Review of How to Survive a Plague (2012) by Reece L — 23 Feb 2015

The narrative of this documentary is told through video footage of meetings and protests from 1987 to 1995. Throughout the human side of the epidemic shown as the members of ACT UP slowly fade into a gaunt death. The US government had all but refused to increase funding, and so these condemned men became makeshift scientists and drug-smugglers in an effort to survive. While the science of this movie went a little over my head, what resonates is their effort to not be ignored while another life is lost every 4 minutes. The fight for human dignity is overwhelming. As is the power of strong-willed group activism which can help push an ignored issue to the forefront and saved millions of lives.

While it's obviously not the most sunny documentary there is an uplifting power in seeing people fight for survival. It also gives the viewer a chance to reflect on the modern struggle of LGBT and medical rights, giving perspective to how much we have (and have not) progressed in the past 3 decades.