BPM (Beats per Minute)
{{short description|2017 film by Robin Campillo}}
{{for|the musical terminology|Tempo}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name = BPM (Beats per Minute)
| image = 120 battements par minute.png
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| native_name = {{Infobox name module|fr|120 battements par minute}}
| director = Robin Campillo
| producer = {{unbulleted list|Hugues Charbonneau|Marie-Ange Luciani|Jacques Audiard}}
| writer = {{unbulleted list|Robin Campillo|Philippe Mangeot}}
| starring = {{unbulleted list|Nahuel Pérez Biscayart|Arnaud Valois|Adèle Haenel|Antoine Reinartz}}
| music = Arnaud Rebotini
| cinematography = Jeanne Lapoirie
| editing = {{unbulleted list|Robin Campillo|Anita Roth|Stephanie Leger}}
| studio = {{unbulleted list|Les Films de Pierre|France 3 Cinéma|Page 114|Memento Films|FD Production}}
| distributor = Memento Films
| released = {{Film date|2017|5|20|Cannes|2017|8|23|France|df=yes}}
| runtime = 140 minutes
| country = France
| language = French
| budget = $5.8 million{{cite web|url=http://www.jpbox-office.com/fichfilm.php?id=17100|title=120 battements par minute (Beats Per Minute) (2017)|website=JP's Box-Office|access-date=4 November 2017}}
| gross = $7.7 million{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=beatsperminute.htm|title=BPM (Beats Per Minute) (2017) - International Box Office Results|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=19 April 2018}}
}}
{{italic title|noerror|all=yes}}
BPM (Beats per Minute), also known as 120 BPM (Beats per Minute),{{efn|The international English title is BPM (Beats per Minute), although some sources have used the title 120 Beats per Minute.{{cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/05/120-beats-per-minute-cannes-movie-review|title=120 Beats Per Minute Cannes Review|work=Vanity Fair|last=Lawson|first=Richard|publisher=Condé Nast|access-date=13 April 2018|date=20 May 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/reviews-recommendations/bpm-120-beats-per-minute-rob-campillo-act-up-queer-lives-honoured|title=120 Beats per Minute (BPM) review: queer lives honoured|work=Sight & Sound|publisher=British Film Institute|last=Salmon|first=Caspar|date=5 April 2018|access-date=13 April 2018}} The official UK title is 120 BPM (Beats per Minute).{{cite web|url=https://www.curzonartificialeye.com/120-bpm-beats-per-minute/|title=120 BPM (Beats Per Minute)|publisher=Curzon Artificial Eye|access-date=10 October 2017}} }} ({{langx|fr|120 battements par minute}}) is a 2017 French drama film directed by Robin Campillo and starring Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Arnaud Valois and Adèle Haenel. The film is about the AIDS activism of ACT UP Paris in 1990s France. Campillo and co-screenwriter Philippe Mangeot drew on their personal experiences with ACT UP in developing the story.
It had its world premiere at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, followed by screenings at other festivals. At Cannes it won critical acclaim and four awards, including the Grand Prix. It went on to win six César Awards, including Best Film, and other honours.
Plot
In the early 1990s, a group of HIV/AIDS activists associated with the Paris chapter of ACT UP struggle to effect action to fight the AIDS epidemic. While the French government has declared its intent to support HIV/AIDS sufferers, ACT UP stages public protests against their sluggish pace, accusing the government of censoring and minimizing the fight against the virus. When the pharmaceutical company Melton Pharm announces its plans to reveal its HIV trial results at a prominent pharmaceutical conference the following year, ACT UP invades its offices with fake blood and demands it release its trial results immediately. While ACT UP makes some headway with its public protests, its members fiercely debate the group's strategy, with conflicting goals of showmanship and persuasion, with conflicting aesthetics of positivity and misery. ACT UP struggles to plan a more effective Gay Pride parade than in previous years, bemoaning the depressing, "zombie" atmosphere the AIDS epidemic had created.
The film shows a number of large meetings in a lecture theatre where the radical element demand more direct action and others aim to bring the scientists to meetings where they can get them to communicate results sooner. A deaf person points out they can do direct action AND pursue meetings with the labs. But soon some radicals have attacked Helene, the mother of a teenager who contracted HIV through blood transfusion. Helene had pushed for politicians to be tried and jailed for their mishandling of blood screening (which is how her son got HIV). To some this is against ACT-UP principles as prison is an unsafe place where people get HIV. The group always seem to be arguing.
