86
Metascore
23 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfThe true value of the film is universal: These kids study the knotty viral science, pressure doctors into taking daring, inventive steps and make their cause a global emblem.
- 100The PlaylistKatie WalshThe PlaylistKatie WalshOne of the best documentaries, and best films, of the year, it is required viewing for anyone with a desire for making their own world a better place, inspiring you to act up and fight back.
- 95NPRElla TaylorNPRElla TaylorACT UP soldiers on today, as it must, given the lack of official attention to the resurgence of HIV among young American men in metropolitan areas.
- 90VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyA concise overview's clarity and an epic narrative shape, with a happy ending to boot.
- 90Village VoiceMelissa AndersonVillage VoiceMelissa AndersonMillions of lives have been saved - and extended - as the result of a tireless cadre of advocates who, as Eigo states, "put their bodies on the line."
- 90Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWhat's so remarkable about their decadeslong campaign, though, is how desperation led to inspiration - to the inspired notion that they, as nonscientists, could still take their fate in their own hands.
- The latest in a recent spate of AIDS-themed documentaries, How to Survive a Plague is an exceptional portrait of a community in crisis and the focused fury of its response.
- 88Slant MagazineSlant MagazinePresents a cast of characters who must continue fighting, for what's at stake is the very real, very imminent threat of their own deaths.
- 88Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe most heartbreaking scene shows survivors of the dead reaching through fence railings to scatter their ashes on the White House lawn, where presumably they still rest.
- 83The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasDrawing on a wealth of footage from inside ACT UP meetings and protests, David France's powerful documentary How To Survive A Plague pays tribute to their courage and relentlessness, but it's even better as a record of the tactics of effective activism.