Sa raison d'être

I just saw this film as part of the 2009 Mardi Gras Film Festival here in Sydney. It was an engrossing movie / television drama that went for over 3 hours and was presented in two parts. The movie, for the most part, charts the AIDS epidemic in France from 1980 – present through the microcosm of a family, but particularly through their gay son Nicolas, who narrates the story. There are many characters and story lines in the course of this historical drama, and the film is crammed with incident and covers many issues associated with HIV / AIDS and aligning it with political and social changes that were happening in France and the world. Part one of the movie was rather polemical, however the second part was heartbreaking and moving. All the performances were excellent, with a great soundtrack of the changing times. The only reservation I had was the ending. This movie was utterly fascinating and engrossing from start to finish. Recommended.