The film gradually shifts from the political storyline of ACT UP's actions to the personal stories of ACT UP members. Foreshadowing later events in the movie, Jeremie, a youth who lives with HIV in the group sees his health deteriorate rapidly. Per his wishes, the group parades in the streets after his death, putting his name and face to the ranks of AIDS victims. Newcomer Nathan, a gay man who doesn't live with HIV, begins to fall in love with the passionate veteran Sean, who is HIV-positive. Nathan and Sean start a sexual relationship, and discuss their sexual histories. Sean got HIV when he was sixteen from his married maths teacher. Sean is already exhibiting signs of the disease's progression and soon his T-cell count is down to 160. Nathan offers to care for Sean as he gets worse. When Sean is released from hospital to Nathan's apartment for end-of-life care, Nathan euthanizes him. ACT UP holds a wake at their home. As per Sean's wishes, later they invade a health insurance conference, throwing his ashes over the conference-goers and their food.
Cast
{{Cast listing|
- Nahuel Pérez Biscayart as Sean Dalmazo
- Arnaud Valois as Nathan
- Adèle Haenel as Sophie
- Antoine Reinartz as Thibault
- Félix Maritaud as Max
- Médhi Touré as Germain
- Aloïse Sauvage as Eva
- Simon Bourgade as Luc
- Catherine Vinatier as Hélène
- Saadia Ben Taieb as Sean's Mother
- Ariel Borenstein as Jérémie
- Théophile Ray as Marco
- Simon Guélat as Markus
- Jean-François Auguste as Fabien
- Coralie Russier as Muriel
- Samuel Churin as Gilberti (Melton Pharm)
- François Rabette as Michel Bernin
}}
Production
Director Robin Campillo co-wrote the screenplay, describing himself as "an ACT UP militant in the '90s",{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-120-beats-minute-director-says-i-was-an-act-up-militant-1005789 |title=Cannes: '120 Beats Per Minute' Director Says 'I Was an ACT UP Militant' |last=Kilday |first=Gregg |work=The Hollywood Reporter |publisher=Prometheus Global Media |date=20 May 2017 |access-date=29 May 2017}} meaning he did not have to carry out any other investigation into how to accurately portray the experience. One scene was also based on his experience with the AIDS epidemic, as he said "I've dressed up a boyfriend on his death". Co-screenwriter Philippe Mangeot was also involved in ACT UP.{{cite web|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/festival-de-cannes/article/2017/05/20/120-battements-par-minute-bouleverse-le-festival-de-cannes_5131163_766360.html |title=Cannes 2017 : avec « 120 battements par minute », les corps en lutte d'Act Up conquièrent les cœurs |last=Regnier |first=Isabelle |work=Le Monde |date=20 May 2017 |access-date=29 May 2017}}
At Cannes, Campillo explained his decision to go ahead with directing the film, saying "BPM is above all a film I wanted to make where the force of words transforms into pure moments of action".{{cite web|url=http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2017/5/28/aids-activism-movie-120-beats-minute-honored-prestigious-award-cannes |title=AIDS Activism Movie 120 Beats Per Minute Honored with Prestigious Award at Cannes |last=Gilchrist |first=Tracy E. |work=The Advocate |date=28 May 2017 |access-date=29 May 2017}} The budget of $5 million was raised in months.
The film was shot in Paris and partly in Orléans, including at the former La Source hospital.{{Cite web |last=Lemercier |first=Fabien |date=2016-07-20 |title=Shooting set to begin for BPM (Beats per Minute) |url=https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/313112/ |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=Cineuropa}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2016-09-26 |title=L'ancien hôpital de La Source accueille le tournage du film 120 battements par minute |url=https://www.larep.fr/orleans-45000/loisirs/l-ancien-hopital-de-la-source-accueille-le-tournage-du-film-120-battements-par-minute_12087447/ |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=La République du Centre}}
Release
File:Cannes 2017 20.jpg and his cast attend the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.]]
