152. 120 BPM (120 Beats Per Minute) (120 battements par minute); movie review

120 BPM
Cert 15
143 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong sex, nudity, sex references, language

I have watched many powerful documentaries about the 1980s Aids epidemic but it says much for Robin Campillo's fictional 120 BPM that it has more of an emotional tug than any of them.
Campillo's film is informed by his own participation in a radical gay activist movement in the early 1990s.
Here, protestors against the Government's inertia in handling the Aids tragedy are part of a Parisienne group, called Act Up.
Much of the film centres on their meetings at which they discuss how to best turn public attention to their cause. 
When they agree, they click their fingers instead of applauding and when they disagree, they hiss. Both reactions are surprisingly effective.
The politics of radical dissent are fascinating, particularly as many of those who are arguing are terminally ill.
Chief opinions come from Nahuel Pérez Biscayart as Sean, a young man who seems so full of life and yet is tragically near the end of his.
Arnaud Valois plays his more politically moderate but utterly devoted partner.
Their love story takes centre stage for the second half of the film which moves from protest to the pitiful and hopeless fight to stay alive.
Biscayart and Valois are the pick of an ensemble cast who all have significant contributions and serve well to remind us how ghastly the public reaction was to the Aids crisis.
But greatest praise should go to Campillo who highlights the bravery of those involved in a struggle which paved the way for faster treatment for many.
Meanwhile, while I didn't agree with the need for strong sex, he has created a romance which brings home the gut-wrenching emotion of how the death of Aids victims became the norm for a decade or more.
It is a quality piece of work.

Reasons to watch: A fierce recollection of the Aids tragedy
Reasons to avoid: The strong sex is overdone

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: Yes
Overall rating: 8.5/10

Director statement - Robin Campillo: "I joined Act Up in April 1992. From the very first meeting I attended, I was struck by the group’s exultant effervescence, given that we were in the toughest years of the epidemic."

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