On The Box
By Chrystal Dean
14 July 2010
Last column I talked about the best lesbian films of all time. It would be remiss of me not to give a shout out to TV, and some of the great lesbian characters gracing the small screen. Here are some shows from now and yesteryear that are giving the girls a run.
Grey’s Anatomy (2005 - present)
A medical drama where resident doctor Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) fell for fellow surgeon Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith) in the fourth season. Controversy surrounded Smith’s sudden departure from the show, but Torres has since settled down with new love interest, and is enjoying a seemingly stable, quirky and adorable relationship, with Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw). Southern Cross Television. (Currently in hiatus)
Skins (2007-present)
Skins is an edgy, no holds-barred British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers through the two years of sixth form. One half of a twin pairing, Emily (Kathryn Prescott) falls head over heels for fence-sitting Naomi (Lily Loveless) in season three in a storyline you can’t quite tear yourself away from. (Available for hire at Video City.)
Buffy (1997-2003)
Wicker Willow (Alyson Hannigan) casts some ‘spells’ with fellow witch Tara (Amber Benson) in season 4, beginning a three-year love affair that is told beautifully by creator Joss Whedon. (Available for hire at Video City.)
Rush (2008-present)
Openly bisexual character, Stella (Nicole de Silvia), has had a couple of girlfriends since this Australian series started, although their appearances are brief. (Network Ten.)
Bad Girls (1999-2006)
Seasons 1-3 of this British prison drama features a compelling lesbian storyline between governor Helen (Simone Lahbib) and inmate Nikki (Mandana Jones). Just magic. (Available for hire at Video City.)
The L Word (2004-2009)
This show is entirely based on the lives of a group of lesbians in Los Angeles. Groundbreaking in being the first ever series solely focused on lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. (Available for hire at Video City.)
One to watch out for: Nurse Jackie season two reveals a sapphic sister in the mix (Network Ten).
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20 May 2010
I’ll never forget the first time I saw a ‘lesbian film’. I was in my early teens, watching TV late on a school night and I happened to stumble across a foreign film on SBS. It was quiet, powerful and intriguing. It also told the story of two women falling in love. I couldn’t tear my eyes away. It was at this moment, I realised what had been missing on my TV screen. Me. That film was called ‘Fire’. It is just one of my top ten must-see queer girl films of all time (in no particular order).
Fire (1996)
Written & Directed by Deepa Mehta
Starring Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das
Set in contemporary Delhi, India, in the household of a joint family running a fast-food and video business from their home. Sita and Rahda are two daughter-in-laws in neglectful marriages who turn to each other for solace and become lovers.
Why watch: An honest story of two women falling in love against the odds. Set off a flurry of public dialogue in India about homosexuality and freedom of speech. Available for hire at Video City - New Town, Hobart and Launceston
Bound (1996)
Directed & Written by: Andy and Larry Wachowski
Starring: Gina Gershon, Jennifer Tilly, Joe Pantoliano, Christopher Meloni
Corky, a tough female ex con and her lover Violet concoct a scheme to steal millions of stashed mob money and pin the blame on Violet's crooked boyfriend Caeser.
Why watch: Gina Gershon!
Saving Face (2005)
Directed & Written by: Alice Wu
Starring: Lynn Chen, Michelle Krusiec, Joan Chen, Jessica Hecht
A Chinese-American lesbian and her traditionalist mother are reluctant to go public with secret loves that clash against cultural expectations.
Why watch: First Chinese-American lesbian film. Queer or not, this film is almost perfect and is surprisingly funny. Available for hire at Video City - New Town
Desert Hearts (1985)
Directed by: Donna Deitch
Written by: Jane Rule and Natalie Cooper
Starring: Helen Shaver and Patricia Charbonneau
It is 1950s Nevada, and Professor Vivian Bell arrives to get a divorce. She's unsatisfied with her marriage, and feels out of place at the ranch she stays on, she finds herself increasingly drawn to Cay Rivers, an open and self-assured lesbian, and the ranchowner's daughter.
Why watch: One of the first lesbian films to hit mainstream. Doesn’t focus on the issue of being gay, but the issue of being in love.
The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995)
Directed & Written by: Maria Maggenti
Starring: Laurel Holloman and Nicole Ari Parker
A love story about two young women of different social and economic backgrounds, who find themselves facing all the typical struggles of a new romance.
Why watch: It’s cute and fun and features a young Laurel Hollomen (later to star in The L Word).
If These Walls Could Talk II (2000)
Directed by: Jane Anderson (segment ‘1961’), Martha Coolidge (segment ‘1972’), Anne Heche (segment ‘2000’)
Written by: Alex Sichel, Sylvia Sichel, Jane Anderson, Anne Heche
Starring: Ellen DeGeneres, Michelle Williams, Sharon Stone, Natasha Lyonne, Vanessa Redgrave, Chloë Sevigny, Nia Long, Kathy Najimy
Trio of stories about lesbian couples in three different decades (1961, 1972, 2000).
Why watch: Best depiction of what it meant to be a lesbian in three different decades. Plus Sharon Stone and Ellen Degeneres are kind of adorable together.