The film had its world premiere at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival on 20 May 2017.{{cite web|url=http://affif-sitepublic-media-prod.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/media_pdf/0001/53/78a5dd5bfbf16245a7385ff40f749cd6ac6293e2.pdf|title=2017 Screenings Guide|publisher=Cannes Film Festival| access-date=26 May 2017}} On 24 June, it went to the Moscow International Film Festival,{{cite web |url=http://39.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff39/eng/films/?id=39089 |title=120 BEATS PER MINUTE |publisher=Moscow International Film Festival |access-date=29 June 2017 |archive-date=24 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180324024509/http://39.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff39/eng/films/?id=39089 |url-status=dead }} followed by the New Zealand International Film Festival in July.{{cite web |url=https://www.nbr.co.nz/article/cannes-trifecta-winners-take-top-slots-nz-international-film-festival-ng-204558 |title=Cannes trifecta of winners take top slots at NZ International Film Festival |last=Gibson |first=Nevil |work=National Business Review |date=27 June 2017 |access-date=2 July 2017 |archive-date=26 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170626232027/https://www.nbr.co.nz/article/cannes-trifecta-winners-take-top-slots-nz-international-film-festival-ng-204558 |url-status=dead }} With the number of films at the Toronto International Film Festival being reduced from 2016, BPM (Beats per Minute) was nevertheless selected for the 2017 festival in September.{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/tiff/2017/07/25/tiff-announces-first-batch-of-this-years-movies-including-two-matt-damon-films.html |title=TIFF announces first batch of this year's movies — including two Matt Damon films |last=Howell |first=Peter |work=The Toronto Star |publisher=Toronto Star Newspapers |date=25 July 2017 |access-date=1 August 2017}}
At Cannes, The Orchard acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2017/05/bpm-movie-release-date-holy-air-release-dates-1202100240/|title=The Orchard Lands Cannes Competition Pic 'BPM'; Samuel Goldwyn Inhales Tribeca's 'Holy Air'|website=Deadline Hollywood|publisher=Penske Business Media|first=Patrick|last=Hipes|date=23 May 2017|access-date=26 May 2017}} It has been released in France on 23 August 2017 as scheduled.{{cite web|url=http://distribution.memento-films.com/film/infos/80|publisher=Memento Films|title=120 Battements par Minute|access-date=5 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827175234/http://distribution.memento-films.com/film/infos/80|archive-date=27 August 2017|url-status=dead}}
= Incidents =
On 4 February 2018, a group of Christian protesters holding icons and singing church chants disrupted the screening of BPM at the Romanian Peasant Museum in Bucharest. Displaying banners with nationalist and Christian messages,{{cite web |url=http://adevarul.ro/news/bucuresti/video-proiectia-unui-film-premiat-festivalul-cannes-intrerupta-seara-grup-credinciosi-muzeul-Taranului-roman-1_5a774965df52022f75300e9b/index.html |title=Proiecția unui film cu tematică gay, premiat la Festivalul de la Cannes, întreruptă în această seară de un grup de credincioși, la Muzeul Țăranului Român |work=Adevărul |first=George-Andrei |last=Cristescu |date=4 February 2018 |language=ro|publisher=Adevarul Holding}} the protesters claimed that "a film with this plot is inadmissible to be screened" at the Romanian Peasant Museum, because "it is a film about homosexuals", and "the Romanian peasant is Orthodox Christian."{{cite web |url=https://www.stiripesurse.ro/scandal-la-muzeul-taranului-roman-proiectia-unui-film-intrerupta-de-credinciosi-hey-soros-leave-them-kids-alone-video_1246831.html |title=SCANDAL la Muzeul Țăranului Român - Proiecția unui film, întreruptă de credincioși: 'Hey Soros, leave them kids alone...' / VIDEO |work=Știri pe surse |first=Alexandra-Maria |last=Cioroianu |date=5 February 2018 |language=ro}} After half an hour of dispute, the police took the protesters out of the cinema.{{cite web |url=https://www.elle.ro/lifestyle/scandal-la-muzeul-taranului-roman-proiectia-filmului-120-de-batai-pe-minut-fost-intrerupta-de-un-grup-religios-585586/ |title=Scandal la Muzeul Țăranului Român. Proiecția filmului 120 de Bătăi pe Minut a fost întreruptă de un grup religios |work=Elle Romania|publisher=Ringier Romania|first=Ștefana |last=Macovei |date=5 February 2018 |language=ro}} The screening of BPM was part of a series of events dedicated to LGBT History Month. Director Tudor Giurgiu, a supporter of LGBT rights and witness to what happened, criticized in a Facebook post such demonstrations and asked for protection measures in cinema halls where LGBT-themed films are screened.{{cite web |url=https://www.libertatea.ro/stiri/scandal-la-mtr-la-proiectia-filmului-120-bpm-2131495 |title=VIDEO/Scandal la MȚR. Un film cu tematică gay, întrerupt de un grup de credincioși. Tudor Giurgiu: "E ireal, rușine!" |work=Libertatea |date=4 February 2018 |language=ro|publisher=Ringier Romania}}
Reception
=Critical reception=
On the French review aggregator AlloCiné, the film has an average review score of 4.5 out of 5 based on 31 critics,{{cite web|url=http://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=245592.html|title=120 battements par minute|work=AlloCiné|access-date=17 October 2017}} making it the highest rated film of the year.{{cite web|url=http://www.allocine.fr/film/meilleurs/presse/decennie-2010/annee-2017/|title=Les meilleurs films selon la presse|work=AlloCiné|access-date=17 October 2017}} It holds a 99% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 138 reviews, with a weighted average of 8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Moving without resorting to melodrama, BPM offers an engrossing look at a pivotal period in history that lingers long after the closing credits roll."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bpm/|title=120 Beats Per Minute (2017)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango Media|access-date=9 April 2018}} On Metacritic, the film has a score of 84 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/120-beats-per-minute |title=120 Beats Per Minute Reviews|publisher=CBS Interactive|work=Metacritic |access-date=16 March 2018}}
