BPM (Beats per Minute)
I know these faces too well. I know their rage. I turn on the television, and I see them nearly spitting in the faces of politicians who prioritze greed and ignorant agendas over their safety. I see them marching through the streets with signs so loud that they're heard across the world. 233
Within youth, there is a certain brand of power. This is the power that I see in these faces.
From meetings full of disputes to dreary hospital rooms to protesting in the streets of Paris, BPM is a journey through the lives of young activists fighting for the lives of their community. Not only does it tell a love story between two characters, but much of it also plays out like a love story between these young people and their desire to resist. Whether the film is strikingly blending activism with dancing or showing the harsh realities of the AIDs crisis, it never loses focus on a young person's relationship with defiance. It pulses through each character, even while they're dying or laughing or sobbing.
One of the most beautiful and heartbreaking portraits of youthful abandonment in favor of a greater good, BPM is a raw reminder that the fight for progress, survival, and love are one in the same. 352