How to Survive a Plague

How to Survive a Plague is an important documentary that chronicles the history of two New York based coalitions--ACT UP and TA--that used radical activism to make the world aware of the AIDS crisis, and force the US to deal with it and with them. The film consists primarily of archival VHS and Hi-8 footage taken during the ‘80s and '90s by the activists themselves. This makes the film difficult to watch in terms of quality but provides an immersive, you-were-there experience. The film takes the viewer through the history of the AIDS crisis in New York, the controversial actions the groups took, the amazing ways the membership educated themselves--both in terms of medical knowledge and political savvy--and the internal disputes among the groups that almost led them to destroy each other. I lived in New York in 1989 when ACT UP’s presence could be felt all over the city.  It was fascinating to get a look inside what I only witnessed from street level.

In the end, this film presents a triumphant story.  AIDS, while not yet cured, is now no longer a death sentence, but it’s also a difficult story, because it took so long to get there.  Many of the actions these activists took are hard to reconcile, and the film does--briefly--acknowledge that some tactics were wrong-headed and led the fight in unproductive directions.  Still, we never loose sight of the fact that these people were fighting for their lives and trying desperately to get the help they needed. I wish the film did a better job of contextualizing some of these more negative aspects, as a way to instruct future activists, rather than focusing primarily on the heroism of these people, but I understand the need and desire to celebrate the movement.

There are times when the film stoops to the type of editorial cheap shots of lesser documentaries.  Footage of Geroge H.W. Bush golfing while people are dying of AIDS is the type of Michael Moore technique that we don’t need anymore in documentary films. Much better is when the filmmakers let the ignorant and/or hostile statements of politicians like President Bush and Senator Jessie Helms speak for themselves. Director David France has done a masterful job of assembling all this footage.  It’s a cohesive if not entirely integrated narrative, and the interviews of those who survived the plague are powerful and convincing.