Jada Yuan, writing for Vulture.com, spoke of being moved to tears by the film, praising it as "a unique, intimate portrait of the community from the inside".{{cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/2017/05/cannes-2017-120-beats-per-minute-could-win-the-palme-dor.html |title=The French AIDS-Crisis Film That Had Journalists Weeping at Cannes |last=Yuan |first=Jada |work=Vulture |publisher=New York Media |date=26 May 2017 |access-date=27 May 2017}} The Toronto Star's Peter Howell observed French critics at Cannes were generally excited about it and opined it deserved a top award.{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2017/05/26/and-the-palme-dor-at-cannes-goes-to-who-knows-howell.html |title=And the Palme d'Or at Cannes goes to — who knows?: Howell |last=Howell |first=Peter |work=The Toronto Star |publisher=Toronto Star Newspapers |date=26 May 2017 |access-date=27 May 2017}} The Hollywood Reporter critic David Rooney positively reviewed the dialogue and the youthful cast, while criticizing the pace.{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/120-beats-per-minute-cannes-2017-1005783 |title='120 Beats Per Minute' ('120 Battements par minute'): Film Review, Cannes 2017 |last=Rooney |first=David |work=The Hollywood Reporter |publisher=Prometheus Global Media |date=20 May 2017 |access-date=27 May 2017}} Tim Robey, writing for The Daily Telegraph, gave it three of five stars, complimenting the comedic moments and a sex scene, balancing awareness of risk, with one character being HIV positive, and sexiness.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/120-beats-per-minute-review-vitally-erotic-moving-ode-activism/ |title=Cannes 2017, 120 Beats Per Minute review: a vitally erotic, moving ode to activism |last=Robey |first=Tim |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=26 May 2017 |access-date=27 May 2017}} Vanity Fair critic Richard Lawson hailed it as a "half sober and surveying docudrama, half wrenching personal illness narrative".{{cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/05/120-beats-per-minute-cannes-movie-review |title=AIDS Drama 120 Beats Per Minute Is a Vital New Gay Classic |last=Lawson |first=Richard |work=Vanity Fair |date=20 May 2017 |access-date=27 May 2017}} Lawson and The Hollywood Reporter critics compared the film to the play The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer.
=Accolades=
It competed for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.{{cite web|url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/infos-communiques/communique/articles/the-2017-official-selection |title=The 2017 Official Selection |publisher=Cannes Film Festival |date=13 April 2017 |access-date=13 April 2017 }}{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2017/04/cannes-2017-lineup-list-film-festival-schedule-1201804813/ |title=2017 Cannes Film Festival Announces Lineup: Todd Haynes, Sofia Coppola, 'Twin Peaks' and More |work=IndieWire |publisher=Penske Business Media |last=Winfrey |first=Graham |date=13 April 2017 |access-date=13 April 2017}} In July 2017, it was listed among 10 films in competition for the Lux Prize.{{cite web |url=http://www.luxprize.eu/official-selection |title=Official Selection |publisher=European Parliament |work=Lux Prize |access-date=1 August 2017 |archive-date=2 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002122725/http://www.luxprize.eu/official-selection |url-status=dead }} It was selected as the French entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-france-selects-120-beats-minute-foreign-language-category-1039864 |title=Oscars: France Selects '120 Beats Per Minute' for Foreign-Language Category |work=The Hollywood Reporter |publisher=Prometheus Global Media |first=Rhonda |last=Richford |date=19 September 2017 |access-date=19 September 2017}}
See also
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|6135348|BPM (Beats per Minute)}}
- {{Rotten Tomatoes|bpm|BPM (Beats per Minute)}}
{{Robin Campillo}}
{{Navboxes
|title= Awards for BPM (Beats per Minute)
|list1=
{{Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix}}
{{César Award for Best Film}}
{{Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{François Chalais Prize}}
{{Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{Lumières Award for Best Film}}
{{IFFI Best Film Award|state=collapsed}}
{{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{Queer Palm}}
{{San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{French submission for Academy Awards}}
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:BPM Beats Per Minute}}
Category:2017 LGBTQ-related films
Category:2010s French-language films
Category:Films about activists
Category:Films directed by Robin Campillo
Category:Films produced by Marie-Ange Luciani
Category:Films with screenplays by Robin Campillo
Category:Films set in the 1990s
Category:French political drama films
Category:French LGBTQ-related films
Category:Best Film César Award winners
Category:HIV/AIDS in French films
Category:LGBTQ-related political drama films
Category:The Orchard (company) films
Category:Cannes Grand Prix winners
Category:Films featuring a Best Actor Lumières Award–winning performance
Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor César Award–winning performance
Category:Films whose director won the Best Director Lumières Award