I've read far too many reviews of this movie that just don't seem to get it, even if they did enjoy the film. The purpose of the movie was precisely to show how the AIDS epidemics reached the stages that it did before anything was done, and how the Doctors, researchers and even the federal government and the CDC contributed as much to the progression of the disease as they did to discovering it. To state that this presentation, while not quite showing as much regarding the suffering of the early AIDS patients in some way makes "less of an impact" than it may have otherwise, is to basically state that you have no concept of what the purpose of the movie was! Anyone who actually WAS around when the AIDS crisis began can remember getting blood tests for Hepatitis, then something called HTLV III, then HIV, all with no explanation or understanding as to why. And that was only if you were giving blood! They misconceptions and fears passed on from scientists themselves made it far more difficult to actually understand what it was and how to be safe. This movie explained far better than any other resource exactly what was going on during a time when those of us who WERE alive were getting no answers at all.
So, if you're going to comment on a movie, make sure you have some idea of what the purpose of the film is before questioning the point of view of the film. This is quite possibly one of the most important films of the past twenty years BECAUSE of its point of view.
So, if you're going to comment on a movie, make sure you have some idea of what the purpose of the film is before questioning the point of view of the film. This is quite possibly one of the most important films of the past twenty years BECAUSE of its point of view.