Black Mirror’s San Junipero isn’t technically a movie, but I think it’s Emmy more than qualifies itself for it’s own dedicated blog post.
If you’re not familiar with Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror then the simplest way to explain the complex series that it is, is to say that each episode is full of twists and turns and is pilled to the top with futuristic and technological aspects. There will be spoilers in this post, because its hard to describe the magic of the episode without explaining the twist, so read ahead with caution.
San Junipero is primarily set in the beautiful beach town that shares the same name as the episode. Yorkie, played by Mackenzie Davis, meets Kelly (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) in a typical 80s nightclub, 80s tunes blaring to immerse you even more, and the two flirt and then have sex in Kelly’s beach house, despite Yorkie being engaged to a man.
Over the next 20 years Yorkie visits the nightclub each week looking for Kelly but never finds her until 2002, and this is where the classic Black Mirror twist happens. Kelly rejects Yorkie’s advances and all of a sudden you’re left staring at the screen, mouth agape, as you learn that San Junipero is a simulated town that the elderly and dying go to to live out the remaining life and death as their younger selves.
But the shock of the twist isn’t why I love this episode so much, it’s the tenderness, the yearning and the representation of soft lesbians that gets me. And, to make it even better, it ends happy, with Yorkie following Kelly into San Junipero after she dies. There’s dancing on the beach and kisses under the moonlight and cinematography that would make anyone sigh at the beauty.
If you haven’t yet seen the episode, then I’m sorry for spoiling it for you, but please go watch it nonetheless and enjoy.
Queer as Film 
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