Tournees Francophone Film Festival: BMP (Beats Per Minute)

BPM is a fictionalized account of the history of Act Up-Paris, the
triumphant true story of some of the great heroes of our era: the men
and women who fought for the recognition and improved treatment
of HIV and AIDS patients at a time when a diagnosis was a death
sentence. As an original member of Act Up, writer-director Robin
Campillo brings a detailed, thoroughly researched authenticity to his
reconstruction of the activist organization’s politically and emotionally
charged group meetings, its colorful protests, and the intimate rela-
tionships that bound the tight-knit group together. Yet BPM is anything
but a dry history lesson: Campillo intelligently divides the film in two
sections, the first of which establishes Act Up’s historical importance
by focusing on its internal dynamics and political actions, while the
second delivers the emotional punch of its impact on individual fates
through a love story between two of its members, one of whom is
dying of AIDS. In crafting this remarkable elegy, Campillo achieves a
rare blend of celebration and outrage, remaining true to the activists’
determination, humor, and youthful vibrancy. Above all, BPM is a
remarkable testament to the power of regular citizens to effect change
by banding together to demand justice.

French with English subtitles