Had been waiting for this one to get a theatrical release since it was previewed prior to the showing of 'The Lunchbox' that I got to watch. The only other documentary that seemed to obtain a wide release at a local multiplex was 'Inside job', and I thought that was very well made.
Though it seemed to be sensationalizing both sides (just in the preview - I hope those snippets are all there is on that aspect), I still had decided to watch it.
As a subject, this is both timely and topical, considering the attention being paid by Hollywood works that (some have accused, and I don't concur) wear their politics on their sleeve - 'Elysium' and 'Dallas Buyer's club' being cases in point.
Take the politics away, and they're stories of the human will, nee, need, to survive, esp. when affordability becomes The discriminating factor.
I hoped for a balanced view to be presented here since this needs to be seen by both sides (?), for a meaningful debate to take place.
Here are my thoughts after I ended up watching it - Topical for sure. And not just about what I'd mentioned while awaiting its release either.
This is predominantly about US patent rights not allowing life-saving/essential drugs to be affordable, both in the U.S., but ironically throughout the rest of the world as well, hitting 3rd world countries worst. It's been called trade terrorism and mass genocide, and the movie shines a light on this aspect. While depicting the history of ARVs (right since their invention in '63, and how they became affordable for the rest-of-the-world thru generics' supply/distribution recently) this also acts as a cautionary tale on how the recent TRIPS (WTO) is gonna ensure that whatever victory the activists think they got on ARVs was nothing but Pyrrhic. Also, when they show that a med that's going for a 319 $/ year in most countries is still priced at $15000 to-date in the U.S., I wonder if this movie might influence anyone at all into changing that.
The narrator's William Hurt, but nowhere does he/script let that celebrity fact get in the way of the narrative.
The kicker? At the very end, the makers ask the audience to ensure there's no sequel made to this. I do wish their hopes come to fruition. Depressing, but needs to be watched, preferably on the big screen.
Though it seemed to be sensationalizing both sides (just in the preview - I hope those snippets are all there is on that aspect), I still had decided to watch it.
As a subject, this is both timely and topical, considering the attention being paid by Hollywood works that (some have accused, and I don't concur) wear their politics on their sleeve - 'Elysium' and 'Dallas Buyer's club' being cases in point.
Take the politics away, and they're stories of the human will, nee, need, to survive, esp. when affordability becomes The discriminating factor.
I hoped for a balanced view to be presented here since this needs to be seen by both sides (?), for a meaningful debate to take place.
Here are my thoughts after I ended up watching it - Topical for sure. And not just about what I'd mentioned while awaiting its release either.
This is predominantly about US patent rights not allowing life-saving/essential drugs to be affordable, both in the U.S., but ironically throughout the rest of the world as well, hitting 3rd world countries worst. It's been called trade terrorism and mass genocide, and the movie shines a light on this aspect. While depicting the history of ARVs (right since their invention in '63, and how they became affordable for the rest-of-the-world thru generics' supply/distribution recently) this also acts as a cautionary tale on how the recent TRIPS (WTO) is gonna ensure that whatever victory the activists think they got on ARVs was nothing but Pyrrhic. Also, when they show that a med that's going for a 319 $/ year in most countries is still priced at $15000 to-date in the U.S., I wonder if this movie might influence anyone at all into changing that.
The narrator's William Hurt, but nowhere does he/script let that celebrity fact get in the way of the narrative.
The kicker? At the very end, the makers ask the audience to ensure there's no sequel made to this. I do wish their hopes come to fruition. Depressing, but needs to be watched, preferably on the big screen.