Desert Hearts (R)

synopsis

Donna Deitch's swooning and sensual first film, Desert Hearts, was
groundbreaking upon its 1986 release: a love story about two women,
produced and directed by a woman. In the 1959-set film, an adaptation
of a beloved novel by Jane Rule, straitlaced East Coast professor
Vivian Bell (Helen Shaver) arrives in Reno to file for divorce, but
winds up catching the eye of someone new, the younger free spirit Cay
(Patricia Charbonneau), touching off a slow seduction that unfolds
against the breathtaking desert landscape. With smoldering chemistry
between its two leads, an evocative jukebox soundtrack, and vivid
cinematography by Robert Elswit, Desert Hearts beautifully exudes a
sense of tender yearning and emotional candor.