Witnessing Drama, Witnessing Disease

This past Friday night I wandered on over to the IFC Center in Manhattan to see Andre Techine's The Witnesses. The French Techine, director of Wild Reeds, Strayed and many other fine films, here tells the story of 4 people and their experience with onset of AIDS in the western world:

This beautifully acted ensemble film, which uses recurrent images of water and aviation, unfolds in three chapters. The first remembers the heady pre-AIDS era. The second observes the foursome’s reactions to the crisis, which for each is a test of character and of the strength of bonds they have taken for granted. In the third, those who remain pick up the pieces and go on.

“The Witnesses” sidesteps most of its opportunities for high drama, political sermonizing and the jerking of tears. Mr. Téchiné, working from a screenplay he wrote with Laurent Guyot and Viviane Zingg, refuses to pigeonhole his characters in comfortable niches or ethical positions. The film skips ahead with the pace of a light romantic comedy, rarely lingering long enough on a scene to conjure melodrama. [The New York Times]

What I enjoyed most about the movie is what Stephen Holden's Times review touches on, that while AIDS is obviously a political subject, the grace with which Techine weaves the politics of the onset of AIDS with the stories of his characters, allows for a more poignant look at the effect the disease had at the time. Had he been more overt with his point or used the disease to create more drama in the lives of his characters, he would have risked losing one side of the equation (politics or personal stories). His approach allows for a tender portrait of humanity and also a pointed lesson in the way the western world handles crisis.

I also enjoyed seeing a well crafted, socially conscious film. Don't get me wrong, I love DIY films and documentaries, but I can't help appreciating a movie that takes the art of cinema into account, while still having a point and forcing it's audience to think about the issues at hand. The use of warm colors for the clothing of the main characters, the music, the juxtaposition of a young woman wanting to be an opera singer and her gay younger brother, and the fluid camera movement all come together and add vital pieces to the puzzle that Techine is building.

If you live in New York, head over to the IFC Center to check the film out, if not, watch the trailer below and go here to find out when it might be coming to a city near you.