We Were Here Reviews
June 10, 2020
The best film effort to date that can unite the generations until there's a cure
May 27, 2020
This powerful, affecting film should help ensure that by remembering the past we will not be condemned to repeat it.
December 5, 2018
A must-see, and not just for its subject matter. This potent documentary is a brave statement by those involved in its making, released in a time when public attitudes to homosexuality and the AIDS virus are still loaded with fear and ignorance.
Full Review
| Original Score: 4/5
March 15, 2017
Though the topic is sad, We Were Here is a tribute to the heroism of those who stepped up to help, and to the resilience of the gay community itself.
May 10, 2016
We Were Here does not move behind the scope of San Francisco, which I considered a benefit. It allows the viewer to fully immerse themselves in the story.
March 30, 2012
We Were Here ultimately serves as a tribute -- not only to those who are no longer with us, but also to those who crossed the minefield and emerged as survivors, storytellers and heroes.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3.5/4
March 2, 2012
...cinematographer Marsha Kahm has done a stellar job of zeroing in on the disparate visages whether revelling in the joy of a long-forgotten moment with a former partner or letting tears of 'Why not me?' come into unabashed focus.
Full Review
| Original Score: 4/5
February 28, 2012
A simple, powerful act of bearing witness, We Were Here is a sober reminder of the not-too-distant past, when gays were focused not on honeymoon plans but on keeping people alive.
January 22, 2012
...simple yet very intense, and if you have any interest in gay history, you won't want to miss it.
Full Review
| Original Score: 8/10
January 13, 2012
Cathartic and bittersweet with moments of joy and humor. Weissman's movie is a rare gift.
December 17, 2011
an insular story, told by insiders, of a particular community - a community to which this reviewer happened to be connected ... invaluable as a reminder of how it felt to be helpless, to be thought lost, and yet prevail. They - we - did overcome.
Original Score: 90/100
December 7, 2011
...this is a work that chronicles the very beginnings of a disease that shook the world for decades.
Full Review
| Original Score: B-
December 6, 2011
...honors the fallen, the survivors and those who helped both by documenting the intensity and the many issues surrounding the maelstrom which was the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco
Full Review
| Original Score: B+
November 30, 2011
[It's] as much about survival as tragedy, and any statistics in it pale in comparison to the personal testimony of those telling the tale.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3.5/4
November 29, 2011
Maintaining the perfect balance between the political and the personal, this is a documentary that will make you feel as well as think.
Full Review
| Original Score: 4/5
November 25, 2011
Weissman documents the ingenuity, generosity and optimism of a community that fell victim to a horrible disease that, with astonishing speed, turned the world inside out.
Full Review
| Original Score: 4/5
November 25, 2011
Even if, understandably, it's a little inward-looking (the ongoing disaster in Africa gets barely a mention), as a slice of social history, We Were Here takes an invigoratingly positive position on a very gloomy time.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/5
November 25, 2011
Full Review
| Original Score: 4/5
November 24, 2011
An honest, frank and often moving documentary that deals with its difficult subject matter sensitively and compellingly.
Full Review
| Original Score: 4/5
November 22, 2011
[A] sober, devastating film about how we all - and some more than others - have to deal with the most unexpected horrors in our lives.
Full Review
| Original Score: 4/5