One of the most important queer films is 74 years old – it was banned because it was too dirty

When you think of films from 1950, you probably think of Alpine landscapes, frilly blankets and beer-fuelled coziness. To celebrate this year’s Pride Month, we want to introduce you to a film that shocked the world with beautiful and explicit images: The queer milestone A Love Song shows the tender relationship between two prisoners. Its images are often poetic. And sometimes surprisingly explicit.

A love song was banned in the USA as “low pornography”

A love song takes place in a prison. An older and a younger inmate are separated by a thick wall. The older one snuggles up to the wall, whispering words through the mortar in the wall. He shares his cigarette smoke with his lover through a tube in the wall. Sometimes his desire overwhelms him and he masturbates. All under the envious eyes of a sadistic prison guard.

Watch a short clip from A Love Song on YouTube here:

The 26-minute, black-and-white and soundless work is the only feature film by the famous French author Jean Genet. It shows themes such as masturbation and sadistic pleasure with an openness that was unusual for its time. At the same time, Genet uses a poetic, metaphorical imagery that elevates the film above its barren setting: the smoking pipe is simultaneously an artistic symbol of the protagonists’ bond. And a tongue-in-cheek symbol for oral sex.

The metaphorical content did not go unnoticed by the queer film scene, which has celebrated it as a milestone for 74 years. It may contain some of the first scenes of homosexual love in a feature film. But the political opponents of the LGBTQ+ community did not overlook it either. As Far Out Magazine reports, it was banned in the USA in 1966 due to its explicit and implicit sexual content. The court also described it as “low pornography“.

Even 58 years later, it is not easy to see the film. Censorship or child protection are perhaps just a few of the possible reasons. In any case, Genet’s milestone cannot be streamed, but it is available in French with subtitles on DVD Buy on Amazon *.

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