The film’s director, 55-year-old Robin Campillo, was once part of the organisation and faithfully portrays the urgency of the group: they debate and argue, they protest and party, they cry, they have sex, they smoke and, inevitably, sometimes they die. For viewers whose knowledge of Aids movies are limited to Tom Hanks tastefully fading away in Philadelphia, it will come as quite a shock. [...]
Today, when in the affluent, white, western world at least, the Aids crisis has largely abated, it’s hard to recall the horror and confusion of the time – and the levels of prejudice. 120 BPM encapsulates this moment. Within the LGBT community, the ructions were as diverse as the people themselves. Tatchell, though, now manages to sum up Act Up London’s ethos: “It targeted anyone and everyone who was failing to address the HIV crisis.”
The group, as with all other chapters, specialised in direct, nonviolent action, aided by striking visuals. The aim, Tatchell says, was to “raise public awareness and put powerful people on the spot. It was also a psychological morale boost for people with the virus.” [...]
In short, a British 120 BPM would look the same, but different. Despite this, there were subtle and important differences between Act Up in different countries. Britain was, everyone agrees, relatively lucky to have the NHS, which reacted well to the crisis – for this, and many other reasons, people never mobilised around the movement in quite the same way as in the US or France. It could even be just a matter of national temperament, the Brits opting to be less politicised and more focused on things such as providing care. However, most do believe that Act Up in Britain paved the way for more “respectable”, or at least organised, advocacy groups to make their case in the corridors of power. Tatchell calls them “the shock troops in the battle against HIV”.
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