'Everlasting Love' DVD: Taking Bite Out of Gay May-December Hookup Myths

tla releasing, which is the foreign/art house division of LGBT video giant tla video, wonderfully pushes the boundaries of mainstreamish gay cinema regarding the recent DVD release of the 2014 Spanish drama "Everlasting Love." At the most basic level, this film is one of the most primal movies to come from any country in quite a while. Recognition of this includes the Outfest award for Best International Feature and the Young Jury Award at the Sitges International Film Festival.

Said primal elements include the relatively explicit scenes of hetero and homo sexual encounters in the wooded area that middle-aged language school teacher Carlos frequently frequents. A scene in which a jockstrap-clad incredibly hirsute, tall, and obese middle-aged "bear" is getting a blow job is a prime example of this and will either excite you or make you say "eeewwww" depending on your personal preferences.

The following YouTube clip of the explicit "Love" trailer candidly reveals the sexual, violent, and wonderfully bizarre elements of this unique movie.

Carlos encountering his male student Toni during one of these trips into the woods provides the basis of another fairly explicit scene and sets the stage for the primary conflict of the film. The "seduction" scene is a great melange of gay porn and art-house queer cinema. The primary missing elements of the former are that Carlos does not find Toni standing out in the rain and does not invite him back to his house to shower and hang out in a towel while his clothes dry.

Carlos telling Toni that their coupling does not make them a couple does not really stick. Suffice it to say that Toni becomes a figurative pain in the ass in the aftermath of experiencing a literal one. 

One universal truth regarding this that applies all along the Kinsey Scale is that one participant in a sexual encounter often experiences a higher level of affection than the other party to the interaction. This presents the individual who is just not that into his or her Mr. or Ms. Right Now with the challenge of figuring out how to be cruel to be kind in the right measure.

Anyone who has seen a romcom or sexcom knows that Toni breaks down the defenses of Carlos; the extent to which the resistance of Carlos to a relationship is futile is part of what makes "Love" interesting.

A parallel plot has a group of fine young cannibals with their own thoughts regarding the nature of love engaging in their hobby in the park.  Said recreational activity contributes another aspect of primal elements to "Love."

The two worlds wonderfully collide in a scene in which said cannibals come to the aid of a stranded Toni and Carlos; this leads to the entire group ending up at the home of Carlos. The equal parts erotic and primal conversation first lead to an expected (but not so well staged) encounter and then to a ending that provides an adequate surprise to sate most of the characters and the audience alike.

The impact of the above-discussed elements of "Love" is that the film will make you laugh and think. You further will see at least a little part of yourself in every primary character. Many of us have been either the younger and more naive or the older and more cynical one in a relationship that involves mutual nudity; we further have either experienced what we thought might be everlasting love or have thought about the nature of it.

As an aside, drinking Chianti and eating farva beans while watching "Love" may enhance the experience.

Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Love" is encouraged to email me; you can also connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.