officer who has dedicated 23 years of her life to serving the community. Upon learning that she has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, Hester seeks to provide for longtime partner, Stacie Andree, by transferring her pension. A wrinkle arises in Hester's plan, however, when the elected officials of New Jersey county ("The Freeholders") deny Hester's humble request. Without transfer of the funds, Andree will lose the home that the couple has spent their lives building together. Now, as their friends and neighbors rally around in support of the couple, Hester is forced to spend her final days not simply enjoying the company of the one she holds dearest, but racing against the clock to ensure that the love of her life won't be destitute due to a broken and biased system. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi  2007.  36 minutes

The 2015 feature film starring Julianne Moore as Laurel and Ellen Page as Stacie did not get great reviews, but I saw it and found it moving and important.  It was well worth watching.

Gun Hill Road (2011)

Gun Hill Road played at Images Cinema (Williamstown, MA) on November 11, 2013.  It is a powerful, sometimes dark and painful story of a trans-sexual youth in a gritty NY neighborhood.  The film is sensitively done, moving and instructive.  The following is taken from the trailer.  If you are interested in these topics, rent it from Netflix.

About the Film

Gun Hill Road is the story of a family in transition. It is the story of a young man exploring his sexuality in an intolerant and judgmental world and his exploration's impact on his relationship with his parents and himself.

A film by writer/director Rashaad Ernesto Green, Gun Hill Road was a finalist for the esteemed Jury Award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and played at festivals globally in Spring 2011.

Starring Esai Morales (La Bamba, "Caprica") and Judy Reyes ("Scrubs"), and introducing Harmony Santana, Gun Hill Road will open theatrically on August 5, 2011.

Synopsis:

After three years in prison, Enrique (Esai Morales) returns home to the Bronx to find the world he knew has changed. His wife, Angela (Judy Reyes), struggles to hide an emotional affair, and his teenage son, Michael (Harmony Santana), explores a sexual transformation well beyond Enrique's grasp and understanding.

Unable to accept his child, Enrique clings to his masculine ideals while Angela attempts to hold the family together by protecting Michael. Still under the watchful eye of his parole officer (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.), Enrique must become the father he needs to be or, once again, risk losing his family and freedom.

Can a father's fierce love for his family overcome his street-hardened ideas about manhood and end the vicious cycle controlling his life? Writer/director Rashaad Ernesto Green's first feature film is an intricate portrait of a family divided told with sensitivity, gentle humor, and a deep understanding of the environment that shapes its people.

2011 86 minutes.  Available on Netflix.

Edie and Thea: A Very Long Engagement (2009)

Forty-two years of romance, struggle and shared adventures finally culminate in marriage for lifelong lesbian couple Edie and Thea, who met in the 1960s and stayed together through the turbulent decades of activism and social change that followed. Looking at pictures from their past, the women marvel at simple triumphs -- buying their first house together -- and reminisce about the constant fear of exposure they once felt.   2009  61 minutes

Thea was disabled due to multiple sclerosis which adds another dimension to this movie.

This is a gentle, moving documentary.

Pariah (2011)

Brooklyn teen Alike (Adepero Oduye) is a model child around her devoutly religious family, but she sheds the good-girl image to reveal a harder side during a nightclub excursion with butch pal Laura (Pernell Walker) in this coming-of-age tale of urban identity and sexual expression. With curfew looming and her parents none the wiser, Alike must catch the bus back home, where she faces the complex negotiation of her contradictory worlds.


DJE: This is a serious and fine film. It deals with the coming of age of a lesbian teenager in a gritty section of Brooklyn. For the most part, great acting that covers a tough subject.

A Single Man (2009)

From Netflix: "This stream-of-consciousness, 1960s-era drama centers on a day in the life of George Falconer (Colin Firth, in an Oscar-nominated role), an English-born, Los Angeles college professor reeling from the recent death of his lover of 16 years. Fashion designer Tom Ford makes his directoral debut with this luminous film, which is based on Christopher Isherwood's novel. Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, Ginnifer Goodwin, Lee Pace and Nicholas Hoult co-star."  2009   100 minutes

This is a moving film about grief and  loss.  It is sensitively done and a "must see."  The Movie Slut's review says it all. "A Single Man: Better than Brokeback."

