a short list of foreign queer media to watch:
- Cherry Magic (drama, 2020, Japan)
An incredibly sweet office rom com with magical elements. Cherry Magic deals with the awkward, introverted Adashi who discovers upon his 30th birthday that he can hear other people's thoughts when he touches them. And surprise surprise, Kurosawa, aka his seemingly perfect but secretly insecure and hopelessly romantic co-worker, has been in love with him for the past 7 years.
Also, there will be a movie about their relationship released in April.
- The Handmaiden (movie, 2016, Korea)
A talented thief, Okju and a conman attempt to defraud the rich Japanese Lady Hideko by sending her to a mental hospital and taking her money. It goes well at first, but upon spending more time with her, the thief falls in love with her. But suddenly, Okju is put in the mental hospital, finding herself betrayed by those who she trusted. Or is that really what's happening? Overall, a wonderful wlw thriller with SO MANY plot twists and a lot of erotic scenes.
- Young Royals (drama, 2020, Sweden)
A modern day Cinderella-esque queer love story between Swedish prince Willhelm and Swedish-Spanish boy Simon, who comes from a "normal" family. Willhelm is forced to attend a prestigious boarding school after ending up in a scandal, where he meets Simon and falls in love at first sight. While the story itself is quite cliché, it's sweet and a relatively realistic depiction of young people and figuring out your sexuality while being young.
- Elisa y Marcela (movie, 2019, Spain)
A black and white movie based on true events about two women falling in love in 1901 Spain. They run away together and attempt to trick their neighbors and families into being a heterosexual couple with a baby on the way. However, it's not long before their real identities are discovered and they end up being put into jail, before finally running away to South America. Bittersweet but incredibly visually appealing.
- My Love Mix Up (drama, 2021, Japan)
Highschooler Aoki has a crush on Hashimoto, agirl in his class, but thinks that she's crushing on another guy. It takes about 5 minutes and a dumb misunderstanding until Aoki protects the girl and confesses to the guy, Ida, that it's him who's got a crush on him, not Hashimoto. Ida is awfully understanding and tells Aoki he doesn't share his feelings but is willing to try to get to know him better. What ensues is probably the sweetest, healthiest discovery of queerness - leading to a relationship between Aoki and Ida after all misunderstandings have been cleared up.