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NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL 2017--BPM (BEATS PER MINUTE) Send This Review to a Friend
Flash back to Paris in the early 1990s, when AIDS was wreaking death sentences upon gays, just as was occurring in the U.S. Also, there was slowness in combating the epidemic in France, another parallel to what gays were experiencing in the U.S.
“BPM (Beats Per Minute,” directed by Robin Campillo, focuses dramatically on Act Up, the French movement fighting the complacency and demanding action. More than that, it is also an intimate look at individuals and their AIDS-fraught relationships.
The film takes us into strategic meetings held and the vehement differences that occur. We get the speeches, the frustrations and the determination to meet the challenge.
Most dramatically, we also see the demonstrations held against the drug companies for not coming forth with enough medication that should be available. There are the invasions of government offices to demand action.
The film becomes a model of portraying activism. It reveals the desperation, the passion and the personal tragedies along the way. It stresses an era that should not be forgotten and salutes the heroism of those who spoke out. The director has assembled an array of excellent actors who make all seem very real. A The Orchard release. Reviewed October 20, 2017.
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