How to Survive a Plague
Director: David France
Rating: 5/5
We have seen the issue of HIV & AIDS tackled many times on film over the years, but you won't see a more powerful movie than the one that David France has delivered.
This is powerful and moving filmmaking at its very best and this is one of the greatest documentaries that I have seen so far this year; believe me when I tell you that this is absolutely not to be missed.
How to Survive a Plague is the story of two coalitions-ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group)-whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition.
Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time.
With unfettered access to a treasure trove of never-before-seen archival footage from the 1980s and '90s, filmmaker David France puts the viewer smack in the middle of the controversial actions, the heated meetings, the heartbreaking failures, and the exultant breakthroughs of heroes in the making.
Whether you know much about what happened in America in the eighties with the HIV outbreak or not, this is a movie that will have you seething from start to finish.
The suffers of this virus were treated in the most appalling manner and fought, like no one has had to fight before, to get access to the medication that would improve or save their lives.
For that reason in particular this is a powerful documentary as we are taken into that world and shown first hand the struggles that these people faced.
But this movie is also a celebration of those who had the courage to stand up, speak out and fight for what they believed to be right; their heroic actions really did change everything for sufferers of HIV and AIDS.
David France has put together a totally compelling and intelligent documentary that really does get into the heart of the struggles of that time.
This is not a glossy or 'Hollywood' look at that period but a real and raw tale of what really happened; there are moments in this film where your jaw will hit the floor with disbelief and horror.
How To Survive A Plague is also a terribly moving documentary as France shows those who lost their fight, and the pain that those who got the drugs they needed still feel about those losses.
How To Survive A Plague is powerful anf fascinating, but it is as much about standing up for what is right and making a difference as it is about the fight against AIDS.
You will struggle to find another documentary that is as good as this in 2013 - this is a must see movie.
How To Survive A Plague is out now.