Gender Rebel

From NetFlix: "Director Elaine Epstein's captivating documentary explores the lives of three biological females who reject the conventional concepts of gender and see themselves not as female or male, but something in between. The camera follows these individuals as they encounter challenges at every turn -- from the strain on their relationships to confrontations from communities intolerant of their way of life -- and find a way to cope with social alienation." 2008. 45 minutes

This is an introduction to the field of ambiguous gender. It is worth viewing and give some insights. Every person is unique and I am not sure generalizations are all that helpful.

Eulogy (2004)

This film was brought to our attention by Dr. Amber Wollesen of the PalliMed Arts and Humanities Blog who writes:
Eulogy is a 2004 comedy surrounding a "dysfunctional" family dealing with the death of the family patriarch. I've seen it described as a "black" or "dark" comedy. Probably fits.
The film begins with the family finding out about the death of Edmund Collins and then heading home to his funeral. Some members are upset over the death, some are upset about the inconvenient time. It is focused around the granddaughter Kate, a college freshman (and possibly the most normal person of the group) who has been asked to deliver the eulogy at her grandfather's funeral. Amongst the group of 4 children and 6 grandchildren, Kate seems to be the only one really concerned over Edmund's death. The rest of the family seems preoccupied with their old fights and issues.
Meanwhile, Charlotte, the widow, who is seemingly distraught over the death of her husband and her children feuding, attempts suicide. More than once.
During the course of the film, secrets come out about the surviving family members and about the departed. If I had to sum up the theme of the movie it would be, "We may be screwed up but in the end we're family." I'm not going to give away the end, but Kate finds a way to eulogize the grandfather who no one really ever completely knew. I like the funeral scene.
This film made me think a lot about dysfunctional families. It's not a term I use lightly. After seeing a lot of different types of families, I have begun to think that what we call "dysfunction" is often just functioning differently than the norm. What is normal anyway?

Released in 2004. 97 minutes.

DJE Comment: I saw this movie on June 24, 2009. It's certainly not a serious film about any of the subjects it is indexed under, however, it is entertaining and well-acted. Well worth viewing, but unlikely to be of value for class work or serious discussion.

Longterm Companion (1990)

From Netflix: This ensemble piece centers on a group of gay men in 1980s New York City whose lives are changed by the puzzling new "gay cancer." The first film to have AIDS as its main subject, Longtime Companion is a powerful mix of historical realism and bittersweet drama. Winner of the Sundance Audience Award and numerous supporting actor awards for Bruce Davison, including an Oscar. 1990, 100 minutes

Recommended by Charles Katz

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

From Netflix: Two sheepherders -- Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar (Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger) -- meet and fall in love while working together near Wyoming's Brokeback Mountain in 1963. Over the next 20 years, their lives take different courses: Jack becomes a rodeo cowboy while Ennis remains a ranch hand. Anne Hathaway, Randy Quaid and Michelle Williams co-star. Ang Lee directs screenwriter Larry McMurtry's adaptation of a short story by E. Annie Proulx. 2005, 134 minutes

A powerful and important movie. Groundbreaking. New York Times Review and Trailer

Angels in America

Netflix: "Tony Kushner's groundbreaking, Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway play (the basis for this 6-hour HBO dramatic miniseries) took more than 10 years to make it to the small screen. Starring Al Pacino (as real-life legal counsel Roy Cohn) and Meryl Streep, Angels is at once heartbreaking and funny as it examines the first few years (the mid-1980s) of the AIDS epidemic against the moral absolutism and unresponsive backdrop of the Reagan Administration." 2003 6 hrs 52 minutes.

Availability: As two DVDs
Milne Williamstown
Neflix

The Birdcage

Longtime lovers Armand Goldman (Robin Williams) and Albert Goldman (Nathan Lane) own a Miami drag club. When Armand's son announces his intent to marry Barbara (Calista Flockhart), the daughter of U.S. Senator (and vice president of the Committee for Moral Order) Kevin Keeley (Gene Hackman), Armand decides he has to fake a "normal" family. Nominated for an Academy Award, director Mike Nichols's comical farce is fast, funny and out of control. 119 Minutes

Philadelphia

When attorney Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) reveals his HIV-positive status -- and his homosexuality -- to his co-workers, he soon finds himself unemployed. Seeking to sue for wrongful termination, Hanks works with the only lawyer who'll take the case: ambulance-chasing, homophobic Joe Miller (Denzel Washington). Hanks received an Oscar for his work in this Jonathan Demme-directed film -- the first major-studio picture to tackle the topic of AIDS. 1993 125 minutes