Another film watched as part of the alphabetical scroll through Sky Movies selection, "120 Beats Per minute" was a lengthy but rapid French film that was easy to admire, if not exactly enjoy.
The film is about "ACT UP PARIS" an advocacy group that operated in Paris in the late 1980's attempting to increase awareness of the situation with HIV and AIDS to try and force the Government to act more on the issue. Central to the films narrative is the love affair between Sean (Nahuel Perez Biscayart) who is a founder member of the group and is HIV Positive - and Nathan (Arnaud Valois) who joins the group as the film begins.
The film is really strong in some areas. Almost all related to the performances, particularly of the two leads though nobody is really letting the film down in that regard. The relationship between the two feels natural and realistic, despite the fact that the story leaps forward weeks and months at a time, without ever really explaining how much time has passed. The recreation of 1980's Paris works too.
Less strong is the narrative of the film, "Act Up" ought to really have been the backdrop to the central relationship, but we spend too much time with other individuals and with the group as a whole for that to be the case. Indeed, if anything, the relationship feels added on to give some closure to the "Act Up" story because unfortunately, there isn't much of that information given. And that's what I really wanted - what happened to "Act Up". Were there any specific wins / defeats? A lot of the film was dedicated to pharmaceutical trials that were being undertaken by a company that ACTUP targeted, but nothing ever comes of that part of the story.
It's a commendable attempt to tell the stories of some (relatively) modern day heroes and though I'd recommend it, I wish it had remained wider in its scope.
The film is about "ACT UP PARIS" an advocacy group that operated in Paris in the late 1980's attempting to increase awareness of the situation with HIV and AIDS to try and force the Government to act more on the issue. Central to the films narrative is the love affair between Sean (Nahuel Perez Biscayart) who is a founder member of the group and is HIV Positive - and Nathan (Arnaud Valois) who joins the group as the film begins.
The film is really strong in some areas. Almost all related to the performances, particularly of the two leads though nobody is really letting the film down in that regard. The relationship between the two feels natural and realistic, despite the fact that the story leaps forward weeks and months at a time, without ever really explaining how much time has passed. The recreation of 1980's Paris works too.
Less strong is the narrative of the film, "Act Up" ought to really have been the backdrop to the central relationship, but we spend too much time with other individuals and with the group as a whole for that to be the case. Indeed, if anything, the relationship feels added on to give some closure to the "Act Up" story because unfortunately, there isn't much of that information given. And that's what I really wanted - what happened to "Act Up". Were there any specific wins / defeats? A lot of the film was dedicated to pharmaceutical trials that were being undertaken by a company that ACTUP targeted, but nothing ever comes of that part of the story.
It's a commendable attempt to tell the stories of some (relatively) modern day heroes and though I'd recommend it, I wish it had remained wider in its scope.