Comment

jerfairall
Dec 08, 2014jerfairall rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I'm often afraid of rating documentaries, because I don't always know if I'm responding to the quality of the filmmaking or simply to how much I agree with the position of the filmmakers. And yeah, I would show this film in schools and hope that every post-AIDS generation queer person watch it. This film documents some brave and noble people that everyone should know about and offers revealing footage of Bush *and* Clinton being assholes that is worth minding (not to mention some bumbling CNN pundits, and the loathsome Jessie Helms, lest we forget). But it also, mercifully, sticks to archival footage where a talking-head approach might have offered more clarity but less immediacy, not to mention allowing the later scenes, where numerous surviving talking-heads show up to reflect upon the wins and losses, a poignancy that is somehow both disquieting and triumphant. As for the archival footage itself, thank whoever that the scene of the scattering of the ashes on the White House lawn was preserved--it is one of the most heart wrenching moments I've ever witnessed on film.