Blissful Nostalgia! Reminiscing through the history of lesbians in the 1950s with A Sweetest Kiss

Welcome, fellow readers. We believe that many of you are just like us, totally awestruck and fascinated by the critically acclaimed, period lesbian film Carol and the overall lesbian features of the 1950s it featured. As an era encompassing heart-wrenching stories, where the lead queer protagonists, despite all their hardships and ordeals, persist in pursuing their true selves and their true love against the evil forces of the orthodox, conservative societies that they live within, we have selected yet another lesbian title for you from around the period, the classic A Sweetest Kiss. Based on a true story, A Sweetest Kiss, by director Nguyen N., portrays the dramatic, romantic struggles of a lesbian woman (Alice Mitchell) in the restrictive suburbs of 1950’s America.

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Set in the year 1949, A Sweetest Kiss tells the story of Alice Mitchell, who upon being disowned by her family, is forced to work as a prostitute on the streets. As her situation worsens, she unsuccessfully attempts to reconcile with her estranged family over her homosexuality. Eventually, she takes shelter at a Christian household and wins them over by falsely adopting their faith, despite strict opposition and interference from their religiously devout in-law, Lillian. During her time there, Alice's infatuation with the family's daughter, Annabel, grows. However, when Lillian discovers this and reveals Alice's homosexuality, Alice redoubles her efforts to rid herself of her feelings and commit more deeply to her religious faith. But to no avail, Alice ultimately succumbs to a relationship with Annabel, with both of them risking everything to follow their hearts.

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Playing the character of a prostitute in 1950s America, much of Alice's appearance during the beginning of the movie has a sultry appeal, irresistible to men around her. However, when she later strips off the seductive image to devote herself to her higher faith, she adopts a much more feminine look, one of elegance and sophistication with a sense of melancholy evident in her eyes.

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Out of all of Alice's moments in the film, the one that outshines them all is the sight of her at the church. In the particular scene, she fixes her gaze at Annabel, who is seen chanting the holy verses on the stage, all the while secretly fantasizing about seeing her naked in her thoughts with the lust and yearning she has for Annabel fully visible in her eyes.

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At the opposite spectrum of Alice is the saintly Lillian, a gorgeous blonde with mesmerizing blue eyes. Several scenes of Lillian’s face and her expressions remind us of the Nazi German soldier, Amon Goeth in the movie, Schindler’s List. Not only do they share certain similarities in terms of their facial features, but they are also almost alike when it comes to their fanatic behavior that is as a result of their blinded faith and belief towards their religion and philosophy.

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Although Lillian is the ultimate antagonist of the story, with her prudish mindset and starkly visible homophobic behavior, one simply cannot deny that Lilian, through her character and striking features, encapsulates the essence of polished maturity and sophisticated beauty.

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With this, here is a final close-up shot of the pious Lillian’s picture-perfect, porcelain face.

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Finally, the movie features Annabel, the daughter of the family, that Alice falls in love with. Embodying a childlike innocence all the while transitioning into maturity and maidenhood, Annabel's coming-of-age features is hard to resist for Alice and clearly so for a reason.

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In the end, we have one final shot of two protagonists, Alice and Annabel as they engage in a moment of sheer, sensual body-to-body intimacy in the comfort of their leisure and bath.

(Source: GagaOOLala)