Sunday 16th October 1.30pm

The Old Market Hall Cinema, The Square, Shrewsbury
(Donna Deitch, 1985. USA. 1hr 36 mins)
Certificate 18

Desert Hearts

In 2016 the appeal of Desert Hearts may be less in the story and more in the landmark staging of the first lesbian love story on-screen that didn’t end up in suicide or ménage à trios! A true love story, considered very risqué at the time, Desert Hearts was the first to portray lesbian relationships as multi-dimensional and real, rather than a caricature or somebody’s wet dream. Having said that, Donna Deitch’s film is a passionate, beautifully controlled drama about making choices and exercising the heart.

If you want a taster of the story … imagine Reno. It is 1959 and a 30-something teacher from New York turns up in search of divorce. She has an up-tight bun and a bunch of nerves when she encounters a younger woman – sexy, capable and living on a ranch with a Patsy Cline soundtrack! This is brilliant, beautiful and not-to-be-missed!

We asked a few women to comment:

Desert hearts! There’s a blast from the past. One line that has always stuck in my head….she just reached in and hung a string of lights round my heart….. Classic

I think the woman on the door thought I was too young to be watching such a salacious film!

I was asked my age when I went to see this at the MAC in Cannon Hill Park, back in 1985. I was 24 at the time!

For a full line-up of the 2016 Shropshire Rainbow Festival click here: http://www.rainbowfilmfestival.org.uk/2016-film-festival-programme/