120 BEATS PER MINUTE. Counting Down to One’s Own Death

Robin Campillo’s film 120 Beats per Minute is permeated with a sense of hopelessness. Members of the Paris branch of ACT UP – a group uniting people living with HIV – are mostly sick, and their condition is deteriorating rapidly. The drugs available on the market do not help, and work on new ones is dragging on. And every day counts. Waiting a year for the results of trials of new treatments is unacceptable, because during that time some activists will die. They want not only their lives, but also their deaths, to testify to the gravity of the situation and the scale of the problem. The situation is made worse by the government’s lack of concrete action: it neither informs people how HIV is transmitted nor helps those suffering from AIDS.

The lack of public awareness and prevention deepens the epidemic, so ACT UP members take it upon themselves to run educational campaigns, hand out leaflets, and speak openly about what the media prefers to ignore. All of this is accompanied by the stigma, contempt, and the looming specter of a slow, devastating death. And yet, the protagonists still manage to find reasons to smile each day.

The director succeeds in combining collective and individual stories, sketching the socio-political context and reminding us what the world looked like before it became a global village. The film offers sharp dialogue, real characters, and symbolic, evocative scenes. The only excess lies in the interludes between successive segments. In these, Robin Campillo’s artistic inclinations come to the fore, as he too often prioritizes staging over narrative, even though the content here matters most. 120 Beats per Minute captivated audiences, jurors, and critics alike in Cannes, and ultimately received the Grand Prix.

120 Beats per Minute attempts to show different aspects of the lives of AIDS patients and their struggles as they demand government support, stronger media presence, and public awareness. They are not fighting just for themselves – they want to prevent the further spread of the epidemic, so that everyone can live and form relationships freely, without exposing others to a deadly disease. One particularly striking scene depicts ACT UP’s action against the pharmaceutical company Melton Pharm. Bags of fake blood scattered in their office, posters with the word “MURDERERS,” and the chants of activists all combine into a symbolic and unforgettable moment.

Yet some of the group’s practices resemble those of a political party. Their demonstrations target the head of state with sharp slogans, they stick labels on books warning of homophobic content, and they create provocative posters and catchphrases. Regardless of the legitimacy of such actions, the director’s staging flair is undeniable. In one scene, during the World AIDS Day march, participants lie down in the street with white crosses – a bird’s-eye shot that leaves a powerful impression.

The group’s story also leaves room for individuals. Standing out is the distinctive yet slight Nahuel Pérez Biscayart as young rebel Sean Dalmazo. He is a true volcano of energy, full of life and creativity, eager to fight on the front lines for the common cause.

Together with his ACT UP colleagues, he devises choreography for the Pride Parade, where they perform as cheerleaders with pom-poms. He is unafraid to storm Melton Pharm’s headquarters, unafraid of the police, unafraid of sensitive debates. The more his vitality shines through, the more painful it is to watch his illness progress. His gradual, inevitable dying deeply affects the other characters – his mother, his boyfriend, his friends from the group – because through his death he reminds them what is truly at stake. Robin Campillo knows how to portray both small and large dramas, which is the greatest strength of 120 Beats per Minute. Regardless of one’s views, it is worth seeing how this film depicts the struggle for human dignity – a struggle that remains just as relevant today.