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Tipping the Velvet (2002)
Directed by: Geoffrey Sax
Written by: Andrew Davies and Sarah Waters
Starring: Rachael Stirling, Keeley Hawes, Anna Chancellor, and Jodhi May
Set in the 1890s, tells the lesbian love affair between male impersonator music hall star Kitty Butler and Nan Astley.
Why watch: An historical drama that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Available for hire at Video City - New Town, Devonport and Launceston
But I'm a Cheerleader (1999)
Directed by: Jamie Babbit
Starring: Clea Duvall, Natasha Lyonne, Michelle Williams, RuPaul, Melanie Lynskey
A naive teenager is sent to rehab camp when her straitlaced parents and friends suspect her of being a lesbian.
Why watch: Hilarious and important – exposing the ridiculous in gender norms and homophobia, through humour and satire. Available for hire at Video City - New Town
Imagine Me and You (2005)
Directed & Written by: Ol Parker
Starring: Piper Perabo, Lena Headey, Matthew Goode, and Celia Imrie
A newlywed bride becomes infatuated with another woman, who questions her sexual orientation, promoting a stir among the bride's family and friends.
Why watch: All the makings of a good romantic comedy. Unlike other mainstream lesbian films (ala Kissing Jessica Stein) this one sees the lesbian pairing to the end. Available for hire at Video City - New Town, Hobart, Devonport, Burnie and Launceston
Monster (2003)
Directed & Written by: Patty Jenkins
Starring: Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern, and Lee Tergesen
Based on the life of Aileen Wuornos, a Daytona Beach prostitute who became a serial killer.
Why watch: Not for the faint-hearted, but as important as it is confronting and honest. Won Charlize Theron a best actress Oscar in 2004 and she deserved it! Available for hire at Video City - New Town, Hobart, Devonport, Burnie and Launceston
High Art (1998)
Written & Directed by: Lisa Cholodenko
Starring: Ally Sheedy, Rahda Mitchell, Gabriel Mann, Patricia Clarkson
A young female intern at a small magazine company becomes involved with a drug-addicted lesbian photographer, both of whom seek to exploit each other for their respective careers, while slowly falling in love with each other.
Why watch: It’s compelling. Bring the tissues. Available for hire at Video City - New Town, Hobart, Devonport, Burnie and Launceston
Show Me Love (1998)
Directed & Written by: Lukas Moodyson
Starring: Alexandra Dahlström and Rebecka Liljeberg
Two teenage girls in small-town Sweden. Elin is beautiful, popular, and bored with life. Agnes is friendless, sad, and secretly in love with Elin.
Why watch: It’s a classic coming-of-age story that is unpretentious and honest. It also beat Titanic at the Swedish box office when released in the same year. Girl power!
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But that’s 12 movies, I hear you say. Exactly! You try picking ten. In fact, this was so hard to narrow down that I now feel compelled to tell you more. Below you will find my ‘short’ list. These are the ones that are the best lesbian movies of all-time, minus the other 12. Well, there at least worth a look anyway.
All films are available for purchase at www.amazon.com
THE SHORT LIST
Gia
Boys Don’t Cry (not technically a lesbian film, but brilliant)
Better Than Chocolate
Kissing Jessica Stein
Showgirls
The Truth About Jane
It's In The Water
Finn's Girl
Go Fish
I've Heard the Mermaids Singing
My Summer of Love
When Night Is Falling
The Celluloid Closet
Amore de Femme
And Then Came Lola
Heavenly Creatures
Fried Green Tomatoes
I Can’t Think Straight
Loving Annabelle
D.E.B.S.
Fingersmith
Aimee and Jaguar
All Over Me
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23 January 2010
Welcome to the first installment of ON THE BOX. Here you will find out about all things girl-on-girl onscreen. That’s on TV, in film or online. It’ll come to you laced with opinion and review – mine. Then you can check it out and make up your own mind. But mostly, I hope you find a show, film or web series you haven’t heard of yet.
Right now I want to talk about stuff online. I have to admit, as much as I’m a self-confessed lover of You Tube, I’ve never really turned to the internet to watch drama. Then came Venice the Series. If you haven’t heard of Venice, check out our interview with the creators Crystal Chappell and Kim Turrisi here. The best thing about this series, aside from it having a stellar cast, good writing, quality production and a place for indie music artists to find an audience (but that’s a heart-warming story for another time), is it’s accessible to me at the same time it is to anyone else around the world. No more relying on Australian television networks or cinemas to pick up on something lesbian and screen it one year after it screened in the US.
And if you’re not too tech-phobic you can enjoy the online community that has formed around the show through Twitter , Facebook or the show’s own community platform VComm found at www.venicetheseries.com. On Twitter, all the people involved in the show (actors/actresses, writers, directors and musicians) interact with fans, creating a connection between creator and audience that has probably never been done before. I expect a lot of the fan interaction will feed into the show, in fact I’ve seen some of it first-hand already. This is a group of creative people who are really listening to their audience, and it shows. I encourage you to check it out.
Of course, this web series has tipped me off to others I didn’t even know existed. I know what I’ll be doing over summer – churning through my download quota checking out www.venicetheseries.com, www.3wayTV.tv and www.anyonebutmeseries.com. I’ll let you know how it goes.
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