The documentary starts with how this couple ended up with this collection. The two made it a routine to visit local antique stores after church on Sundays. During one chance encounter, the pair discovered an old photograph of two men in an affectionate pose during a time it wasn’t exactly accepted. This started Nini and Treadwell on a path to finding more images like that. Since then, they’ve amassed a collection of what has become hundreds of vintage pictures of gay couples in love. Between interviews with Nini and Treadwell and montages of their collection, we take an eye-opening trip to the past. Organized by levels of shown affection, we start with the seemingly platonic pictures of men standing together. They sweetly reveal what's written on the back of the photos: "two Sad Sacks 1945," "me and Harvey 1929," and "more than palsies." The film makers try to go deeper in some of the pictures and the story behind it as best as they can, and its moments like this the documentary stands out and shines and begins to attain depth.
The collection is definitely archival and for the history books because I bet you that nothing like this exists. The photographs are well curated, and the film makers peppers each section with quotes about love from gay writers. But strictly as watching a documentary, with even less than an hour of run time; I personally was done watching the photos and quotes. I think I may enjoyed their book 'Loving' more than watching the film. Nonetheless, this is an incredible and an important collection and kudos to the couple Nini and Treadwell for shining of doing something like this. (4/10)
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