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Take Me For a Ride (2016): The Lesbian Film That Feels Like Your First Crush All Over Again
If you’re a lesbian who grew up in the 2010s (or even if you didn’t), there’s a good chance you’ve heard whispers about a little Argentine gem called Take Me For a Ride (original title: Llévame Contigo). Directed by Micaela Rueda, this 2016 indie movie flew way under the radar outside queer Latin American circles, but baby, let me tell you… once you watch it, it lives rent-free in your head forever.
The story follows SofÃa, a teenage girl in Quito, Ecuador, who’s basically every repressed Catholic-school lesbian’s past life. She’s obsessed with her best friend Abigail – like, full-blown staring-at-her-lips-during-class, writing-her-name-in-notebooks, heart-racing-when-she-touches-her-arm kind of obsessed. And the crazy part? Abigail knows. She teases, she flirts, she plays with SofÃa’s feelings like it’s a game… until it suddenly isn’t anymore.
What makes this film hit different for us lesbians is how painfully real it feels. There’s no big “coming out” speech, no dramatic parents-catching-you scene, no tidy happy ending with rainbows and marriage. It’s just two girls figuring out desire in a world that pretends girls don’t want each other like that. The tension? Chef’s kiss. The stolen glances? Lethal. The moment Abigail leans in way too close and whispers something in SofÃa’s ear? Yeah, I had to pause the movie and stare at the ceiling for five minutes.
Micaela Rueda (who also plays the teacher in the film – iconic) wrote and directed this when she was only 23. TWENTY-THREE. She basically bottled up every confusing, electric, terrifying feeling of being a teenage lesbian and turned it into 67 minutes of pure art. The fact that it’s set in Ecuador, with almost no budget, and still manages to look this gorgeous and feel this authentic? That’s queer magic, baby.
Let’s talk about the lesbian gaze for a second. This movie is soaked in it. The camera lingers on Abigail’s legs when she’s changing for gym class, on SofÃa’s trembling hands when she almost touches her, on the way their knees brush under the desk. It’s not exploitative – it’s intimate. It’s how we actually look at girls we’re in love with. Straight directors could never.
And the soundtrack? Oh my God. That dreamy indie folk-pop vibe perfectly captures the feeling of being 16 and in love with your best friend who might love you back but also might destroy you. I still have “Contigo” by Carla Morrison on my “sad lesbian hours” playlist because of this movie.
Yes, it’s slow-burn. Yes, it leaves you aching. Yes, the ending will make you throw your phone across the room (in a good way). But that’s what makes it so special. It doesn’t give you the Hollywood lesbian fantasy. It gives you the truth: sometimes the girl you want wants you too… but life is messy, and timing sucks, and growing up means letting go even when it hurts like hell.
If you’re a baby gay just discovering lesbian cinema, add this to your list right after But I’m a Cheerleader and Portrait of a Lady on Fire. If you’re an elder lesbian who lived through the 2010s drought of decent sapphic content, this one will heal something in you and break it at the same time.
Final verdict from one lesbian to another:
Watch Take Me For a Ride alone, at 2 a.m., with headphones on and tissues ready. It’s not just a movie – it’s a memory you didn’t know you had. And years from now, when someone asks you about your awakening, you’ll think of SofÃa on that motorcycle, wind in her hair, finally brave enough to reach out and touch the girl she loves.
10/10. No notes. Just gay feelings forever.
(Now streaming on some very specific indie platforms or… you know… the high seas. Happy watching, queens.)
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