Our Staff Picks column takes you back to a time when video stores reigned supreme and the "Staff Picks" section was the place to find out what films were worthy of one's time. Of course, our version of Staff Picks has a decidedly skintillating angle, as we suss out which films from a particular subgenre are the best to find great nudity. This week, we cover a classic: lesbian indie movies!
Because it is pride month, I wanted to give some love to lesbians. In recent years there has been an uptick in a type of film: the lesbian period drama. In these movies, forbidden love is the name of the game. Gorgeous stars wear corsets and many layers as they sneak away in private to have steamy lovemaking sessions. This has been such A Thing that SNL even parodied the genre!
A critique of the genre is that they tend not to show too much skin. Well, we here at Skin Central know that that is not true. In fact, these films in particular show us some serious skin. Let's check it out.
Queen Christina
Here is a history lesson for all of you: Queen Christina was a 1933 film starring Greta Garbo as the real Swedish Queen Christina. In real life - and in the film - Christina was gay in medieval Sweden. She enjoyed dressing in men's clothing when it fit her fancy and she was said to court both men and women in her palace. Queen Christina was a daring pre-code movie and an important LGBTQ film because it displayed the first lesbian kiss on camera.
Of course, there is no nudity in this 1930s film. But I felt that it was worth mentioning for all of you film buffs and horn dogs out there! (AKA me). There was another film that told this story and it was 2015's The Girl King. Despite being made at a time when girl-on-girl nudity is much more acceptable, we were only left with one lesbian nude scene between Malin Buska and Sarah Gadon.
The World to Come
This forbidden love tale is set in the 1850s and it stars Katherine Waterston and Vanessa Kirby as two women who want to be together, but they can't because of society and husbands and things like that. Ugh, what a drag. Good thing that doesn't stop them from making love. We get to see a flashback from one of the characters who is remembering all of her fond times with her female lover. A lot of those fond times include fondling breasts!
Ammonite
2020's Ammonite caused quite a stir. That is because it starred two major A-listers: Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan. We thought that this would be like one of the films that SNL parodied, but we were very wrong. In fact, this movie really goes there when it comes to lesbian sex scenes. There is even a face-sitting oral scene as well as some petticoat-lifting cunnilingus. Oh, my!
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
This 2019 award-winning French film has it all: French lesbians undressing from their hot costumes, art, tutors, and nude scenes. Noemie Merlant, a recent Mr. Skin favorite, stars as the beautiful brunette with a body that will butter your baguette. She lays in bed in a post-coital nude embrace with her lover, played by Adele Haenel.
Benedetta
The most recent period piece that turned heads and caused great excitement was Benedetta, Paul Verhoeven's surprising film about two lesbian nuns. Daphne Patakia and Virginie Efira play the nuns in question who sneak away from the drudgery of convent living to do some loving on one another. Both babes have amazing bodies which they show off in full.
They also have some truly gripping lesbian sex scenes including one in which a nude Daphne rides Virginie who stays in her nightgown. This film will have you thanking God!
