Review: '100 Years of Men in Love: The Accidental Collection' an Emotional Journey Though Hidden Gay History

Based on Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell's heartwarming book "LOVING - A Photographic History of Men in Love 1850 - 1950," David Millbern's documentary brings new dimensions to the collection's eclectic, illuminating survey of same-sex love as recorded over the course of a century by ordinary men: Workers, farmers, soldiers, and others who captured the essence of their love and devotion through photography.

Nini and Treadwell, a longtime couple, were browsing an antiques shop after church one Sunday when they came across a vintage photo of two men who appeared to be in love. (Their criterion for this is that there is certain "look in the eyes" of the men in the photo.) Purchasing the picture, they had no idea that they were beginning a unique, and historically important, collection that would eventually come to include thousands of images from around the world and lead to a critically acclaimed book.

[Read the EDGE interview with Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell.]

David Millbern's hourlong documentary interviews Nini and Treadwell, gleaning their insights about the ways in which male couples across a century, from the 1850s through the 1950s, documented their commitment, preserved their affection, and, in many cases, signaled their authenticity through coded means that the collectors' trained eyes are able to discern. Fingers are discreetly entwined in some photos; in others, feet rest atop one another, thighs touch, or the men huddle together beneath umbrellas on dry days.

There's a wealth of implicit historical and cultural significance contained in these photos, and the two collectors bring their ideas about the times that are reflected in the images, including the thesis that there was, for a period of decades, a general acceptance of gay male couples.

The images bear this out: Plenty of photos show the couples surrounded by friends, family members, or fellow members of the military. The inscriptions written on the backs (and sometimes the fronts) of the images reconfirm the idea. Several notations make reference to "my boyfriend," and one lovely image of two men in a passionate kiss features the exclamation, "My sweetheart."

In other words, same-sex love is neither an aberration nor a modern invention. Men have loved men throughout history – and, with the advent of the camera, male couples began, pretty much at once, to make the sort of loving, intimate memories that heterosexuals might mistakenly think has been, until recently, their sole province.

Don't miss this lovely cinematic companion to the book –�and, if you haven't sought out the book already, consider doing so. A picture, after all, is worth a thousand words, and the history contained in these photos is absolutely essential to understanding our gay forebears – and, thus, better understanding ourselves.

"100 Years of Men in Love: The Accidental Collection" premieres March 25 on Here TV.