Medicine. Monopoly. Malice. The three words that serve as the subtitle for Dylan Mohan Gray’s feature debut documenting the corruption and blatant immoral negligence over life-saving drugs for AIDS and HIV sufferers in the US and African countries.
Narrated by Academy Award winner William Hurt, Gray details the atrocities of both the US government and the American pharmaceutical industry from the early 1960s up until the early 2000s in their production of HIV and AIDS antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) which prolonged and, in many cases, saved lives. But, despite the ability to reproduce such drugs cheaply and easily, the documentary tells how capsules that cost less than 5 US cents to produce were sold to South African countries for over $40 per capsule. An extortionate amount that simply cannot be afforded or justified.
Gray’s continuous usage of key statistics serves to showcase the corruption of Western pharmaceutical companies and their disregard for humane courses; blatantly pursuing profit at any cost to human life and, as of 1996, only offering 1.3% of their sales revenue to research and discovery of new drugs.
Despite detailing the inhumane treatment of those in need around the globe, Fire in the Blood never once feels like a ‘us vs them’ account of how things were. The numerous interviews included [from Bill Clinton to activist Zackie Achmat] serve primarily to show simply, that technology is a wonderful invention and provides the means to save lives. There is no question that life should be preserved when treatment can very easily be provided.
One particular moving scene shows a young Ugandan man being told the news that he has been selected to receive treatment through his local hospital. I commend Gray for providing some truly joyous humility on screen. A tremendous sense of optimism fills Fire in the Blood – an optimism that is indefinitely required to this very day if progress is to be made in successfully treating AIDS and HIV sufferers.
“Help prevent a sequel.” appears on screen after the film’s closing credits. A sentiment proving that hope and justice IS attainable. The only criticism I have is that after detailing so much about the state of affairs up until 2003, it would have been useful to have a recent update on progress within the field and how things are today under the presidency of Obama and ‘Obamacare’. Perhaps a sequel is, in fact, necessary?
Extras: There are 13 deleted scenes, creating an extra 40 minutes of film. A particularly interesting cut details Bill Clinton’s role regarding the actions of Big Pharma and how, during his time as President, he cut supplies of AIDS/HIV treatment to 4 countries – despite discussing in the feature his support for treatment to be more readily available.
Lauren has awarded Fire in the Blood on DVD four Torches of Truth
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