How to Survive a Plague

2012

How to Survive a Plague

Critics Consensus

Angry, powerful, and stirring, How to Survive a Plague is a brilliantly constructed documentary about the activists who pushed for action to combat the AIDS epidemic.

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Movie Info

How to Survive a Plague is the story of two coalitions-ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group)-whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition. Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time. With unfettered access to a treasure trove of never-before-seen archival footage from the 1980s and '90s, filmmaker David France puts the viewer smack in the middle of the controversial actions, the heated meetings, the heartbreaking failures, and the exultant breakthroughs of heroes in the making. -- (C) Official Site

Rating:

NR
Genre:

Documentary, Special Interest
Directed By:

David France
Written By:

David France, T. Woody Richman, Tyler Walk
In Theaters:

Sep 21, 2012 limited
On Disc/Streaming:

Feb 25, 2013
Box Office:

$122,665
Runtime:

109 minutes
Studio:

Sundance Selects

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Cast

Peter Staley

Garance Franke-Ruta

Mark Harrington

Spencer Cox

Larry Kramer

Bill Bahlman

David Barr

Gregg Bordowitz

Gregg Gonsalves

Derek Link

Iris Long

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Critic Reviews for How to Survive a Plague

All Critics (78) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (76) | Rotten (2)

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

Nov 8, 2013 | Full Review…

Charlotte O'Sullivan
London Evening Standard
Top Critic
This documentary by David France persuasively argues that one of the greatest grassroots activist campaigns of modern times was the Act Up movement ...

Nov 7, 2013 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
Top Critic
This raw and passionate AIDS treatment doc suffers from a simple lack of focus.

Nov 7, 2013 | Rating: 2/5

Sophie Monks Kaufman
Little White Lies
Top Critic
It can't be long before we see the Hollywood version.

Nov 5, 2013 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Cath Clarke
Time Out
Top Critic
David France has made an absorbing film to document that moment of immense implosion, called How to Survive a Plague.

Jun 17, 2013 | Full Review…

Stanley Kauffmann
The New Republic
Top Critic
As this stirring, scrupulous doc reveals, the members of ACT UP fused the fervor of revolutionaries, the tenacity of trial lawyers, and the rage of the dispossessed to change the very shape of the epidemic.

Jan 7, 2013 | Rating: A- | Full Review…

Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic
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 | Full Review…

Nicholas Bell
IONCINEMA.com
Feels like a far more shallow experience than it really should be.

Aug 6, 2019 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

Matthew Lucas
From the Front Row
How to Survive a Plague will leave people feeling hopeful that it can be done sooner rather than later.

Jun 28, 2019 | Rating: 8/10 | Full Review…

C.J. Prince
Way Too Indie
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 | Full Review…

Ren Jender
Bitch Flicks
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

Mar 5, 2019 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Peter Gutiérrez
CineVue
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 8, 2018 | Full Review…

Stuart Klawans
The Nation

View All Critic Reviews (78)

Audience Reviews for How to Survive a Plague

Feb 10, 2014

An excellent documentary that effectively conveyed the desperation, fear and power of the gay community during the height of the AIDS epidemic. Really well done.

Christian C Super Reviewer
Jul 23, 2013

An extremely enlightening overview of that which was the most devastating plague that hit the world in the past century, and an essential historical document that shows how activism played the most important role during the acme of the epidemic.

Carlos M Super Reviewer
Apr 08, 2013

A topic that should have been more interesting to me... but it was quite hard for my interest to survive this dull documentary - and I usually like documentaries.

Thomas J Super Reviewer
Feb 26, 2013

"How to Survive a Plague" is a sad, yet uplifting look at the coalitions ACT UP and TAG in the battle against AIDS. This documentary uses archival footage from the 80s and 90s to show the devastating effects of AIDS, and the constant struggle to get better medication to victims. Some of the footage is heartbreaking, some will enrage you, and some will show you that with enough support and enough people pushing for a cause, that anything can happen. AIDS is still prevalent in the world today, but it isn't nearly as destructive as it was, and it's because of the people showcased in this movie. It deserved it's nominated for "Best Documentary" at the Oscars, just as much so as the other 4 nominees. The movie drags a little in the middle, but I think it's because it doesn't have much of a narrative, and relies mostly on old footage to tell the story. Fascinating movie, that shines a light on taboo subject in our world. Definitely worth a watch.

Everett J Super Reviewer