Every trans person imprints on at least one Wachowski sisters film; for me, it was a one-two punch of The Matrix and V for Vendetta. And while the Matrix sequels put me off of the IP for a while, I watched V for Vendetta repeatedly. It was one of the first movies I loaded onto my iPod Video back in 2006. I watched it during breaks at university, on the train to and from classes, and it played on my ratty laptop as I fell asleep. I can recite a lot of the dialogue from memory if pressed. So now, twenty years later (fuck time, all my homies hate the passage of time) I want to talk about how great V for Vendetta is, how queer it is, how prescient it has been, and how all the complaints about it are largely people who are missing the goddamn point.
etc
As the 1812 Overture swells and fireworks light up the sky, the amassed people all begin to take off their masks. They shed the disguises they've had to wear and turn their faces upright to the promise and potential of a new world. And, in a move that never fails to make me burst into tears, in the very final few shots we see some familiar and impossible faces: Gordon Deitrich. The little girl with the glasses. Evey's parents and brother. And, finally, Valerie and Christina, their heads held high, hands clasped, faces defiant. In that moment, where the world has finally turned and things are finally getting better, we feel the presence of everyone we lost in the fight.