Review of The Witnesses (2007) by Heather G — 20 Jun 2010
This is an emotional French drama depicting the emergence of the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s.
A young gay man has an affair with a married man but later discovers that he is HIV positive. The film then examines how the people that he is connected to cope with his illness and his death.
I definitely found this film worth watching; it is a good character study and explores some interesting issues. I myself was only a young child during the early 1980s, and therefore completely unaware of the social paranoia surrounding AIDS (although it does still exist today), so it was interesting for me to watch this young man's story. I also found it compelling when the young man describes the difficulties in trying to find a partner when you are gay.
A few things did let this film down for me:
1) When the young man dies, there does not seem to be much emphasis on the grief of his loved ones. They cope a lot better than I would! I was expecting a little more depth of emotion. I suspect the script is to blame rather than the acting.
2) The ending is an anti-climax. The ending that I had predicted in my mind was actually a lot better!
3) The film feels too long. Parts of it felt a little bit unnecessary for me.
However, on the whole, I did enjoy watching this film.
This review of The Witnesses (2007) was written by Heather G on 20 Jun 2010.
The Witnesses has generally received positive reviews.
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