In the early ‘90s, gay teen Jaime is sent to live with her devout Jehovah’s Witness relatives after the death of her father. Jaime makes an unexpected connection with Marike, daughter of a prominent Witness Elder. The two are instantly drawn to each other, and begin a secret, unspoken romance. But when their attraction becomes too obvious to hide, the community moves to separate the two, forcing them each to make a terrible choice between faith and love.
For in-depth thoughts on You Can Live Forever, please see my colleague Cody Allen’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
You Can Live Forever comes to Blu-Ray in a 1080p presentation that is really wonderful. The early ‘90s aesthetic is realized perfectly with cinematography that reveals an incredible amount of detail. The skin tones look very detailed and natural all around with subtle facial characteristics easily distinguishable. The film is not bursting at the seams with vivid colors, but there are certain elements of the production design and articles of clothing that reveal deep nuances within the hues. The interiors are typically a more reserved environment that the presentation represents perfectly with a pleasing richness. The highlights are handled favorably along with the blacks that do not appear to suffer from any compression artifacts or crush. This presentation brings this movie to life without fail.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray disc comes with both a DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Master Audio track in the original English with sporadic French that nails every auditory element. Dialogue comes through clearly without ever being drowned out by the sound effects or the score. The film uses music in effective ways that rouses emotions while filling the room. Activity in the low end can mostly be attributed to this element, as there is not much else in the narrative with such sonic heft. The subtle environmental effects create a three dimensional soundscape that works well with this narrative. The audio does everything that is asked of it. There are English and English SDH subtitles provided.
Special Features
- Blooper Reel: A four-minute collection of ruined takes, flubbed lines, laughing fits and more.
- Trailer: The minute-and-a-half trailer for You Can Live Forever is provided here.
Final Thoughts
You Can Live Forever is a beautiful and heartbreaking queer narrative which gently explores the longing to live an authentic life and how that can clash with organized religion. The narrative itself does not offer up any grand surprises, but the way in which it is realized really touches on a deep level that will linger long after the credits have finished rolling. The two lead performers are key to making this experience work, and their chemistry is intoxicating. Good Deed Entertainment and Kino Lorber have provided a Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation and a small selection of special features. This is one that more people should be seeking out. Recommended
You Can Live Forever is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Good Deed Entertainment and Kino Lorber have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.