Bold and defiant in vision and scope, the latest work from Daniel Nolasco, the provocateur behind Dry Wind (Frameline44) and Mr. Leather (Frameline43), chronicles a fateful gay romance across multiple decades (and possibly alternate dimensions as well). Only Good Things opens in the lush Brazilian countryside in 1984 where Antônio (Lucas Drummond from Follow the Protocol, Frameline46), an isolated farmer, nurses Marcelo (Liev Carlos), a wounded motorcyclist, back to health. Just as Antônio and Marcelo’s love story begins, forces beyond their control begin to interfere.

Fusing the gay sensibilities of Tom of Finland, Alain Guiraudie, Tennessee Williams, and Pedro Almodóvar into a cinematic landscape all his own, Nolasco proves to be a subversive romantic with his sophomore narrative feature. As Only Good Things unravels in all of its inventive, lascivious detail, lyrics from Billy Swan’s country ballad that plays over the film’s opening credits echo in the background like a distant warning signal that shouldn't have been ignored: “Don’t be cruel to a heart that’s true.”