The top ten must-see queer and trans movies

Christina Strynatka
Contributor
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: Camp was never so tongue-in-cheek as in this 1994 flick, following three drag queens on their four-week tour of the Australian outback.
Boys Don’t Cry: Released 11 years ago, this tragic based-on-real-events movie introduces us to female-to-male Brandon Teena, who dared to live his life in rural America.
Desert Hearts: Set in Nevada in the ’50s, Desert Hearts is particularly refreshing because it has so many winning elements: realism, chemistry, humour and plot. The lesbians look like average women, albeit very attractive women, and their romp is just plain hot.
Dog Day Afternoon: Who would have thought you could fit the words “Al Pacino,” “caper film” and “queer” into one sentence? It’s true. The Godfather star shows us a different side as he stages his first bank robbery to raise money for his pre-operative transsexual wife.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch: Jam-packed with catchy songs, bright, blazing colours and heart-breaking stories, this musical tells the story of a German drag singer left with an “angry inch” after a botched sex-change surgery. If you don’t find yourself tapping your foot by the third song, you’ll definitely be reaching for the tissues as the movie progresses.
High Art: You’ll never look at former Breakfast Club actress Ally Sheedy the same way after watching High Art. A formerly brilliant photographer becomes deeply involved with the shady side of her career and then her photo-editor neighbour knocks on her door and inspires her to want to be good again.
The Kids Are All Right: This film shows that marriage is a work-at-it-everyday marathon, regardless of the fact the headliners are lesbians with adopted children.
Milk: This biopic chronicles the life of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office in California, from his 40th birthday to his assassination. Milk combines real-life footage with incredible acting and shows gays, too, can have healthy, loving relationships and work in powerful positions.
Philadelphia: One of the first mainstream films to bring to light the devastating effects of the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, as well as the homophobia still so present today. Philadelphia portrays a lawyer who represents himself in a wrongful dismissal case after it’s found he’s gay and has AIDS.
Transamerica: A transsexual woman’s last hurdle towards her goal of having gender re-assignment surgery and her path to ultimate self-discovery is overcome via a cross-county road trip with her son.