Torka aldrig tårar utan handskar

In the wake of The Normal Heart - which is still affecting me! - I didn't think another AIDS story would or could get to me the way this mini-series did. Set refreshingly in Stockholm, TATUH tells the story of two young gay men who come from very different yet similarly oppressive backgrounds: Benjamin is a Jehovah's Witness from Stockholm, Rasmus is a country boy from Värmland who goes to study in Stockholm and discovers the gay scene.

Having only recently learned about how much more liberal and accepting the Swedes were of gay people in the 1980's, this series still shocked me and showed many parallels to what was happening across the Atlantic in the States when it came to understanding and dealing with the disease.

In true Swedish fashion, this series is beautifully shot with a sometimes bleak cinematography that gives additional meaning to the metaphors and symbolism used throughout the series for added gravitas.

Despite the subject matter and coming from a culture where sex and nudity is not scandalous, I found the love scenes in TATUH quite tame and tasteful, some even beautifully rendered to illustrate the love between the characters.

I strongly recommend this series to anyone who wants to explore what the LGBT scene was like outside of the US during the AIDS crisis.