Director Bruce LaBruce has made a new film that explores the controversial topic of queer relationships with a substantial age difference, shown from the perspective of a young man with an interest in men who are much older.
“Gerontophilia” follows the story of 18 year old Lake, who works in a retirement home and is attracted to elderly men. Through his work he comes to learn that the patients in his care are being overmedicated, and when he falls for an 81 year old called Mr. Peabody, he tries to free him from these circumstances and flee across Canada.
LaBruce is known for his controversial approach for filmmaking, often blending the techniques of gay pornography with independent film. One of his most well known pictures is the 1996 film ‘Hustler White’, a satirical black sex comedy about gay hustlers in California.
LaBruce spoke about the concept of gerontophilia in an interview with Vocativ:
“The older and more wrinkled and closer to death the object of desire is, the more sexually stimulated the gerontophile. It also has to do with empathy for the aged, and an appreciation for their wisdom and experience. It’s a love of the elderly, as well as a sexual attraction. Most fetishes entail a love and respect for the object of desire, not merely a sexual attraction to it. But most people choose not to understand or believe that a fetish also has a romantic impulse.”
Check out the trailer:
