BPM (Beats per Minute)

A very powerful movie. One that starts and ends on a statement. A movie that takes a stance, that don't pander to a wider audience, an audience this movie doesn't touch, but still remains accessible. A movie that unabashedly portrays reality, that shows a community with all its struggles, contradictions, camaraderie, and diversity. A rare movie in which each and every character is important; each and every life is important. Amazing when it's loud but even more so when it get quiet. A movie that shows moments when grief is too much to bear and moments when life and joy explode. A film that is moving without feeling manipulative. The kind of film we definitely need more of. The most powerful moment of this for me was the credits, when the movie halts to a deafening silence. It felt crushing, and the weight and intensity of everything in the previous +2 hours hit me like a brick wall.

Talky to be sure, with many scenes revolving around the debates taking place at the activists HQ, but beneath the wordiness, there is still a quiet beating heart at the centrre of the film, and that is the tender but doomed relationship between Sean and Nathan. This is a sad and angry film, and despite the 90's setting, it is still as timely as ever.