Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives

Kitschy paperback covers from the golden days of pulp fiction frame this documentary about a group of gay Canadian women and their separate stories of growing up lesbian in the 1940s-1960s. The reenactments of "forbidden" stories of passion are a little enervated and weak, but the women themselves are funny, smart, candid and exciting to listen to. There are some great quotes here, and plenty of funny and poignant memories; the only thing the movie isn't is suggestive (it doesn't even flirt with being sexy). Striving (and succeeding) to be informative, we still don't get a sense of the sexual thrill behind the headlines. We learn why a married woman would leave her family and surroundings for the embrace of a lesbian lover, but we don't sense the drive and passion that keeps them together in the face of so many obstacles. **1/2 from ****

I saw this when it was released and never forgot it, most of my friends also remember it clearly! It is a wonderful glimpse into the lives of lesbians in the 50s, in many ways different from now - the hidden=ness and secrecy, the butch femme culture - and in many ways so the same - who was going out with who, when, how they fell in love, broke up, wove their lives and made family of their friendships.

Highly recommend it as an uplifting piece of Lesbian History, and a vision of what we younger lesbians may look like as we age. DELIGHTFUL!

This was a wonderful film i also saw it when it first came out into theaters..It's a very positive look at lesbian lives. One of the best documentary films i have ever seen. There is some pulp fiction type lesbian story lines and a great discussion with lesbian authors whom writes the classic pulps.

I love watching movies, and often times, I ignore documentaries, because I feel they're too dry. You see, they try to educate you or inform you, and I want to be entertained. Well, this did all three! I was fascinated with the women's personal stories, and would often compare theirs to my own. It was insightful to here about life back then, dispelling others into thinking that it's some sort of trend (tsk, tsk!) or some other backwards idea. If you want to get cozy with a bowl of popcorn and lend your ear to some tales of long ago, if you're straight and disbelieve that older lesbians existed, if you want to rid yourself of ignorance to find out more than "what lesbians do in bed", if you want to see fiction mixed gracefully with true life stories, watch this. You may have met one of these fascinating women and not known it. I was at a bookstore, and I heard a familiar voice behind me, thinking it was someone I knew. I peaked behind me, and there stood the Native woman who appeared in it. I was excited, but did nothing about it. If I wasn't so shy, I might have thanked her for sharing her story and for being an inspiration to the younger generation who heard it.

I caught this documentary back in a repertory theatre back in 1992. I haven't seen it since but I never forgot it. It's basically talks with lesbian writers who talk about writing and having published books about lesbian lovers. Also they talk about what it was like in lesbian bars back then.

Some people may think that this will only appeal to a limited audience (i.e. gay and lesbian) but I saw it with a straight friend and he was fascinated. The talks are lively and fun--there's no despair or negativity. One writer speaks openly about fighting with publishers to have her books have happy endings! Interspered is a sequence in which two women meet in a bar (no dialogue), go to one of their houses and has sex. I have no problem with that, but the sequence seems way too explicit for this. Still this is an excellent documentary about a subject that is never covered. How about one with gay male writers?