all 4 comments

[–]begonia_skies 8 insightful - 1 fun8 insightful - 0 fun9 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Desert Hearts is, in my opinion, one of the best lesbian movies and the fact it debuted in 1985 is really crazy when it feels like movies lately only seem to take steps backwards instead of forwards. It came up on my Netflix a long time ago (don't think it is on Netflix anymore) and I thought, what the heck else do I have to do today? I was prepared to really cringe at an 80s lesbian movie. I was very pleasantly surprised.

The dialogue does feel very clunky at times, and those fade-outs lol! However, the chemistry between the two leads is undeniable and they are what really sell this movie, even through some weird set-ups and strange choices. To me, Vivian is so beautiful, I can watch this movie just for that actress, and you can feel the connection and desire between her and Cay. And I believe the sex scene is really one of the best for the genre, it isn't tacky and cringy and clearly directed by a man (like Blue is Warmest Color/Handmaiden, etc etc) and really does feel intimate without being too gratuitous. The plot thread with Frances was tedious and her character is really pretty annoying, but I didn't mind the homophobia undertones, this movie took place in the 1950s, it would be strange to not include. Plus the ending is wonderful enough to make up for it!

[–]piylot[S] 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I enjoyed this. The acting was mostly good, aesthetically good, things between them seemed fairly healthy, which was nice.

This film was as much about homophobia as it was about the relationship, which is probably a fair reflection of the time, but the narrative and representation can be a bit depressing. I think especially for younger/newer lesbians they deserve to have representation that they seem themselves in that isn't calling them slurs or acting like it's some scandal or disgrace. That being said I appreciated that it seemed to work out between them, I liked Cayy's attitude. It is another age gap film but I felt it was more balanced by the fact the younger woman was the more experienced one. Had the ages been reversed it might have rubbed me the wrong way.

Was put off by how much platonic kissing on the lips there was. Why did Joe kiss Cayy on the lips? Also too many blonde characters I couldn't tell apart lol

[–]MyLongestJourney 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

One of the best lesbian films I had the pleasure to watch.

[–]DirgoHoopEarrings 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

One of my girlfriends was older than me and introduced me to that movie. Passing down movies seems to be something that happens in inter-generational lesbian relationships. :)

So glad this sub still exists! I got scared when I saw it was removed from reddit.