Horst in Translation ([email protected])
"120 battements par minute" or "120 Beats Per Minute" or "BPM (Beats Per Minute)" is a new French 2017 movie that runs for a massive 2 hours and 20 minutes. This one was written and directed by Moroccan filmmaker Robin Campillo and it may be his biggest success so far looking at the movie's awards recognition. It is also France's official Oscar submission and we will see how far it gets there. The subject sure deserves to make an impact as this is about the group ACT UP in France over 2 decades ago who were fighting for a better life for H.I.V. patients at that time and opposing those standing in its way like political institutions struggling to inform students properly on the subject of sex education or medical companies most of all, who put their financial interest over those suffering from this horrible illness. I personally think that this is a subject that really deserves the attention and also one that has not got it yet to the extent it should. Normally you find H.I.V. plots and references only in side stories in films. It's good this one was made. It is important. The cast includes mostly up-and-coming young actors that I as a German audience member must say I did not know before watching this one. Maybe Frenchies will know them. The one exception here would be Adele Haenel, who also probably gave my favorite female performance. As for the males, I quite liked Reinartz and of course Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, who eventually probably turns into the movie's MVP, something I did not expect early on. Admittedly, he also has great material, but he also made the most of it.Impressively, the film never really drags despite running for almost 150 minutes, at least not to me. I personally enjoyed the moments involving the group (also the introduction to the group early on during which the camera basically treats us like an actually new member, very well done) more than those focusing on the members' individual lives, like especially the love relationship between the new member and old member, but this also got a lot more interesting the longer it went when things take a turn for the worse sadly. And eventually, there is this coming together between the group element and the individual member element and I quite liked that too. The most powerful moment was probably the graveyard reenactment with the crosses, I'm sure ou know what I mean, that was truly touching. Another thing I liked was that they did not show the group as a mass of everybody thinking the same and agreeing on everything with each other. Discussion and conflict were vital in making the right decisions and moving closer to finding common goals and reaching them. Watching this show will in fact make you want to be a part of this movement and wants you to join the group in one way or the other as they all seemed friends sticking together closely, even if their opinions may differ frequently. As for the very ending, we got the evidence that a life may have been lost, but the movement only gets stronger and everybody sticks even closer together with each other. Plus the way they went from loud to completely silent the moment the credits roll in was a smart decision as the film offers really a lot to think about.Honestly, I must say I am not too sure if the Oscars will go for this one here due to the subject and running time, but I will cheer for them for sure and would be happy to see them nominated. The win is a long shot though with Sweden perhaps being in the best spot at this point. But at least 120 BPM did not go comnpletely overlooked this season. It is one of the best 10, maybe even 5, films I have seen all year and I highly recommend checking it out. Combining the general movement with individual stories may certainly have been a good decision here and the execution is close to flawless also in terms of the technical production values. These also added to this being an unapologetically bold, radical movie full of energy, full of emotion and full of grief. But most of all full of progress about a group that shaped the way for generations to come. H.I.V. may not be one of the most controversial topics in the western world these days, but we should not take that for granted and thank those who were blazing the trail. So get a good set of subtitles (unless you are fluent in French) and watch this one on the next occasion you get. Highly highly recommended, it's rare to see a touching political movie these days, but this really works so well from start to finish in that department that you really don't want to miss out. No excuses. See it.
