It is very likely that I do not have enough information about the whole range of quality feature films in other languages. So, this is only pinpointing a few that struck me this year.
120 bpm (French, 120 Beats Per Minute – Members of the advocacy group ACT UP Paris demand action by the government and pharmaceutical companies to combat the AIDS epidemic in the early 1990s)
The Cakemaker (Hebrew/German – a young German baker had an affair with an Israeli married man who dies in a car crash. He travels to Jerusalem seeking answers. Keeping his secret for himself, he starts working for his deceased lover’s widow, who owns a small café.)
Sueño en otro idioma (Mexican, ‘I Dream In Another Language’ – An almost extinguished language is spoken by only two men, who don’t speak to one another because of a love affair in their youth)
Mi mejor amigo (Argentina, My Best Friend – a teenage romance, where it is hard to tell if it’s love or friendship)
Berlin Drifters (Japan – Called this year’s most explicit romance, this film tells the story of two Japanese men in Berlin who are seeking genuine connection in their own ways, and in doing so come together and drift apart over the course of a few lusty weeks. – The XXX nature of Berlin Drifters’ sex is going to keep it out of mainstream cinemas and even the most permissive of festivals).
Lesbian The single best lesbian feature drama that I came across was Thelma (Norwegian – a student falls in love and discovers that she has ‘strange’ powers)
Trans In my eyes, the best feature film with a transgender theme was Una mujer fantástica (Spain – A Fantastic Woman – a transgender woman, living with her older divorced male lover, faces all kinds of hostility when he suddenly dies)
This is my personal attempt at making a list of valuable gay movies. I certainly forgot some, and of other good films I did not even get to see the trailer.
If there is one outstanding and crowd pleasing English language gay romance in 2017, then it is Call Me By Your Name’ – about a gorgeous Italian teen who begins a relationship with an older visiting American, his father’s research assistant, with whom he bonds over his emerging sexuality, their Jewish heritage, and the beguiling Italian landscape.
But there were more very good English language feature dramas:
B&B (UK – a well crafted jaw-dropping thriller, with subtleties and sublime terror you find in a Hitchcock classic. The story is about two married gays, who, one year after they were refused lodging by a homophobic B&B owner, and having won a lawsuit against the businessman, decide to rub salt in the wound by returning to his guest house. With plenty of fun moments!)
God’s Own Country (UK – astonishing feature debut about living as a gay man in a rural community)
Sebastian (Canada – beautiful directional debut about irrepressible love at first sight between two men who are either engaged or leaving the country soon)
Sodom (UK – A British soccer hopeful finds himself naked and handcuffed to a streetlight in Berlin after his stag night goes awry. He is rescued by a dashing gay local, and the two head back to the latter’s apartment for a night of passion, tension, and self-discovery. – By some film critics to be compared with the famous 2011 film hit ‘Weekend’)
West of Eden (New Zealand – A story of forbidden love, revenge and a family torn apart. An intelligent thoughtful film. For those who like European or British films, not just a story about gay love but one about true love set against societal constraints.)
Unimpressed Fave 