Commitment to Life review: ‘A story we should never tire of hearing of’

With Commitment to Life filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz has once again excelled at bringing real-life LGBTQ+ stories to the screen in a documentary that is heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure.

Commitment to Life follows on from previous BFI Flare appearances by Schwarz such as Boulevard! A Hollywood Story and Tab Hunter Confidential. It charts the development and journey of the Aids Project Los Angeles (APLA) from 1982 through to the current day.

With a cast of talking heads including Queer Eye‘s Karamo Brown, doctors, activists, volunteers, survivors, and more the documentary captures the legacy of APLA. As much as it is a story of the losses brought on by the Aids crisis in the 1980s, it is also a story of community and chosen family coming together.

Always giving us the best archival footage Schwarz paints a vibrant picture of a thriving Los Angeles queer scene before the onset of the 1980s. Very quickly, however, the horror sets in as what becomes known as Aids is introduced. The lack of knowledge, the fear, and the hospital wards of uncared-for men are all tangible to the audience.

Scenes discussing the APLA’s hotline calls and the need for a buddy system for Aids patients ring home how strong the LGBTQ+ community is and had to be in the face of ignorance, fear, and stigma. “It was discrimination that killed many of us,” we hear at one point as Schwarz draws the viewer’s attention to political stigma as well as the characterisation of Aids as a disease that primarily affected white cis-gay men. Schwarz attempts to correct that narrative by giving time to people from Black, Asian, Hispanic, and Trans communities ensuring they get a chance to tell their stories.

“Commitment to Life also shows how stars like Liz Taylor and Joan Rivers were quick to come to the aid of groups like APLA”

This is where Schwarz’s films have succeeded before, in highlighting undiscovered or long-forgotten gems of queer narratives and breathing fresh life into them. He does so again here, adding new perspectives to a story many will think they know well.

Commitment to Life also shows how stars like Liz Taylor and Joan Rivers were quick to come to the aid of groups like APLA, giving the cause a boost in support and placing it in front of the eyes of those seeking to ignore it. Equally, the film explores how the death of Rock Hudson gave a familiar face to the disease.

All this came during a time when homophobia was rife. While Cher, Cyndi Lauper, Robin Williams, Bette Midler, and a host of famous faces lent their voices to raise the community up, many, mainly politicians, lent theirs to tearing the queer community down. Thankfully ours was a stronger and more united community successfully defeating Prop. 64.

Schwarz moves through the 80s and into the 90s with the rise of ACT UP and AZT charting the progress made in healthcare to the modern-day with PrEP and PEP. It’s a story we should never tire of hearing of.

BFI Flare runs from 13-24 March 2024. Full details and tickets are available here.