Usually when a new movie comes out, you expect it to be the upteenth drama film, comedy movie, sci-fi flick or whatever. Most movies are fictive in nature and meant purely for entertainment. Not this movie, as it is a documentary that sheds light on a very important issue that exists in real life. The name of the documentary is Sex Positive.
Director Daryl Wein is a 24 year old filmmaker, who has chosen to shed some well deserved light on the crisis of AIDS that was just breaking out in the beginning of the eighties. Back in those days, large groups of gay men were being promiscuous all over the place and all the time. A virus broke out and it led to the AIDS epedemic we are all aware of today.
One of the gay men that engaged in promiscuous sex, was Richard Berkowitz. Richard Berkowitz was very active in the gay community as an S&M hustler. He has had visits from many clients who enjoyed receiving pleasurable pain from him. Richard was one of the very first people to speak out about the upcoming AIDS outbreak. Unfortunately, he wasn’t taken very seriously by people. Even the gay community laughed at him for being such a pariah.
The documentary shows old footage of Richard Berkowitz talking about the AIDS epedemic, trying to warn people not to have unprotected sex. He was backed up by his best friend Michael Callen. Joseph Sonnabend, controversial AIDS researcher, was also on Richard’s side. Despite having scientific data to back him up, Richard still had a hard time convincing people. Many gay people simply did not want to believe that having unprotected sex was dangerous and hazardous to their health.
If you get a chance to download Sex Positive free. This documentary shows many people who are still around to tell the tale from the early eighties. A lot of people have died of the AIDS disease. The ones that have survived are now visibly broken and weakened by the disease. They tell their stories on the screen and manage to create a sense of understanding from the viewer’s point of view.
The Sex Positive documentary will be released on the 12th of June in a limited number of theaters. It has received an R rating from MPAA, as it contains adult language, strong sexual content, graphic images and the like. These were all necessary to effectively convey the message of the movie. It’s worth viewing though. Very educative indeed!
