Buddies

Buddies (1985) was written and directed by Arthur J. Bressan Jr.

The movie stars Geoff Edholm as Robert Willow, a young gay man dying from HIV/AIDS. David Schachter portrays David Bennett, a young man who volunteers to be a "buddy" to Robert.

The buddy concept was new to me. Humanitarian groups would assign people to visit people dying from HIV/AIDS if they had no other support system. This must have been common, because many gay men had partners who were dying or had died, and people were afraid to go near people with HIV/AIDS because no one knew how it was transmitted.

This film could have been just a sentimental movie about people dying from a dread disease. It was much more than that. It showed us the human face of people dying from HIV/AIDS, and a human face to those brave enough to help them maintain their dignity.

This movie must have been made on a tiny budget, because the two main characters are about the only actors we see. Many people who would normally have appeared on screen were just speaking parts. The sets were essentially just a hospital room and a gymnasium. (David isn't naturally athletic, but he works out so he won't be a "wimp.") Still, it was effective as a two-person film, so the low budget didn't really interfere.

It's hard to say that you "enjoy" a movie like this, but I can say that I learned from it and am glad that I saw it. It was shown at Rochester's great Dryden Theatre at The George Eastman Museum. The movie was presented as "ImageOut of the Archives" by ImageOut, the excellent Rochester LGBT Film Festival. It will work on the small screen.

Buddies has a very strong IMDb rating of 8.2. Yes--it's that good. Find it and watch it.

I have heard about the movie, but I don't think it has ever beem on theatres in Brazil. If it has, probably for a small festival with veryimited access.

I touches for its humanity and simplicity. The two main characters are the only ones who actually have their faces shown during the picture. As their connection grows, we can see true love and mutual comprehension growing. It is a muste see movie.

I have been vocal before how many in the media and governing political parties spread misinformation and lies about Aids in the early 1980s.

Conservative and religions groups had a vested interest in labelling Aids as a gay only disease. Thousands of hetrosexuals, intravenous drug users, haemophiliacs contracted Aids/HIV because they thought they would be safe. It would not affect them.

Buddies released in 1985 very much as this in the heart of this movie. Gay men with Aids were denied help from government funding. Having to rely on charity.

Robert Willow (Geoff Edholm) is in hospital dying of Aids. His life as gay man was difficult, ostracised from his family when he came out.

David Bennett (David Schachter) is a young gay man in a relationship and with a supportive family. He has volunteered to be a hospital buddy and he is nervous about it.

David and Robert are contrasting personalities. It shows up when they discuss Gay Parades. It is not David's things, he wants to keep his personal life private. Gay activism is not his thing.

Over time they get close and learn to understand each other. This includes David showing an interest in gay politics.

By making David a typesetter who is researching about Aids. It allows writer/director Arthur J Bressan Jr to explore the political implications for Aids. Robert gets angry to learn that Aids is meant to be God's revenge from some anti gay groups.

As in the British television series It's A Sin shown in 2021. Robert dies without his friends being with him. A hospital mix up meant, David could not be contacted.

Buddies was a small scale film made on a very low budget. It only played on the independent film circuit.

Both Edholm and Bressan jr later died of Aids. Because of the the time it was made, it is an important document of that era. Hollywood would later revisit the themes in Longtime Companion in 1989.

Necessarily crude but no less potent for that. In fact, as Koresky points out, its amateurishness only serves to give the film an extremely sensitive quality. One of those movies that feels like a UFO sighting; rarely seen, alien in conception and creation. You sense how open and urgent it feels, which counts for a lot and I was moved by it even in spite of its rudimentary aspects

As a child of that generation, a peer who survived, I couldn't help but getting very wet cheeks about 10 minutes into the reel. This isn't just a downer/dying film though, it's actually quite uplifting, even erotic and funny for a few seconds. They don't hire actors like these and they don't produce movies like these today. There aren't stories like these today, and that's a very good thing. Still, like other remembrances of the things that brought humanity so far down in the last century, look at this and learn, and remember. Never forget this, the deeply human experience. This isn't a story about a cause or an idea, it's a high-res (before that term existed) depiction of an intimate, loving relationship between two people. This movie is way ahead of it's time,and the current time, early 2016.

The faults to be found with this film are probably all in the technical production value, it was shot in the early 80's and the sound is a little hard to grasp at times. But the cinematography, acting, story and soundtrack are monumental.