Plague is an on-the-ground look at people responding to a crisis whose scale quickly became evident, a community record of a necessary response to fill a shameful official absence.

| Jan 24, 2023

David France's rousing and inspirational documentary should be required viewing for political activists everywhere.

| May 26, 2020

For anybody who doubts that individuals can combat giant governmental and corporate forces and win, this is a great how-to manual.

| Feb 28, 2020

An excellent film for both those unfamiliar and gay youth uninitiated with the dark days of the AIDS crisis, and the deadly struggle to speak up or die quietly.

| Aug 6, 2019

Feels like a far more shallow experience than it really should be.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 6, 2019

How to Survive a Plague will leave people feeling hopeful that it can be done sooner rather than later.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Jun 29, 2019

One of the most moving scenes in the film is close to the end when we see the survivors in a series of long, silent close-ups, as they are now... jowls, grey hair and aging itself becomes a triumph, as it rarely is on American movie screens.

| Mar 14, 2019

How to Survive a Plague supplies plenty of moments that are electrifying, inspiring and often both, courtesy of such luminary leaders as Peter Staley and Larry Kramer

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 6, 2019

Like the very best documentaries about political movements, How to Survive a Plague makes you feel humble and, at the same time, extraordinarily proud.

| Jan 9, 2018

Moving docu follows AIDS scourge and history of gay activism

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 14, 2017

There are personal glimpses into the home lives of activists that left many in my theater wiping their tears on their coat sleeve.

| May 10, 2016

It all adds up to not just a document of the time but a blueprint for today's activists.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Feb 7, 2014

A compellingly watchable portrait of a battle fought under that most memorable rallying cry: "Silence = Death". Bravo.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 11, 2013

I don't doubt that anyone who has had a brush with AIDS, lost a friend or even a hero like Queen's Freddie Mercury, will find what is already a socially curious, medically fascinating and politically charged film an unmissably emotional experience.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 8, 2013

This inspirational, unexpectedly hilarious film is a patchwork of archival footage that takes us up to the present day.

| Nov 8, 2013

Nominated for the Oscar, this documentary is one of the most involving and moving films you'll see all year. At its core this is a movie about how a decent society should behave, even to the point of helping people who hurt themselves.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Nov 8, 2013

This documentary by David France persuasively argues that one of the greatest grassroots activist campaigns of modern times was the Act Up movement ...

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 7, 2013

David France's documentary about the 1980s/90s American gay community and its leading role in discovering "combination therapy" - the anti-HIV magic bullet - will be inspiring among audiences from the G20.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 7, 2013

Well-made and featuring an astonishing amount of on-the-scene archive footage, this is a powerfully emotional and hugely inspirational documentary that demands to be seen.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Nov 7, 2013

This raw and passionate AIDS treatment doc suffers from a simple lack of focus.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 7, 2013