120 BPM

Retrospective, FR 2017, 144 min., franz. OV + engl. UT

By: Robin Campillo

With: Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Arnaud Valois, Adèle Haenel, Antoine Reinartz, Félix Maritaud

Robin Campillo’s epic, harrowing film tells the story of ACT UP as a grand cinematic narrative: Paris, early 1990s. HIV/AIDS has been raging in France for almost ten years now, but large sections of society are still not speaking about the pandemic. Mitterrand’s government ignores sexual education and the pharmaceutical lobby delays the development of new drugs. ACT UP, a group of activists affected by HIV/AIDS, wants to draw attention to the plight. They throw water balloons filled with fake blood onto the walls of research facilities and hijack city classrooms armed with information brochures. At their weekly meetings they have heated and controversial discussions about how far their actions can go each time. When 26-year-old Nathan, who is HIV-negative himself, joins ACT UP, he is immediately captivated by the determination of the group. And he falls in love with Sean, the bravest and most radical of the them. Together they fight on the front lines, even long after Sean’s disease starts to spread.

Jochen Werner

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