Move over, Taurus, Gemini reigns supreme from May 20 to June 20. With this Air sign comes drama, intrigue, and an insistence on doing it for the plot. This Gemini Season watchlist includes a mix of flamboyance, dual personalities, backstabbing, and curiosity.
The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)
Kicking off the list is perhaps the most Gemini-coded movie ever made. Directed by a Gemini, Jacques Demy, The Young Girls of Rochefort has a whole musical number dedicated to the sign of the twins. The film follows twin sisters who work in musical fields in the small French seaside town of Rochefort. Dreaming of bigger lives and romantic gestures, the women perform in a traveling fair that they hope will sweep them away with it. With flashy costuming and dance numbers — including a surprise appearance from Gene Kelly — real-life sisters Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac flawlessly flaunt the dynamism of this iconic sign.
The Gleaners and I (2000)
On the other face of the double-sided coin that is Gemini is the inimitable Agnès Varda. A pioneer of French New Wave and feminist filmmaking, Varda is also the wife of Demy — a powerhouse couple of cinema. Varda’s work couldn’t be more tonally different than that of her husband’s. From psychological explorations like Cleo from 5 to 7 to darker subjects like Vagabond, her feature films have a signature documentarian approach. Later in life, Varda experimented with the art of documentary even more in films like The Gleaners and I. Not only does she explore the act of gleaning — harvesting or reclaiming unwanted objects — but she also explores her own relationship with the camera.
Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
In another exploration of cinema, by yet another masterful Gemini filmmaker, Chantal Akerman broke conventions with her highly acclaimed work, Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. At nearly three-and-a-half hours, the film follows the life of housewife Jeanne Dielman as she goes about her everyday tasks. Just when it seems like nothing is going to change in her life — or in the film — Akerman thwarts expectations with subtle, abrupt disruptions that lead to Jeanne’s infamous snap from her once humdrum reality.
Annihilation (2018)
Another example of not everything being quite as it seems and an immersive dive into what lies under the surface of a facade, Annihilation is one of the most quietly unsettling sci-fi horrors. Directed by and starring a Gemini — Alex Garland and Natalie Portman — there is an innate sense of curiosity that permeates from the film. Exploring an off-limits area known as “The Shimmer,” a team of scientists enters the cosmically charged habitat to uncover its contents. Instead, they unearth truths about themselves and humanity that elevate the film from ordinary sci-fi to atmospheric, psychological mysticism.
All About Eve (1950)
At the heart of this sign is a way with words that can either bring you the highest joys or cut you like a dagger. One embodiment of this type of verbal weaponization is blatant in All About Eve. Aging theater star Margo Channing (Bette Davis) delivers jabs left and right without a care for where they land. When Margo meets her match in the up-and-coming actress, Eve (Anne Baxter), her own weapons are turned against her in a cinematic battle of wits for the ages. Full of real-life drama regarding its Oscar contenders, All About Eve’s legacy and lore are just as influential and fascinating 75 years later.
Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
Some say Geminis generate more gossip than other zodiac signs. Their ruling planet, Mercury, powers their way with words, while their airy nature lets things easily roll off the tongue. In Dangerous Liaisons, gossip overflows from silver goblets as Glenn Close and John Malkovich take part in emotional warfare in pre-revolutionary Paris. Based on the 1985 play, which was based on the 1782 novel, Gemini director Stephen Frears proves that the deadliest of wounds don’t always come from swords. With period-piece panache, Close and Malkovich match each other’s freak to the point of dire consequences.
His Girl Friday (1940)
It wouldn’t be Gemini Season without a screwball comedy featuring overly chatty characters. His Girl Friday is the epitome of just that. Set in a newspaper office, Cary Grant moves at a dizzying speed with his whipsmart dialogue, bouncing off of Gemini actress Rosalind Russell, who plays the titular “girl Friday.” The film popularized the term, which refers to a highly-skilled female assistant, usually in an office setting, managing the minute tasks that men often can’t. Director Howard Hawks, also a Gemini, is known for his witty characters and comic narratives. In His Girl Friday, the sign’s signature work ethic and witticisms are on full display.
Twinless (2025)
Due to their mercurial nature, Geminis can get a bad rap as “two-faced.” What’s more accurate, however, is that many versions of themselves exist, and even they don’t know which face they’ll wear on any given day. In Twinless, Dennis (writer-director James Sweeney) tries on many personalities until he finds one that fits into the life he desires. Bolstered by a charming dual-role performance from Dylan O’Brien, as twins Roman and Rocky, Twinless captures the fluidity, flirtation, and fastidious nature that Geminis are known for. It also highlights the devastating, yet comedic, consequences when their sly social skills and swagger fail them.
Enemy (2013)
Not only does Gemini represent the twins, but also the mythic figure of the doppelgänger. Fresh off the heels of Prisoners, Denis Villeneuve and Jake Gyllenhaal collaborate again in the Kafka-esque psychological thriller, Enemy, based on the 2002 novel “The Double” by José Saramago. Gyllenhaal stars in dual roles, as Adam Bell, a professor, and his doppelgänger, Anthony Claire, an actor. The two lives converge in an atmospheric mind-bender about broken identity and conflicting desires.
The first line of the film, taken directly from the book, “Chaos is order yet undeciphered,” perfectly encapsulates the competing ideals that run rampant for Geminis. Rather than fighting your subconscious, Enemy suggests embracing it — otherwise, suffer the consequences, which, in this case, can manifest as giant, eight-legged creatures.
List Courtesy of Kasey Dunifer
Feature Image Designed by Kasey Dunifer